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Tipsy In Love

By Anne Greene

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CHAPTER 1
Charm Clearbell whacked her iced tea glass on the wooden tabletop. “I’m telling you, Flurry, I was all set for the Big Surprise! Harry and I were right here at Our Place By The Sea. Charm waved her hand. “Not out here on the terrace where we hear the ocean splashing against the pier, but inside in The Crystal Room at a secluded table by the window.” She spread her hands in a flowing gesture. “The one that looks out over the largest part of the harbor where the money yachts anchor.” She smiled. “Candles glowed, and Harry had ordered gorgeous red roses for our table. The place could not have been more lovely if the restaurant had been a scene in a romantic movie.”
Flurry flipped slender fingers through her short-cropped dark hair. “And Harry had that tiny box I saw him leave Tiffany’s with?”
“Why else does a guy shop at such an expensive jewelry store? Yes, he had the box in his hand and his hand on the table. He placed his other palm over mine and gazed into my eyes.”
“Oooh.” Flurry held her fingers in a position of prayer below her cute little chin. “Just the right setting for your new life to begin.” She crinkled her nose and pointed. “But your ring finger is still bare. Did you reject Harry? Why? He’s so perfect. Tall, blond, and buff. And that job of his. Plastic Surgeon. The money rolls in. Think how he can keep you looking younger each year you age!” Flurry was all but jumping up and down in her chair. “Of course, you said yes.”
Charm heaved a sigh. “Since I knew he’d purchased my engagement ring, I was contemplating which surprised and radiant face to put on as you suggested.” She shoved her fist against her closed lips.
“You expected a bigger diamond?”
Charm shook her head so slightly the mass of sun-kissed waves flowing below her shoulders didn’t stir. “I thought Harry would go down on one knee here in the restaurant. Figured making a public show of our engagement would be just like him. I glanced around to find the photographers he’d brought to record this momentous event, but they remained well hidden.”
“If you don’t tell me where the ring is, I’ll scream louder than these seagulls dive-bombing our table.”
Charm nodded. “Harry pushed the tiny box, all wrapped in gorgeous white paper and tied with a pink bow, across the tablecloth. ‘For the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.’” His brown eyes danced and the skin around them wrinkled. ’And I’ve been acquainted with more than my share.’”
Flurry furrowed her brow. “That’s a twisted compliment.”
Charm bit her lip until the tender flesh hurt. “But of course, he has. He’s transformed a slew of women from attractive to spectacular.” She formed her lips into a tiny smile. “But Harry chose me.” She pulled in a deep breath. “Well, I tell you, when I saw that beautiful ring box, my whole body tingled. Finally, after almost a full year of dating, Harry realized he couldn’t go on living without me. I felt happy. Content. Mission accomplished. And none too soon. The old clock is ticking. In a few months I’ll celebrate twenty-seven years on Planet Earth. I don’t want to be like so many women today and add to our country’s depopulation crisis. Nor do I want to freeze my eggs while I further my career.”
“Yes, you want to utilize your eggs while they’re still fresh.” Flurry shook her head, her hazel eyes going dreamy. “My engagement ring might be small, but I’m so in love with my Freddie.”
Charm clutched her throat. “Mmm.”
“So, your whopper is in the jewelry shop to resize?”
“Not exactly.”
“I’m all giddy with goosebumps. Where is that diamond?”
Charm cleared her throat. “I settled on my I’m-so-in-love-with-you-and-this-gift-is-such-a-surprise-face. I reverently took the tiny box and almost hated to untie the delightful pink ribbon and bow. My hand actually trembled when I removed the lid.” Charm’s throat closed. She sipped her glass of mango iced tea.
Flurry slipped from the high wooden chair, planted her feet in front of Charm, and pounded the tall table with both fists. “Girl, you tell me where the engagement ring is!”
People sitting at other tables glanced at them.
Charm dropped her head. “I opened the box and screamed. I tried to convert the scream into a yelp of delight, but it was too late.”
“Harry grabbed the edges of the table. ‘Don’t you like the diamond earrings?’”
“I could barely hear Harry’s voice over the ringing in my burning ears.” When my wits returned, I bleated, “Yes. Yes, they are lovely.”
‘“Well, put them on.”’ Harry had that rather aggravated expression he wears when he’s in charge, but his PAs aren’t kowtowing.”
“My fingers were clumsy when I took off my excellent cubic zirconias and inserted the genuine diamonds. The gems from Harry were larger.”
Flurry’s sympathetic, wide-eyed stare boosted Charm to continue. “The biggest diamond earrings I’d ever seen. Harry spent a ton of money on them. So surely, he loves me.”
“Adores you more like. Who wouldn’t? You’ve got that mischievous sparkle to you that no man can resist. And you’re every man’s dream with those enormous blue eyes and incredible shining hair. I can’t even grow my thatch that long. And everyone knows abundant hair is a sign of ripe fertility.” A tiny frown flitted across Flurry’s Cafe Latte-colored face, then her normal, sunny expression returned. “And that smile of yours. How many other ladies pose for their dentist’s publicity photo?”
“But Harry sees beautiful women every day.”
“Yeah. Gals who look far better when he’s done with them.” Flurry shook her finger. “Nope, he’s found a natural beauty. And he’s not about to let you go. Why, those earrings yell, you belong to me.”
Charm tilted her head. “Do you really think so? I thought an engagement ring said I want you to be mine forever.”
Flurry rounded back to her seat and climbed up. “Don’t worry, Dr. Face-changer will get around to the right diamond.”
Charm took a long swig of iced tea. She stirred the straw in the ice, making the small clear cubes tinkle. “But there’s more.”
“No.”
“Harry admitted the earrings are a token for me because he has to leave Tampa for an extended stay in Scotland. Evidently, he has family there, and they’ve arranged for him to visit. And he’s to teach a medical course near Inverness.”
“Well, the earrings are a nice gift.”
“He’ll be out of the country three months.”
“Ooh kaaay.”
“You realize in three months I’ll be twenty-seven. My mother birthed me when she was twenty-one. Grandma had Mom when she was nineteen.” Charm shrugged. “And look at you, barely twenty-three, and my last unmarried friend. And you have your sweet Freddie.” Charm struggled to hold back her ugly, crying face and finally won. She sniffed.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“What can I do? Lose myself in my job and pray Harry won’t meet a darling Scottish lassie.”
Flurry shook her head, her hazel eyes serious. “Fear doesn’t sound like you, Charm. You’re the go-for-the-goal gal. In a very competitive field, you’re a successful corporate travel agent. You’re proactive. You’re a modern woman.” She dragged her over-large hobo purse from the back of her chair, delved inside for her compact, applied shine, and thumped the purple bag on the table. “The way I see the situation, you’ve got two options.”
A warm flush splashed Charm from face to neck. She straightened and thrust out her chest. “Right. I must act. Do something.” She gazed out to where waves paddled against the anchored yachts and gave a small groan. “What choices?”
Flurry chopped her hand in the air. “One, cut your losses and break up with Harry.”
“But I think I’m in love with him.”
“Right. That brings us to the second choice. Love makes the guy worth fighting for.” Flurry shook her finger in Charm’s direction. “Number two, go after Harry.”
“What?” The heat deepened and spread down to her chest. Chase a man? Never. With all the men she’d dated, she’d never had to pursue one. Not a single one. Only losers took such drastic measures. Women with no hope.
“You said you love him. And he isn’t just any man. He’s Harry Bear, the eminent Plastic Surgeon.”
“That’s true.” The flush dripped further down her body and leaked out through her sparkling silver toenails. Charm thrust both elbows on the table and tucked her chin into her hand.
“Don’t you have a B & B or a lodge or a hotel in Scotland you need to check out in-person-on-site?”
“I’ve never travelled to Scotland.” Charm shifted in her chair and rubbed her empty ring finger. “But quite a few clients have expressed an interest in visiting there. I never pursued that venue.”
“Where is Harry teaching?”
“The Academy of Plastic Surgeons at Inverness.”
“Where is Inverness?”
“I’m not sure. I checked on the internet and discovered the town is in the Highlands.”
“Easy. Find a B & B there and bump into him.”
“Harry wouldn’t be fooled. He’d immediately know meeting him wasn’t accidental.”
Flurry’s eyes lit with a devious glow. “Tell him this is Leap Year. And you’re asking him to marry you.”
“That’s as subtle as a ton of muddy bricks. There has to be a better way. And yet, Harry has already spoken of several Scottish maidens as being absolute natural beauties. Why do women like that need a plastic surgeon anyway?”
Flurry leaned across the small table. “A Scottish brogue on melodious lips is dreadfully alluring. And three months’ absence can make a man forget. Not that Harry’s wishy-washy, but one-fourth of a year is a long time. Anything can happen.”
Finding she couldn’t speak, Charm nodded.
“Didn’t the leap year tradition start in Scotland?” Flurry’s hazel eyes widened. “I’m certain the tradition started in Scotland. In 1828 Queen Margaret of Scotland introduced a law allowing women to propose during leap year. She also penalized men who refused a leap year proposal.” Flurry’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Or was it in Scotland that men kidnapped women to be their brides? Oh well, everyone knows leap year is when every woman proposes to the man she loves.”
Charm slipped her credit card on top of the check and motioned to the handsome waiter. Larry nodded and took her credit card. “Thank you, as always, Charm.” He smiled at Flurry. “And you too, Miss.” He squared his muscular shoulders and moved away.
Charm tapped her fingers on the table. True enough, this was leap year. Not that she needed that excuse. When she made up her mind, she didn’t need a silly tradition to pursue Harry. If she decided to go after him.
And yet, with Harry’s big personality, he might like being pursued.
Or he might not.
Weren’t all men egotists when faced with wanting the attention of women?
Flurry was right. Once she made her decision, she was a Pit Bull. Not a woman to be trifled with.
Or so she told herself.
So, which option was she crazy enough to take?
 

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