The Perfect Someday (A standalone novel ~ Book three in The Mathews Family) by Beverly Preston

blush and break out into a sweat right in the middle of the bedding section.
    Tr acy checked her phone regularly waiting to hear Giovanni’s voice. However, after days of still no phone call, regularity turned to obsession. Every time it rang, her heart spurred into frantic beats, hoping it would be him. She persistently tapped it, shook it and began waking up in the middle of the night to check it for missed calls. Her phone began to feel like a leech, sucking the life out of her.
    “Hey. Would you mind calling me to make sure my cell works.”
    Tracy hadn’t talked to JC since she got home. Her sister flew straight to Malibu from Greece for her first big modeling gig. Their stepdad , Tom hooked her up with an agent and she immediately landed a multi ad contract with a top athletic corporation.
    “Well, you just called me , so it seems to be working just fine.” JC snickered sarcastically through a painful groan.
    “I can call out just fine, but I’m not sure if I’m getting incoming calls.”
    “Okay. I’ll call you right back.” There was a long silence followed by a guttural exhale. “Have you heard from the Italian?”
    “No t yet.” Tracy tucked the phone in between her jaw and shoulder. “What are you grunting for?”
    “I’m working out . I only have a few weeks before the shoot and apparently my trainer hates me.” She grumbled humorously at her trainer’s complaints.
    Tracy smiled, impressed with her little sister ’s devotion to her new job, but couldn’t hide the melancholy in her tone. “I’m sure you’ll need to spend countless hours burning off calories. Just teasing, good luck with the shoot.”
    “H e’ll call.” Empathy cut through a small sigh, dimming her conviction a bit.
    The memories of the night spent with Giovanni hid in her soul, lurking like a dark shadow cast over her heart. His hands skimmed over her skin when she closed her eyes at night. Tracy found the dreams of his warm caress comforting at first, but hurt and humiliation always followed. Shame soon turned to anger. She was furious at herself for falling for a man she barely knew and at Giovanni for hurting her so deeply.
    Pathetically, rage manipulated its way into worry, and she wondered if something happened to him that night. Was he in an accident? Did he fall and hit his head? Is he even alive?  Tears soaked her pillowcase as she prayed nothing horrific happened to him, but five minutes later she wanted to scream. Tracy tossed and turned, flopping from one side to the other, fluffing her pillow. The more excuses she allowed her mind to conjure up, the angrier she got. Before she realized it, she pounded her fist into the pillow. Unleashing emotions on the dense material gave new meaning to the term memory foam.
    JC called several times over the next few weeks to check on her, but seeing the familiar name on the screen only darkened Tracy’s mood. Painful longing wedged a spike inside her heart. She should’ve been thankful for her sister’s advice, but strangely she wished she’d never listened to her sister and had stayed with Giovanni.
    Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Her world tipped off kilter and she lost the desire to do anything, barely crawling out of bed to attend classes. Even her job at the library annoyed her. People, happy couples, dug deep under her skin souring her attitude about everything.
    The fact that she had to pass by the observatory every day in order to get to work didn’t help matters either. All the stars in the night sky seemed to fall from the heavens, dimming the luster of life going on all around her. Tracy knew it was stupid and silly to be so miserable, but no matter what she did, the hurt remained.
     
    ****
     
    The only ray of happiness that shined over Tracy the next few months was the birth of her nephews, Richard and Thomas. An early winter snowstorm prevented her from making it to Las Vegas for the delivery of her brother’s twins, but she couldn’t