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Dante’s phone rang. He frowned at the screen. “Excuse me. I need to take this call.”
As he walked away, Annabelle squeezed Lacey’s hand. “What’s next? Paris? Milan? New York?”
Lacey groaned. “I don’t know. My producer and publicist are working on booking other events. We’ll see. But what about you? Have you heard anything yet?”
Annabelle nodded. “Right before we arrived, Daddy called and said the board voted to install me as the next CEO.”
Lacey’s eyes widened, and she squealed. She pulled Annabelle into a hug. “Oh my goodness, that’s wonderful! It’s a great night for both of us.”
Annabelle nodded.
Lacey lowered her voice. “Any update on Dante’s meeting with Nolson?”
Annabelle glanced over her shoulder. He was talking on the phone, head bent in an intense conversation. “They have lunch together next week. Keep your fingers crossed everything goes well.”
Lacey’s eyes sparkled with interest. “You sound way more invested than I would have expected. How are things between the two of you?”
“Our relationship is better, actually. Much better,” Annabelle admitted.
“But…?”
She glanced over her shoulder again to make sure Dante wasn’t approaching. “I feel as if we’re back to what we were doing when we first got married. Sure the sex is great, but…”
“Great sex is not a bad thing.”
“I know,” Annabelle said with a laugh, “but…”
“You want more,” Lacey guessed.
She nodded, then her skin flushed with embarrassment. “This isn’t the time or place to have this conversation.”
Lacey touched her arm. “Can I give you some advice—coming from someone who is terrible in relationships and doesn’t have a man at the moment? Remember a few years ago when my parents separated?”
Annabelle nodded.
“You know what saved them from divorce? They started dating again. Maybe that’s what’s missing. You work, you have sex. You work, you have sex again. You attend events like this, but are you connecting in other ways?”
Her friend had a point, but how was she supposed to bring up the topic to Dante? They weren’t supposed to be having sex in the first place, though he’d told her in no uncertain terms that they would. This wasn’t supposed to be a real marriage, and in less than a year, they were going their separate ways.
“I’ll think about what you said,” she told Lacey.
The fashion show producer approached. “Lacey, we have some people who want to talk to you.”
Lacey hesitated.
“Go. I’m fine,” Annabelle said.
Her friend pulled her into another hug. “Thanks again for coming. We’ll catch up later.”
“Definitely.”
Lacey rushed off, and Annabelle started toward Dante at the back of the auditorium.
24
“Careful,” Annabelle said, as movers brought her lavender sofa into what used to be her father’s office.
Clifton had officially resigned from the position of CEO, though he remained in an advisory role for the next six months while Annabelle became acclimated to her new position.
