Every Pearl Has Its Oyster (20 page)

“That’s not the outfit you were wearing before,” she said of his white button-up shirt and jeans. She took the spot on the railing next to him, staring out at the gray-blue sky.

“I needed pockets,” Tyler said, combing his hand through her hair and bringing her closer for a kiss. “So four days was enough. You won’t miss it here?”

“I got some good memories to bring back to L.A.”

“What was your favorite?”

Gemma pondered for a moment. “Maybe swimming under the waterfall with the people who had no idea who we were?” she giggled. “Or having breakfast in a tree. I don’t know. This whole trip has been perfect,” she said, hanging her hand over the railing of the deck to graze the top of a heliconia. “Better than all the other ones we’ve been on.”

Tyler laughed. “Vermont. Turks and Caicos. Italy.”

“We’ve been a few places in the past three years, haven’t we.”

“We definitely have,” Tyler said, exhaling with some amazement. She had a feeling he was no longer referring to the vacations. “It’s funny. Regardless of what happened in all those memories I have with you – good or bad or crazy – I always remember them to be the best moments I’ve had so far, just because you were there.”

Gemma bit her cheesy grin back, tilting her head to lean it against his strong arm. “I feel the same way.” She closed her eyes, grateful to have returned to the peace in their relationship that she had missed so badly – to have her Tyler back. It was an incredible relief. “Love you,” she murmured.

“I love you too,” Tyler said, his voice quiet, untroubled. She felt him lean down to kiss her head. “More than I know how to describe.”

“Try it,” Gemma teased. He smiled.

“Well. I don’t even remember what it’s like to be without you, and I don’t want to.” He traced his fingers along her forearm, making her skin tingle. “And since I got you I haven’t had a single first thought in the morning that wasn’t about you.” Gemma exhaled into a smile, nestling against him with content as the brisk wind blew through her hair. She watched as Tyler’s hand reached over and picked from a stalk a bright yellow flower. “Hey. I have something for you,” he whispered. She giggled, standing up and facing him so he could tuck the flower behind her ear. But instead, he set it down on the deck and reached into his pocket, pulling out a little black box.

He went down on one knee.

Thud. Gemma’s heart immediately began to pound louder than his words, than the sweet, no doubt beautiful speech she wished she could hear above the thunderous beating in her chest. Gazing down at Tyler, at his honey brown eyes so eager and earnest, Gemma wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him look so handsome. His smile was so gorgeous and happy as he held her left hand between their bodies. Her tears came just a moment before his, and the deafening sound of her heartbeat faded right in time for her to watch Tyler open the small box, revealing a magnificent emerald cut diamond before uttering the words she hadn’t expected in the least, that she hadn’t come close to preparing herself for.

“Gemma. Will you marry me?”

Back at their house in L.A, Gemma wiped her brow as she unpacked a half dozen cardboard boxes with her name handwritten on them. Her eyes welled heavier and heavier with every white gown she pulled out.

The boxes were sent from Thierry Marc – options for her to wear to the Wanderlust event in a few days. Her new campaign photo for the fragrance would soon be unveiled and Thierry preferred that she wore one of his designs. But she could hardly concentrate on choosing an outfit when her mind was still on her last night in Belize. The trip had been so beautiful, so perfect, so peaceful.

She just wished Tyler hadn’t proposed.

It wasn’t a decision she had to think much about, which made her feel guilty. She couldn’t say “yes.” She wished she could because of how otherwise perfect the moment was and how perfect Tyler looked down on his knee, appealing to spend the rest of his life with her as her husband. Gemma knew she would make him the happiest man in the world by letting him slip the sparkling diamond on her finger, but she knew if she did, she wouldn’t be able to match his joy.

“We have so much time, Tyler.” Her voice was hoarse on the jet the next morning, when she finally grew tired of their rigid silence since his proposal. “We’re nineteen years old. I’m sure we’ve been through more than a lot of older couples, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be young and live our lives first before we think about getting married. Right?”

He didn’t answer. In fact, he hadn’t spoken much to Gemma since returning home a week ago. They slept in the same bed but Tyler didn’t reach for her, not even in his sleep like he often did. On the rare occasions that he was home from set, he spoke to her, but mostly to ask whether they’d locked the doors or if she’d seen his keys. He kissed her only because she asked him to.

After four days of being better than ever as a couple, Gemma was sure they’d since crashed to the lowest point in their relationship. On some days, she cried and felt terrible while on others, she was bitter for being put in such a situation. She obviously still loved Tyler, but how could she even begin making up for refusing a marriage proposal? She had no idea how to, and she was filled with regret, but only for the fact that they were so close to just being happy together. They could have gone back to being the best they’d ever been had he just not proposed. Everything could have gone back to normal.

But it wasn’t and it hadn’t been for so long that Gemma barely remembered what normal – even her version of normal – felt like. Perhaps she’d never known the feeling in the first place.

~

Gemma leaned against the vanity as Zoe patted powder under her eyes. On the other side was Harper, holding an array of paper towels beneath her chin to catch any loose makeup. She had settled on the simplest of the dresses Thierry Marc had sent over, a floor-length white sheath with a cute lace pocket sewn into the hip. The cut of the skirt was narrow, allowing Gemma only small steps as she made her way to the towncar where Tyler was waiting.

Andro helped her into the car. She gave Tyler a quick smile as his eyes scanned her dress. Gemma had purposely chosen the least ornate in hopes of not reminding Tyler of wedding dresses and his rejected marriage proposal. The thought was a bit too optimistic considering the color theme of Thierry’s Wanderlust event. At least everyone will be wearing white, Gemma thought, sighing.

“Tyler seemed to be doing okay,” Harper said as she helped Zoe put her brushes away. “He was kind of acting like I didn’t know about the proposal situation. Does he know I know?”

“No.” Gemma turned to study her reflection in the mirror. Zoe had done a good job covering the dark circles beneath her eyes but Gemma could still see the now familiar fatigue staring back at her. “You and Zoe are the only ones as of now but I told him I wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

“I figured.” Harper shrugged, looking at Gemma with sympathetic eyes.

“So, I didn’t get to talk to Gavin,” Gemma said to Zoe. “He’s not coming?”

“Nope. Had a thing today, I don’t know what,” Zoe shrugged. “He asked me to go but I said one of us had to be here.” She smiled a silly smile at Gemma. “Besides, you know, friends first. Friend’s brother later.”

“And I haven’t seen Damian yet,” Gemma said. They had left off without much of a goodbye when Andro arrived to drag Gemma back to Los Angeles. They hadn’t spoken since. Harper and Zoe exchanged a quick glance. “Have you guys?”

“He’s been here,” Zoe said. “With his date. Staying about a hundred feet away from Tyler at all times.”

“Date?” Gemma nodded. “Good for him.”

“Aubrey Gracielle. SI swimsuit model.”

“No way,” Gemma laughed, nodding even more emphatically. “Really good for him. Wow.” Gemma was surprised considering she and Tyler had been at the event for an hour but they had yet to spot Damian. She also figured a girl like Aubrey Gracielle wouldn’t exactly blend into the crowd. But she was thankful for that, not wanting to rehash all the feelings Tyler had about her drive to San Francisco, especially when there was so much more on their plate now.

“Are you ready to go back out there?” Zoe took her hand. “They’re going to unveil the ad soon.”

“Oh, yeah,” Gemma said, fanning her hands in front of her face to get her back into work mode. She allowed Zoe and Harper to lead her out of the powder room and down the hall out of the VIP section. The event was being held in the grand lobby of The Vicente Oak in Beverly Hills. Gemma thought it was a perfect location for a perfume called Wanderlust. The warm golden hue of the lavish room boasted sepia-toned photos of international skylines and wooden tabletops découpaged in vintage maps. The dress code of formal white attire from head to toe made the guests of the party glitter as they crossed the room, their clothing reflecting the flaxen lighting.

As Gemma took in her surroundings, she was suddenly joined by the only two people dressed in black. She frowned as Andro and Mike made their way over, Tyler standing between them. Tyler held out his arm for Gemma to take. She gave him a stiff smile as she did.

“Didn’t you get fired?” Zoe asked Andro, playing dumb. She knew full well that he had been rehired by Tyler to keep an eye on Gemma and would have been more offended if she didn’t enjoy looking at him. Andro ignored her. Zoe turned her attention to Tyler. “No, but seriously. Why is he here?”

“Because we need security, Zoe,” Tyler said, flatly. “It’s not like crazy fans are just going to disappear because Gemma’s not currently signed with anyone.”

“It’s the price you pay for being popular,” Mike interjected.

“I don’t have security, Mike,” Zoe replied. “Are you saying I’m unpopular?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Gemma smiled. She shook her head at Zoe, playfully. It was good to know that she always had her back. “Speaking of popular, we should probably go be social since that’s what I’m being paid to do. And considering this is my last real day of employment that I know of.” Tyler and Gemma made their rounds, introducing themselves to various people from Thierry Marc’s camp as well as distributors for Wanderlust. The interactions with others proved to be beneficial in looking normal. Tyler didn’t seem to want to talk much to Gemma unless he had to – third parties seemed to do the trick.

Just as Gemma was sure she had run out of small talk, Darlene had stepped up onto the makeshift stage with a microphone. The music was faded down and everyone’s attention was suddenly on her. She wore a fitted white tuxedo, her red-framed glasses and turquoise chain looking even more outstanding with it as their backdrop. Her frizzy copper hair was teased to extend past her narrow shoulders. She smiled out at the guests, putting on her glasses and taking out a couple notecards.

“Thank you all for coming,” she began. “At this time, I’d like to invite Gemma Hunter, better known as Queen Bee, to the stage please!” The crowd clapped and those standing near Gemma turned to give her warm smiles. She returned them, allowing Tyler to walk her up on stage. As she stepped up, she turned to give Tyler a quick kiss but stopped when she saw Andro and Mike so nearby. Instead, Gemma hurried to stand beside Darlene. She looked out at the crowd. It had been some time since she stood on any stage. The lights made it difficult for her to see just how many people were out there. “And her co-model, if you will. My favorite Warrior – the ever-charming and handsome Damian Evans.”

Darlene held her arm out to the opposite corner of the stage where Damian had been waiting. Gemma looked over. He was wearing a white button-down shirt untucked over a pair of fitted white slacks. Damian was standing with Aubrey, an arm around her perfectly bronzed shoulders. It was a strange sight to behold. After all, Gemma had only ever seen Damian with what she thought to be “regular girls,” a group she considered herself to be a part of. Aubrey Gracielle was far from the girl-next-door. In her stilettos, she was only an inch or two shorter than Damian and had the classic bombshell, hourglass body that one was usually used to seeing with a professional athlete.

Damian gave Aubrey a quick squeeze before bounding up on stage to stand on the other side of Darlene. He tilted his head slightly to look around Darlene’s big hair and gave Gemma a quick smile.

“And of course,” Darlene continued. “Please help me introduce the man of the hour. He’s been a name in haute couture for decades and his talent shows no sign of stopping. Last year, the first generation of Wanderlust fragrances was sold out internationally within weeks of its release. Now, here he is again with a new photo campaign to kick off the second international release of Wanderlust, I bring you Mr. Thierry Marc!” The crowd clapped wildly as Thierry stepped up on stage, waving out into the crowd. He wore a classic cut suit in the mandated white but managed to look sharper than anyone else at the event. Thierry shook Damian’s hand then hugged Darlene and Gemma before taking the mic. They stepped back to the side of the stage, away from Thierry and the screen behind him. The house lights lowered so the only things illuminated were Thierry and the screen behind him.

Gemma looked towards the screen, Darlene and Damian’s silhouette framing her vision. A time lapse of the Los Angeles skyline played behind Thierry as he spoke.

“When I travel the world, my senses are always on high,” he said, his voice calm yet dramatic. “My designs maybe traditional, classic, but my mind and body continue to crave for the wild, the spontaneous, the new. Even now, well past what we consider ‘middle-aged,’ I am always hoping for a good surprise. Always hoping to learn, to do something new. And in order to do that, I must keep on moving – I must go from plane to plane, city to city, love to love. I must give in to my Wanderlust.” The audience clapped as Thierry turned to face the screen, the Los Angeles skyline dissolving into a clear blue sky. Suddenly, the screen was filled with the images of white silk. They were suspended in the sky just like clouds, exactly as Darlene had imagined. As the photo continued to move across the screen, Gemma saw just how well it had worked. Darlene’s vision was perfectly realized.

Gemma hardly recognized herself, looking weightless and peaceful against the sky. Her brown curls blew softly in the breeze along with the white silk around her. There was a hint of a smile on her face but also a hint of apprehension. Damian had a similar expression, one arm outstretched towards her as she seemed to be coquettishly flying away. Gemma found it hard to believe it was a still image. On the large screen, in the dark, Gemma felt as if her photographed self could float right out above the audience. She could feel the movement, not just from memory of the shoot but from the moment that Darlene had caught and immortalized in this single frame. The guests clapped even harder, cheering as the whole picture was finally revealed.