Perfectly Imperfect (Men of Whiskey Row Book 4) Read online

  “Oh, it’s way too small…for the two of us,” she said lamely before changing the subject. Goodness, she’d almost said for the three of them! “Polo classic AND VH1?! Ian, that’s so sweet. I’m going to take back every bad thing I ever thought about you!” She laughed when he sucked his teeth before continuing. “So, this itinerary says I’ll be fully immersed in corporate and fashion events, stateside only, unless I otherwise request it and am required to wear the clothes by those designers, and I get to keep them…nice!”

  “Thought you might like that. I insisted upon it because I wanted you to remember it when I ask: When will you and your father be reconciling?” Ian asked candidly. “And why are you keeping it a secret?”

  Sidra shifted in her chair to rub her behind. “I was wondering what that sharp pain in my ass was.” At his inquiring look, she said pointedly, “It’s your nose. In my business. Get out of it and stay in your own damn lane, Ian.”

  He snorted his amusement, “You certainly aren’t one to kill with kindness, are you?”

  “Not when running you over with a car is more instantaneous and effective,” she retorted. “If you’re going to get in my business, I’ll return the favor. Why aren’t you dating? For an old coot, you’re remarkably stylish, smart, and funny...still have all your real hair? No plugs?”

  “Of course, I do,” Ian said with great affront. “I socialize occasionally; I just like focusing on the family now. Harvey was the great love of my life. I’ve never expected to find what we had with anyone else. But if you must know…I did have drinks with the former dean from your high school once.”

  “Dean Christopher Sammich?!” Sidra screeched. “That guy looks like something I painted with my toes! And he smelled like expired French onion dip! I’m surprised at you, Ian. Never in a million years would I have ever-”

  “Christopher was very kind to me, Sidra,” Ian said sharply before picking up the photo of him and his beloved late partner from the corner of his desk. “He just wasn’t Harvey, and that was not his fault. I just wasn’t ready for anything serious yet, and somehow I don’t think I ever will be again.”

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to bash him,” Sidra apologized. “You’re a fantastic catch, I’m sure you’ll find someone perfect for you, Ian.”

  “Not like Harvey, dear girl,” Ian said softly. “They just don’t make them like him anymore.”

  ***

  It was late afternoon, and Ella Kemp was just sending Noelle and Avery On A Whim’s calendar for the next three months when Sidra walked into her office holding a bag behind her. She smiled with pleasure at the sight of her comrade-in-arms turned friend. “Hey you! I didn’t know you were in town!”

  “Translation: why the fuck did no one warn you?” Sidra teased her as they exchanged a tight hug. “It’s a short trip for work and I’m selling my place, but I couldn’t not come by and say hi to you and Jenny. Where is she by the way?”

  “Giiirl, her ex Odell is in town, so she left early to show him around,” Ella said knowingly with raised eyebrows. “He came in, and next thing I know, they were all up in each other’s faces, breathing heavily, and I was like simmer down, sluts!”

  “I hope they’re able to work things out; I liked them together,” Sidra said hopefully as she pulled the bag from behind her and placed it on Ella’s desk. “This is for you. Just my way of saying thank you for all your help at the wedding.”

  Ella eyed the sparkly gift bag warily. “It’s not Nina’s head is it?”

  “Nope, just some things to help you relax on your vacation,” Sidra said cheerfully as Ella pulled out a scented candle, tea, chocolates, and bath oils.

  “Wow! This is a really thoughtful gift. Thank you, Sidra,” she said sincerely.

  “You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Sidra said with offense. “I’m a really thoughtful person.”

  “I’m sure Nina appreciates your thoughtfulness in not killing her that night,” Ella said with a straight face. “How is she by the way? And if you don’t mind my asking, your father as well?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Sidra said with a careless shrug as she sat down on the edge of Ella’s desk. “I don’t try to keep up with them folks. I’m too busy minding my own business. So, where are you going for vacation?”

  “A special place my parents used to take me and my brother when we were kids,” Ella said, smiling fondly. “I’m starting a new business venture there, and there’s no place like it or that I’d rather be. I’m just making my ‘To Do’ list before I get out of here next week.”

  “I hope you have a really good time,” Sidra said and picked up the list. “Hmmm, that’s strange. I don’t see ‘knock boots with tall, dark and handsome’ anywhere on here, Ella Kemp.”

  Face flushed with embarrassment, Ella snatched the list back from her. “And you never will. Ever. Now go away; I have stuff to do before I leave, you colossal pain-in the-butt.”

  Sidra cackled, “You know you’re nothing at all like I thought you’d be.”

  “What do you mean?” Ella inquired cautiously.

  “Relax; it’s not a big deal. It took me awhile to figure it out, but I did,” Sidra said happily. “You seem so different and down-to-earth that I wouldn’t have put it together until I saw you standing over Nina with your fists still in Mortal Kombat mode.”

  “Yeah, well everyone has a past. You can either learn from it and swim forward or stay stuck and sink. I chose to swim,” Ella said simply as she fidgeted with the piece of paper.

  “I tread water for a while, myself,” Sidra admitted. “I take it Noelle and Avery know?”

  “Noelle does. Our mothers were sorority sisters, and it’s actually how I got this job. I was looking for a change, and they needed someone here, so voila!” Ella laughed quietly.

  There was another knock at the door before the man she’d teased Ella about stuck his head in. “Hello, ladies. I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I hoped to have a few words with you before you left for the day, Ella.”

  Sidra glanced at her friend and winked, but it wasn’t noticed as Ella stared at the man. And she had the nerve to tell Jenny and Odell to simmer down, Sidra thought slyly as she watched him fully enter the room. White tees and jeans seemed to be his uniform, not that there was anything bad about the way the shirt hugged his muscular arms and the denim clung to his thighs and what looked like a promising ass. She turned to Ella who was standing perfectly still, watching him with her full lips drawn into a tight, uncompromising line. Nothing was said, and Sidra wasn’t even sure he was aware she was in the room still as his stormy dark blue eyes were fixated on Ella. Finally, he spoke, his voice a deep husky tenor as he demanded, “Why haven’t you returned my calls? I thought I made it perfectly clear to you that I didn’t want anyone but you handling my event. Jenny’s a nice girl, but I don’t want her. I. Want. You.”

  “Your visit wasn’t necessary, Mr. Easton,” Ella returned crisply. “I left you a voicemail earlier this afternoon letting you know I would be there the day of your event.”

  Wyatt stared down into her dark eyes and felt his manhood stirring, making his jeans uncomfortably tight in the crotch area. Silently, he cursed and discreetly shifted his stance so as not to draw attention. Ella’s gaze remained unblinking on him, and he hoped like hell she liked what she saw enough to give him a chance. His gaze fell to that plush mouth of hers, remembering the night of Darby and Avery’s wedding when he should have been a million miles away instead of standing in a garden at midnight bewitched by her beauty.

  He looked just as sinful as Ella remembered with those dark blue eyes promising naughty intent. She knew firsthand how long and thick his brown hair was because she’d tugged it loose of his bun and ran her fingers through it.

  “This trip was necessary. You’ve been avoiding me, Ella Bella.” Wyatt’s lowered voice was a dark caress as he shifted closer to her and helpless to resist, her hand came up to either stop him in his tracks or just to see if his heart wa
s racing as fast as hers. It was. Dammit.

  From behind her Sidra spoke, “Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave. See you later, Ella Bella.” Ella’s teeth gnashed together at the other woman’s teasing tone. She smiled politely at Wyatt. “Please excuse me while I see my friend out.”

  Grabbing Sidra’s elbow, she attempted to guide her out as Sidra laughingly called out to Wyatt, “I’m Sidra Barton, by the way! Don’t give up on this one! I was once like her, and I’ve found oodles and oodles of happiness with my man!”

  Wyatt smiled widely at her as Ella tried shoving her out the door. “It’s nice to meet you, Sidra Barton! I’m Wyatt Easton and thank you for the vote of confidence. Trust me, I have no plans of giving up!”

  Outside of the office, Sidra was only half successful in evading Ella’s pinches. “Stop pinching me, Ella Bella,” she singsonged.

  “Why would you encourage him like that?” Ella seethed as they reached the elevator, and she jammed the button. Sidra had the impression that she wished it were her throat.

  “Because I think he’s good for you,” Sidra replied truthfully. “I didn’t think I ever could be happy, but I am. It’s time for you too, girly. I ain’t mad at a man who can recognize the excellence that is our Black Girl Magic. Don’t fight him too hard.” The elevator opened, and she stepped in and blew Ella a kiss before turning her hand into a claw. “On second thought…nothing is better than sex after a good fight! So fight your heart out, you feisty little wolverine! Raaawr!”

  “I feel like I need instructions or medication, fuck maybe both just to deal with you! Real talk, Sidra? Don’t turn your back on Nina,” Ella replied solemnly, and Sidra fought the urge to touch her stomach protectively at the worried look in the other woman’s eyes. “I’ve seen her type of crazy before but with even less control. Be careful.”

  ***

  Donat “Lucky” Zabrosky struggled to put his wrinkled black tank top on as he hurried to his front door. It was nine in the morning, and he only knew one person who was fucking crazy enough to be pounding on his door like he owed them money. He opened it with his standard threat, “Sid the Kid, I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t cut it out!”

  “Hi, Lucky!” Sidra said, holding up a brown paper bag that he knew contained szarlotka, Poland’s version of apple pie, dill pickle soup, and poppy seed bread. “I come bearing gifts from Krakow’s Finest.”

  He groaned with pleasure, even as he opened his arms to her. “It’s always good to see you, kiddo. The food ain’t bad either. Come on in.”

  She walked past him, and knowing her way around, headed towards his kitchen. Lucky closed the door, glanced towards his bedroom, and then followed after her. She grabbed orange juice from the fridge while he got the glasses. “So, how ya been?”

  “Really good. I’m changing directions with deejaying, and I put my place on the market,” she replied, accepting the filled glass he gave her. “Thank you. I’m flying out this afternoon but wanted to see you before I left.”

  They sat down at the small dinette, and Lucky eagerly pulled the styrofoam cartons out, raising his eyebrows when Sidra opened a small styrofoam bowl of dill pickle soup. He watched with disbelief as she opened a packet of strawberry jelly and squirted it into the soup. “When the hell did you start eating this soup, and with jelly?! That’s pretty disgusting!”

  “Hush it up,” she warned quickly downing the contents of the small bowl. Lucky pulled his own larger bowl closer to him when he saw the way her eyes lit up and braced himself.

  “Them puppy dog eyes get no love around here, so don’t even try it,” he growled affectionately, and they shared a laugh.

  After their initial meeting all those years ago, Sid had made it a point to go outside and talk to Lucky whenever he came to pick Nero up or drop him off. They discovered they had quite a bit in common and agreed on many things. They both loved the Boston Celtics and agreed that rocky road ice cream was the best, Marvel Comics over D.C. all day long, Foghorn Leghorn was a pimp, and sex with Madonna had to be terrifying. Despite her mother’s wishes, Lucky had escorted her to the sixth-grade father-daughter dance and had also shown up with the rest of her family for her high school graduation. There were many that felt Nero had done her a true disservice by not being in her life, but they didn’t know that Lucky had always been there for her.

  She was closer to him than her own mother, and when he found out how Nero had treated her, he consoled her as she cried her eyes out to him. Lena frowned with disapproval but held her tongue when Sidra invited him to her standard birthday dinner with her mother. But what would she have said? Unlike her biological father, Lucky had never missed a dinner and always showed up with his grandmother, making sure to take plenty of pictures of Sidra for her scrapbook.

  “So, I guess it’s “officially” official, huh?” he inquired gruffly. “Now, do I finally get to meet him?”

  Sidra smile warmly at him as she confessed, “He met mom and didn’t freak out, Lucky! So yes, you can meet him. We’re going to be looking for a place together in D.C., but he also wants to buy his older brother’s place in Whiskey Row.”

  Lucky’s heart warmed as he looked at the beautiful girl he’d first met as a child all those years ago. While he didn’t have any kids of his own, God had certainly seen fit to bless him with a surrogate daughter. Sidra was everything he never knew he needed or wanted. While his large Polish family was happily procreating left and right and urging him to do the same, he’d been content to hold conversations with a smart-ass kid on a stoop in Bed-Stuy as she introduced him to soul food, and he gobbled down plates of spicy collard greens, fried chicken, catfish, mac ‘n’ cheese, and sweet potatoes. While her douche of a father spent time with her mother, Sidra had taken him all over her block and proudly introduced him to her neighbors.

  Next thing he knew, the cake and pie lady was sending him home with sweets, and the old black pimp was schooling him on what ‘real’ women really liked. He never came around empty-handed and always made sure to pass out his grandmother’s pastries and a comic book for Sid. It made him happy to know that for all the gifts Nero bribed her with, he only received a polite thank you, while a comic book from him made her eyes light up, and she’d give him the cheesiest grin.

  “Let me say something here.” At her warning look, he raised his hands in surrender. “What? I can’t say nothing? You ain’t never brought anyone home to your granny’s because of how your mother would react, and yet you brought this young man home and he survived?” He pointed his finger at her. “He better treat you right, Sidra Jane, because I’m too old to go back to jail, but I would gladly do a stint for you.”

  Sidra stood up and leaned over him to give him a hug and rub the top of his head affectionately. His hair was no longer a brown carpet she used to tease him about. It was now a buzz cut liberally sprinkled with gray. Donat Zabrosky had done very well for himself but still lived in his grandmother’s house. When his uncle had passed away three years after they met, Martyn had left the business to Lucky, and to this day, it still continued to flourish as he opened up car services in other cities, ensuring that Sidra always had a ride wherever she went. He was busy as hell but had always made a point to drive Nero around, just so he could see Sidra.

  “You’ll love him, Lucky! He’s freaking amazing, and I couldn’t ask for a better man to have in my life other than you. He comes from a wonderful family, and they’re good to me as well. We’ll all get together soon, and you’ll be able to see for yourself,” she gushed.

  Lucky patted her arm fondly and cleared his throat noisily. “That’s really good, kiddo. Let’s make that happen sooner rather than later. Well, you better get going or you’ll miss your flight. I know you have to stop by your granny’s too.”

  “Yes, I’m headed there next. I called Mom this morning and didn’t get an answer, so she’s probably over there. Walk me to the door, Bubba,” Sidra said and linked their arms together. They hugged before he opened the door, and he nodded
at his waiting driver who tipped his hat in return.

  “Be safe, kiddo. Kocham cię,” Lucky said fondly and kissed her cheek. It was ‘I love you’ in Polish, and he’d taught it to her when she asked the night of her high school graduation.

  “Kocham cię,” Sidra returned sincerely before walking to the car. Lucky watched her pull her phone out and raise it to her ear. From his bedroom, a cellphone rang and rang. He turned around to find Lena standing in the doorway in his bathrobe.

  “You should give her a call soon, so she doesn’t worry,” he admonished. “You hungry? She brought my usual soup and pie. Or I can whip up some eggs and sausage?”

  “No thank you. I should go, so I can call her back,” she said hurriedly and went back to the bedroom.

  “You say that every time,” Lucky said mildly. “So, why didn’t you tell me you met her guy?”

  “You know why,” she said as she picked up her clothes, and Lucky sat down on the bed and yanked her into his lap. Tilting her chin up, they shared a kiss that was warm and familiar, one they’d done a thousand times since Sidra turned fourteen. When the kid came back a wreck, Lucky had torn into Lena and said all the things he’d been holding in since first setting eyes on them, including his attraction to her. There wasn’t a day that didn’t go by that he didn’t thank God the feeling had been mutual, but enough was enough.

  “Hey, this is me. Don’t lie. If the kid can do it, so can you. I’m done hiding everything. We ain’t getting any younger. I want the proper invite, or I’ll just show up on a Sunday evening…” Lucky trailed off leaving the unfinished threat to her imagination as he rubbed her thigh soothingly.

  “Could you imagine what would happen to my brand if I stepped out with a man?!” Lena huffed, “I worked damn hard to get to where I am, and now you’re asking me to switch it up? What do I look like?!”