Lucian Divine(67)

I WOKE UP to my phone ringing at eight sharp. It was my mom.

“I’m clear. No cancer. Nothing. Just some benign, old lady crap.”

I rubbed my face. “You’re not old, Mom, but geez, I’m so relieved.”

“Do you want to do brunch? You can tell me about the interview.”

“I don’t think I’m going to get the job. Just fair warning,” I said, before rolling out of bed and heading to the kitchen to make coffee. Spotting a framed picture of Laura and me in Rome, I rolled my eyes. What a waste of seven years.

“Why don’t you think you’ll get the job?” she asked.

“Just haven’t felt lucky lately.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not about luck.”

“I’m grateful for the good news I’ve already gotten today. Nothing could ruin that. Believe me, even if I don’t get this job, I’ll consider this a good day.”

“Okay, honey, well, you’ll keep trying if you don’t. Let’s go have a good meal. I feel revived.”

I was smiling when I left my apartment to meet my mother. My phone started buzzing from my pocket. It was Bradley from the design firm. My heart sank a little, but I pulled it together, popped into an alley, cleared my throat, and answered.

“Hello, Lucian Bertrand.”

“We all want you on our team. It was unanimous.”

“You’re kidding?” I tried to keep my voice steady as I acted like a teenage girl, jumping up and down in the alley.

“No, we’re not kidding at all. We’d like you to start Monday. How do you feel about that?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Great, we’ll see you then.”

I almost hung up but caught myself and said, “Bradley, thank you so much! I’m truly psyched about this job.”

“We know. Your talent was enough, but it was your enthusiasm that sold us all. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

I went skipping into the restaurant, and my mother knew. She jumped out of her seat. “You got it, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“I told you.” She cupped my face. “Good things always happen in threes.”

We were laughing as we took our seats. “You said it’s not about luck. Was number one Laura breaking it off with me?”

She smiled. “No, number one was that I am cancer-free. Number two was that you landed the job.”

“And number three?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” She winked. “Keep your heart open.”

After brunch, I walked my mom home and then headed back up to the Mission. On my way, I passed a magazine rack. Browsing the design magazines, I felt an excitable presence next to me.

“Oh my God, is it here?” she asked.

Glancing over, my eyes met hers. She smiled, warmth radiating from her chocolate eyes.

“Hi,” I said, a bit awestruck by her unique beauty.

“Hi. Sorry, do you mind? Can I squeeze in here and grab that?” It was a copy of Vogue.

“Of course,” I said. “Although I can’t actually say I’ve ever seen a person this excited over the latest copy of Vogue.”

She laughed, and it sounded like music. “That’s because my denim line is featured in it. Here it is! Ah!” She pointed at a page where some model was wearing Divine jeans.

“That’s your line?” I looked up from the magazine quickly, realizing I couldn’t take my eyes off of her for more than a second. I didn’t want her to leave. I was having eight thousand feelings all at once.

“Yes!” she said with so much excitement, it was contagious.

“That’s amazing.” I stuck out my hand. “I’m Lucian.”

“Interesting name,” she said.

“My mom got it from a romance novel.”

She laughed. “I’m Evey.”

When we shook hands, we shocked each other. We both pulled back. It was a spark.

Keep your heart open, Lucian. “We’re electric together,” I said.

“You’re very confident. Not unlike those typical romance heroes.”

“You’re very perceptive.”

“I’ve been told.”

“So I’m not usually one to brag, but I sort of landed my dream job today, and you… you’re in Vogue magazine. I think a celebration is in order. Want to grab a drink?”

“Yes! A hundred percent,” she said.

She literally jumped into my arms and hugged me, and it didn’t feel weird at all.





YOU KNOW WHEN you meet someone, and you feel like you’ve know them your whole life, even though you know you’ve never once laid eyes on each other? That was how I felt with Lucian. No one could forget a face like his. He was gorgeous, exotic, with this French creamy skin and longish black hair and blue eyes. His smile was warm, and his personality made him instantly approachable.

We went out to dinner and celebrated on the first night we met. Halfway through the night, I had forgotten whether we were celebrating our career accomplishments or celebrating the fact that we had met each other.

“Tell me everything about you,” he’d said.