Finding Harmony (16 page)

I rolled out of bed and wandered through to the living area, half expecting to see Trey and Freddy watching TV and munching on their cornflakes. Instead, the apartment was eerily quiet, save for Indi chewing one of Freddy’s old socks to pieces on the floor.

I sat down on the sofa, glancing around the empty apartment before resting my eyes upon a small note in the middle of the glass coffee table. I reached out and picked it up, instantly to be met with Trey’s scrawled handwriting.

Morning Princess,

Freddy
and I have just popped out for a while,

We have some… errands to run.

We won’t be back ‘til later, so I’ve left a credit card for you –

Feel free to go out and have a day of pampering, courtesy of
Freddy
Frett
:P

Love T -

I grinned at Trey’s note. Sure enough, the credit card he’d left for me had Freddy’s name indented into the shiny plastic. I placed the card and the note back on the coffee table where I’d found them and went back into the bedroom to get changed. In less than ten minutes I was ready to go out and hit the shops. I felt a little guilty using Freddy’s card but hey, a girl’s got tolook good for her man!

Chapter Twenty-four

“So, you’re absolutely, totally, 100 percent sure that you want to do this?” Freddy asked me thoughtfully for like the tenth time sine we’d left the apartment.

I placed my hands firmly on his shoulders and gave him a gentle shake.

“Freddy, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my entire life.” I answered back intently as I reaffirmed my decision to him. “Now, please, can we go inside? I’m too excited to hang around on the street any longer.”

Freddy let out a small sigh before looking back to my gaze and nodding his head. “Fine, let’s go.”

I clapped my hands together like a five year old as I followed Freddy into the store.

The minute we were inside the store, the sales assistants narrowed their eyes at us suspiciously. I suppose their regular customers didn’t look like wannabe gangsters and well… me (that was the only way I could describe my look).

A slightly older man made his way over to us, the fakest smile I’ve ever seen plastered across his smug little face.

“Gentlemen, can I help you with anything?”

I took a step forward and the man craned his head back in order to look up to me.

“Yes, I’m looking for an engagement ring.”

Freddy moved up closer beside me, making sure the snobby little man got a good flash of his latest, diamond encrusted Rolex.

The small man’s eye’s lit up as his mouth formed an ‘O’ shape.

“Certainly, Sir, right this way.”

The sale’s assistant turned on his heel and Freddy and I shared a quirk smirk before following after him.

Chapter Twenty-five

The salon was super busy as it always was. After all, it was one of the best in New York. I used to come here and get my hair done whenever I was in town, but needless to say, it had been a while.

A tall man dressed in tight black jeans, a black shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest revealing one hell of a tan and slicked back ebony hair came rushing over.

“Harmony! I haven’t seen you in forever! How are you sweetie? You look like hell, what happened; you got caught up in a Tornado?” He asked furiously, his thickly laced Italian accent sexing up each and every word he spoke.

“Carlo, nice to see you again too” I chirped back playfully as he grabbed hold of my hand and whisked me off into one of the chairs.

“So, what are we doing for you today? A hell of a lot by the looks of it.” He chimed out over the noise of several hairdryers whilst raking his fingers through my wild mane, his nose scrunched up in disgust at the cave-woman style I was working these days.

I spun around in the chair, taking a good look at myself in the mirror in front of me. My hair looked ridiculous, a wavy mess of ash brown roots and faded coffee coloured tresses.

“Something different… Something sexy… Something that screams “New woman!”

Carlo’s eyebrows pulled up in sheer ecstasy as he stood behind me. I’d basically given him permission to do whatever he wanted.

Chapter Twenty-six

The clear glass cases full of shimmering diamonds were starting to give me a headache. There were too many I liked, I didn’t know what one to pick out for Harmony.

“What about that one, Trey” Freddy asked, pointing to a ring on the tray the sales assistant had brought out for us.

“Oooh, she’d like that one, how much is it?” I asked the man sitting in front of us.

“This one, Sir, is approximately $770, 000” The man replied nonchalantly, even flashing us a cheery smile.

“What the…!” Freddy chocked out incredulously. “$770,000?! Are you for real? He doesn’t love her that much.”

“Freddy!” I spat back at him, whilst punching him playfully in the side. The sales assistant simply stared at us like we were a pair of lunatics.

“Trey, you’re not buying her that thing, we could buy a house for that amount of money.”

I sighed whilst giving the sales assistant an apologetic look and moving on the next tray of rings, which in value could probably free a third world country of their debt.

The minute the old man placed the next tray of rings in front of me, I spotted it. Finally, I found ‘The One’.

“That one”, I said softly, pointing to the glittering diamond on the centre of the tray.

The man carefully removed it from its place, gave it a quick polish and handed it over for me to inspect.

“This exquisite ring features a Lucida diamond, cut like no other on earth. Platinum of course…”

I stared at the ring in awe. The diamond was cut like an octagon, surrounded by smaller circular diamonds and placed on a dainty band, halfway encrusted with little diamonds on each side. It was perfect.

“Well, it sure as hell beats Leo’s ring…”

I choked out at laugh and turned to see Freddy staring down at the ring approvingly.

The sales assistant cleared his throat and I turned my attention back to him, grinning like a maniac.

“I’ll take it.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

After nearly four hours of sitting in the salon, having my nails manicured, my make-up redone, drinking champagne and god-knows-what done to my hair, my small army of professionals were finally finished.

“So Miss Lindstrom, ready to see the new and improved you?” Carlo asked excitedly. I nodded my head nervously as he spun me around in the chair. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor once I saw my reflection in the mirror. God, these people could work wonders.

My plump pink lips caught the reflection of the lights in the salon and looked utterly kissable, my complexion looked incredibly youthful, no signs at all of the tiredness which had seemed to take up residence there not hours ago. Thick lashes so long they nearly touched my brows rimmed my chocolate eyes and as for my hair… Wow. It was nearly as black as Trey’s, sleek and glossy, poofed up for some added height on the crown and falling perfectly straight down to my elbows.

“Wow, you, Carlo, are a miracle worker,” I stuttered out, still unable to tear my gaze away from the mirror.

I felt totally rejuvenated, like a brand spanking new improved model of my former self. After thanking Carlo and the rest of his team for their hard work, I paid and made a mental note to thank Freddy later; after all he’d probably have a heart attack when he got the Trey through.

When I stepped outside, it was starting to get dark. The streets were still incredibly busy though, full of people just getting off from work.

The phone in the back pocket of my jeans starting buzzing and I pulled it out to check who it was. My face instantly lit up at the name on the screen. I opened the text to see what he wanted.

-From
Trey:

-Hey, Sugar! Are you busy? Could you come meet me at the park, I need to ask you something… xo

I scrunched my nose up at the text. What did he have to ask me that was so important I had to trail all the way to the park to meet him?

              It was practically pitch black outside by the time I’d navigated my way to the park. Something fishy was going on; this wasn’t like Trey to haul me all the way out to some park in the evening to ask some stupid question. Yeah, he was definitely up to something.

The park was still and quiet as I walked through the entrance and continued along the path, trying to look out for Trey as I went. It was funny, to have a little lush green sanctuary like this in the middle of such hectic, cosmopolitan city. It was incredibly peaceful, tranquil even.

The stars burned away furiously in the sky as the moonlight shone down and illuminated the path along which I was walking. Every now and then I’d steal a glance at the bright, glowing embers nestled deep within night time folds of darkness.

My phone started going off in my pocket, again. I pulled it out and answered the call whilst continuing on my way through the avenues of tall trees, blowing gently in the mild breeze.

“Hello?”

<”Hey, Sugar, are you here yet?”>

“Yeah, where are you, I can’t find you?

<”Don’t worry, I’m here. Just follow the balloons.”>

I didn’t even have time to answer before Trey hung up. Follow the balloons? What the hell was he on about? This was so stupid, I was tired and hungry and I wanted to go home but Trey wants me to follow balloons? Who does he think I am, Alice in Wonderland chasing after the white rabbit? I think not.

I stopped and took a good look around my surroundings. I couldn’t spot any balloons. This had better not be some wild goose chase, because quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood and my feet were killing me.