Secret Silver Nights. Zuri Day
we meant it. But looks like a little sperm wiggled its way past my totally tied tube, joined forces with an errant egg and now Hunter and Cody are about to have a sibling.”
“Boy or girl?”
“Don’t know yet, but we’re hoping for the latter.”
“I’m happy for you, Em.”
“Thanks, Monique. But enough about me. What’s going on with you?”
“I guess you could say I’ve lost my mind, too. I took a leave from my job at the firm and am running for mayor.”
“Oh, my gosh! You’re running for mayor of Los Angeles?”
“Ha! My goals are lofty but not quite that high. It’s a small town of almost four thousand people in Northern California, called Paradise Cove.”
Silence. Crickets. For a full five seconds.
“Em?” Monique looked at her phone. “You still there?”
“I’m here. And this is the first time I’ve been speechless since Steve proposed to me at the top of a Six Flags roller coaster.” Monique could hear Emma bustling around and imagined that she chewed her lower lip, something her friend was prone to do when thinking. “Okay, first question. Where in the heck did you get such a cockamamy idea to quit your job and run for mayor, and secondly, where is Paradise Cove?”
“Long story short, it was my godfather’s dying wish. He ran for mayor twice and lost. During one of our last conversations before he passed, he asked if one day I’d give it a shot. To appease him I said yes, but didn’t take the request that seriously. Margo, my godmother, did. When the man who’s been mayor for the past twelve or more years decided not to run for reelection, she called and reminded me of my promise. Paradise Cove is a small yet impressive community in Northern California, a little more than an hour southeast of San Francisco.”
“What’s the name again?”
“Paradise Cove.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Because over the years it’s one I’ve probably mentioned a time or two as the place where Niko Drake was born and still resides.”
“Right.” The word came out slowly and dripped speculation. “Very interesting. Do tell me more.”
“Well, I established residency about a year ago and moved into my condo here a few months later.”
“A year ago? And you’re just now telling me?”
“I thought I’d sent a text saying I’d moved.”
“Yes, and that’s all it said. I assumed it was across town, not out of town, and certainly not to your heartthrob’s neck of the woods.”
Monique sighed. “I didn’t say anything more at first because I wasn’t sure I’d get the nomination. Once that looked likely, my hands were full with relocating, closing out or reassigning cases and the election. And, by the way, he’s not my heartthrob.”
Emma chuckled. “No worries, Mo. I totally understand. So you’re the Democratic candidate?”
“Yes, it’s official as of this past week. I ran a very secretive campaign until I locked up the ticket.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to secure the nomination before officially coming out, thereby enjoying the element of surprise.”
“Did it work?”
“For months I’ve been able to quietly campaign under the radar. Now that the announcement has been officially released in the town’s newspaper...we’ll see.”
“What about the man who you insist isn’t your heartthrob? Have you seen him?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I totally wanted to jump his bones, though I tried to appear unmoved.”
The women cracked up.
“It’s a very small town. I’ll be seeing quite a bit of him from now until the election in November.”
“Wait a minute. What does Rob think about all this? Did he move, too?”
“Well, that’s the other thing. We broke up.”
“No! From what you told me, he seemed like such a nice guy.”
“He is a very nice guy and will make someone a wonderful partner. Just not me.”
“What happened?”
“I loved him, Emma. But I wasn’t in love. Once I made the decision to move to Paradise Cove, I also decided to end a relationship that really wasn’t working.”
A few seconds passed. Monique imagined Emma was digesting this news. “Monique, are you sure that the breakup with Rob wasn’t because of your age-old crush on Niko?”
“Girl, I’ve already admitted he’s hot, but any type of infatuation dissipated a long time ago.”
“Hmm, if you say so.”
“I say so.”
“Your life is nothing if not interesting. Moves, breakups, running for office. Reconnecting with Niko sounds promising,” Emma cooed, with a smile in her voice. “Rob’s a nice guy, but Niko Drake is a really nice guy, and superhandsome to boot. You guys might even start dating.”
“Debating, not dating.”
“Why? Is he married?”
“Not as far as I know.”
“Then who knows what the future holds?”
“Niko is my opponent, Emma. He’s running for mayor, too.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“Earlier we held a debate. Our first in over ten years.” She filled her in on the morning’s impromptu meeting. “I must have been crazy to agree to this madness. May my godfather rest in peace.”
“Let’s not draw any hasty conclusions. This might be just the perfect setting to finally snag the man you’ve been in love with since college.”
“Emma White, stop the foolishness! I am not nor have I ever been in love with Niko Drake.”
“Is that why you’ve only dated a handful of guys since I’ve known you, and why you dragged poor Rob along for the past, what, three or four years?”
It was true. Monique and Rob Baldwin had met at a First Fridays event and bonded over lattes and shared political views. They’d begun dating not so much because Monique was head over heels but, well, because he was a good, decent man and because he was there. She no longer had to worry about who would escort her to office parties or industry events. She had someone with whom to share dinners, movies and occasional trips. He was safe and predictable, which up until Niko Drake had reentered her thoughts had suited her just fine. She’d never admit this truth, of course, not even to herself.
“Rob is a grown man. Had he been unhappy with our status, he could have left at any time.”
“Sounds like you were the unhappy one. But—” Monique heard a loud crash. “Monique, I’ve got to go. The boys staged their joust indoors, and once again, as I feared, my china has been the only thing defeated.”
“I don’t know how you do it. Let me let you go be mommy.”
“I will, but not before I give you what you called for even if it’s not what you asked for.”
“What’s that?”
“Sound advice.” Emma paused, and Monique found herself leaning toward the car’s speaker so as not to miss a single word. She shouldn’t have worried. There were only a few of them, delivered in