The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,5

you be willing to be Naomi West, singing sensation, for just one more evening?” he asked.

Her heart fluttered a little. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing nefarious,” he assured her. “But I really have always wanted to meet you. Let me take you out for drinks tonight.”

Naomi hesitated. She had been saying no to invitations since her mother’s death. She just hadn’t felt like getting out of the house and seeing anybody.

But maybe Betty was right. Maybe it was time to return to life. And stepping into the fun, carefree days of her past might be just the right way to do that.

“I could go for a drink,” she said.

“Wonderful!” Petr said. “Will you meet me at the Crystal Lounge in an hour?”

That would give her time to go home and change. “I can do that,” she said. “How will I know you when I see you?”

“I’ll know you,” he said. “I’ve seen your picture.”

“Oh.” Naomi felt foolish. “Right.”

“I’ll see you then,” he said, his voice cheerful. “I look forward to it!”

Naomi hung up, started her car, and drove home, her mind racing a mile a minute. She had honestly believed that this part of her life was behind her. A fan who wanted to meet her! What a strange thing to have happen after so long away from music. She’d believed she had cut ties with her old life, but apparently it could still reach forward and touch her.

She wished she could call her mother and tell her about this. Her mother really had been her biggest fan.

Naomi’s condo was in a residential neighborhood of Los Angeles with tree-lined streets. Although it looked suburban, you could hear the sounds of downtown from her backyard. It was the perfect combination of picturesque and close to the things she liked in the city. She parked her car and went inside.

What on earth was she going to wear?

Most of her closet space was taken up with neutral-colored slacks and button-down shirts—appropriate clothes for the office. It had been so long since she had gone anywhere else.

She shoved her work clothes aside on the rack.

At the very back were a few of the dresses she had most favored during her tour days. Some of them hadn’t been worn in years. She contemplated for a moment, then pulled out a peach-colored dress that she’d worn during a few performances. It had always made her feel softer on stage, closer to the emotions that had fueled her songwriting.

But she hadn’t worn this dress since the tour had ended. She was surprised to find that she still had it.

Would it still fit?

She stepped into it and pulled it on, reaching behind her to fasten the zipper, remembering how one of the members of the Desert Flowers used to do that for her. It was a little more difficult on her own, of course—but the zipper slid up easily.

The dress still fit her perfectly.

Naomi stepped in front of her full-length mirror.

She felt as if she was looking through a window to the past. It had been six years, but her face hadn’t aged all that much. Her eyes were older, she thought—whenever she had looked into a mirror before a show, she had seen nothing but giddy, youthful excitement. Now she saw stress, worry, trepidation.

But she also saw Naomi West, singer/songwriter.

She had thought this woman was gone forever. But she wasn’t. She had been inside her all along.

Naomi shook herself. How could a dress have this much power? How could a dress bring her back to the past so completely?

But it had.

She stepped away from the mirror before she had time to get carried away. She would need to remain levelheaded tonight. A blind date was no time to lose her grip on reality.

Not that this was a date! For God’s sake, Naomi, pull it together.

She stepped into a pair of strappy sandals, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door, leaving her hair to spill loose over her shoulders as she had always done when performing. At the office, she usually wrapped it in a tidy bun.

She felt so unlike herself today.

The Crystal Lounge was a piano bar a few blocks from her home. Naomi was glad Petr had chosen it, as it would mean not having to drive. She didn’t plan on drinking to excess tonight, but it was always better not to have to worry about whether or not the alcohol was affecting you a touch too strongly.

The cool night air helped to clear her head.