“I mean, should I tell him yes?”
“Hell yes! What’s wrong with you? He’s good looking, he’s rich, and he likes you. I mean, what could it hurt?”
What could it hurt?
I finish at the event center and I decide I need to go back to my office to call the flower shop and just make sure everything is set and ready to go. I grab my things and start for the door. Just as I’m pushing on the door, Shepard is coming in.
“Oh, hey. I thought you left,” I say, stopping outside to talk to him.
“No, I’ve just been on the phone with New York.” He rolls his eyes. “Are you taking off for the day?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m going to go back to my office and follow up on a few things.”
He nods. “Well, don’t forget to think about that date.” He smirks and shoots me a wink before opening the door and stepping inside.
I let out a long breath, shake my head, and push myself forward.
I get in my car with a smile on my face. I can’t help it. Just the fact that Shepard Billings is being so persistent about asking me out makes me smile. I mean, who doesn’t want a sexy billionaire asking them out? As I drive to my office, I can see our lives playing out. We could live in his new cabin and have our own little quiet lives here. We could travel the world together, making memories, and falling in love over and over. That all seems too good to be true, so I force the thoughts from my head.
I arrive at my office and I let myself in. I drop my things on my desk and then make myself comfortable to get some phone calls out of the way. I call the flower shop, the catering company, and the band I hired just to confirm that everything is still going smoothly and is still in place. We only have a week until the event and I don’t want any surprises.
Everyone says they have everything they need, and promise to deliver. The invitations have already been approved by Shepard and they’ve been sent out. People should receive them any day now. I lean back in my chair and let out a long breath. Everything is done. All I gotta do is make sure the party goes off without a hitch, and I’m home free.
After going over everything, I decide to head out for some lunch. I go by the local pizza place, order a slice of pizza and a salad, and head back to my office to eat since I hate eating in public alone. The day finally begins to wind down and, with nothing left to do, I call it an early day, opting to go home and spoil myself for all my hard work.
I plan a jacuzzi bath with bubbles and candles, wine, soft music, maybe a good book, and off to bed early. I can’t wait until this party is over and all the added stress of planning such a big event goes away. I miss my small birthday parties and wedding receptions. There’s not as much to do.
My night ends quietly, just like I wanted it, and I’m in bed and fast asleep by nine.
Chapter Ten
SHEPARD
Iwake up bright and early and head to town. I still can’t get my mind off Destiny, and I wonder if she has any plans of coming by the event center today. I’m already dying to see her even though I just saw her yesterday. I spent last night alone, and again, I thought of her the entire time. I even thought about calling her and asking her out, but I don’t want to seem desperate.
I stop by the bakery like usual and I’m surprised to see her car parked outside. I head in and find her standing in line. I step up to her side just as she moves to the counter and I cut her off, ordering for the both of us.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” she says as I’m handing over the money to pay for our items.
I smile. “Good morning, Destiny. Fancy seeing you here.”
She laughs. “Yeah, nobody would ever peg me for filling up on caffeine in the morning,” she jokes.
“Do you have some time?”
“Time for what?” she asks, arching only one brow.
“Time to sit and have breakfast with me.”
“Oh,” she breathes out, seemingly confused.
“It’s not a difficult question. Either you have time or you don’t.”
Her gaze sharpens, probably from my bluntness. “I have some time,” she confesses.
“Very well.” I take the items we ordered and carry them over to a nearby table. We sit across from each other. I hand her a cup of coffee and the bowl of oatmeal she ordered, and I keep my coffee and breakfast sandwich. “So, what did you do last night? I came by the office, but you’d already closed up.”
Destiny nods as she takes the lid off her oatmeal and begins stirring it. “I got all the confirmations I needed, so I took the afternoon off. I went home and took a long hot bath with bubbles, candles, wine, and soft music. I was so relaxed after that that I ended up in bed by nine,” she laughs. “What did you do?”
