“Love you too, dear.”
Waving over his shoulder, Shaz walked away—toward his successful business, his husband, and life. Some people would call Shaz lucky, but luck had little to do with it. It was talent, hard work, and a kind and loving spirit. The fact that Shaz loved him and believed in him gave Ru hope for his future. Of course, Shaz’s basic goodness attracted good to him. Me? Not so good.
A half hour later, he’d gotten all the clothing back on its racks, and Shaz’s helpers loaded it into vans to return to their building on Ocean Avenue. Ru sipped champagne with a group of big contributors.
A slim California-blonde lady wearing expensive clothes far too old for her pressed her business card into his hand. “I loved your clothes, Ru. I could pick yours out instantly. And that wedding gown? God. I’d think of marrying again just to get to wear it.”
Helena Atchison, the head of the Playhouse Foundation, came up beside him. “Pardon me, ladies. May I borrow you for a minute, Ru?”
He made his apologies and stepped away with her. “How do you think it went?”
“Brilliantly. So much money raised for research.” She sipped her champagne and gave him an appraising look. “I have a proposition for you I hope will intrigue you.”
“I’m fascinated already.” He grinned.
“In three months we’re celebrating the anniversary of the Playhouse. We’re having a special performance of Hamlet. We were wondering if you’d consider designing the costumes?”
He blew out his breath. “Historical. Not exactly my forte, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, but you see, we plan to reset the play in a contemporary fantasy setting. Real-world, but over the top. You would have carte blanche to design anything you wanted.”
He stuck a hand on his hip and the other behind his head. “And you know I’m the master of over the top.” She laughed. He sobered. “It’s very tempting, and sounds like great fun, but it would be a huge commitment of time. I’m designing my first collection for Fashion Week, and a lot of people have invested in me. I can’t let them down.”
“Yes, I understand. That must be a big undertaking.” She sipped her wine again and gave him a sideways look. “But the event will be very high profile. I’m sure it will attract press and reviewers from all over California. It will probably get national attention. It would be great exposure.”
He smiled and tried not to look skeptical. The Playhouse was popular and respected, but hardly Broadway. “I’m sure it will be a great event.”
She pounced. “That’s an understatement. You see, we’ve secured a commitment from Gray Anson as our Hamlet.”
Ru’s whole chest froze. Heart quit. Balls tied in knots. “I, uh, I see.”
“Surprise! Isn’t it amazing?” She clapped her hands over her chest. “The world’s greatest action hero performs Hamlet. God, who wouldn’t come to see him?”
“Yes.” Say something intelligent. “I certainly want to see him.” No dummy, don’t say that. “I mean, I’ll be looking forward to the performance.”
She looked in her wineglass and ran a finger around the rim. “Of course, if you’re supplying costumes, you’ll see every rehearsal you want to see as well as have VIP seats at the performance.”
Oh sweet Jesus, he shouldn’t. He couldn’t. But what amazing exposure. He relaxed the muscles of his face and beamed. “You must know I wear my rue with a difference.”
She laughed at the allusion to the famous line of Ophelia’s.
Something like white noise hissed in his ears. The words rushed out on a long stream of breath. “Ah, I fear you’ve twisted my arm. I’d be honored to design the costumes.”
“Bravo! I can’t wait to tell the board. I have your e-mail. I’ll contact you about a good time for a planning meeting.”
“Uh, what’s the date of the performance?”
“July 11 begins the one-week run. That’s all we could get Gray for—although we may extend the show with a different actor in the lead for the balance of the summer. It would be a shame to go to all that work for just one week.”
“When will I have the, uh, actors? You know, for fittings and—” He waved a hand. “—inspiration.”
She grinned. Maybe she’d caught on to more than he’d like. “You can have most of them anytime. One or two will be harder to book since they’re playing out of town. Gray we get off and on throughout the time, which is actually a lot considering he’s worth about a gazillion dollars a day. Honestly, I think he’s a little nervous about taking on such an iconic role. Anyway, you’ll have to work off measurements and photographs a lot, but I’m sure, like most of us, you know exactly what he looks like.” She sighed audibly, and Ru tried not to join her. “Sound doable?”
He knew what Gray looked like down to a butt hair in the dark. He nodded and attempted breathing.
She gave him a hug. “Guess I’ll see you at the Playhouse.” She walked back to her guests.
Half his brain wanted to go screaming to everyone, but half wanted to keep it quiet. Shaz would see through him in seconds, and Shaz and Billy had invested a lot in Ru’s Fashion Week collection. While the play would be huge publicity, it would also be a huge distraction. A Gray Anson-sized distraction. Ru shivered. No. Better to stay mum for a little while—until he figured out how to break the news.
After shaking a lot more hands, he took off out of the Playhouse and walked down Broadway toward the ocean. The moon hung low in the spring sky. He loved the walk, especially on Art Walk nights. And especially when he wanted to dream about Gray Anson. The idea of meeting the man, touching him, gripped his brain somewhere between ecstasy and terror. His cock, on the other hand, had no such confusion.
Ahead of him the shops glistened with lights, and people clustered around the doors with wineglasses. He sauntered down Forest, where most of the real shopping occurred, and stopped in to his favorite men’s clothing store. Yes, it was coals to Newcastle, but he loved clothing in all its permutations. Ru grabbed a sauvignon blanc and browsed through the wonderful collection of dress shirts—blue stripes with white collar and cuffs, teal and gold stripes, even a pink polka dot with black collar and cuffs. Brilliant. When the owner, Herman, finally puttered over, Ru thrust three of the shirts, including the polka dots, at him. “Mine, darling. Wrap them up.”
Herman stepped back. “Look at you. What a masterpiece. That suit is heaven. Did you design it?”
“Yes.” Ru ran his hands down the deep teal gabardine suit with its tight jacket and floppy-legged pants. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t have time for men’s commissions, but I just adapted it from a woman’s style I created.”
“Who else could carry it off? And the suspenders add that zoot-suit touch. Just great.” He carefully folded the shirts in tissue and slid them into a bag. “Did the event go well?”
“Wonderfully, I’m told. Lots of money for AIDS research.”
“And lots of good exposure for you, I hope.”
Ru smiled. What would Herman say if he knew about Gray Anson?
He paid and carried his bag out onto the sidewalk, turned right toward the ocean again, and pointed his nose toward home. Art Walk was almost over, and some of the shops had already closed.