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“I... Yes, of course. I’m already here actually.”
“Great. The storm delay caused a shuffle on our end, which is why I’m now attending, so I thought I’d verify.”
“Right.” Cara had been reduced to monosyllables. Not an auspicious start to...whatever this was. “What is the purpose of the meeting, if I may ask?”
“Well, it’s a little preliminary, but our focus at Ever After is changing. We’d like to discuss the possibility of featuring your dresses in our stores. I saw your name on the vendor list for the Expo and since I’d never heard of you, I looked up your work. I’m very impressed.”
The phone slipped from Cara’s hand and she scrambled to pick it up. “Thank you,” she squawked, her heart galloping a mile a minute.
Tropical storm Mark’s trajectory over the island had proved to be a blessing in disguise.
“Seems like fate that we’ll be in the same place this week. I hope you’ll be able to give me a few minutes of your time.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Cara ended the call and sat there, dazed, for a moment. Then she leaped to her feet.
Keith. She had to tell him.
She couldn’t wait to see that killer smile bloom when she announced the news. Oh, sure, the deal with Ever After could fall through, but still. Someone with real clout in the wedding industry praised her designs and wanted to meet with her. As a potential business partner.
The meeting alone made Cara Chandler-Harris Designs real in a way that she hadn’t experienced yet. Up until now, it had almost felt like a hobby that happened to net her some cash and afforded her a fun way to do it. But Ever After Boutiques was the big time, exactly the kind of attention she’d hoped to attract by participating in the expo.
Keith would congratulate her and say he was proud. Then he’d tell her it was sexy that she’d made a career out of her design business.
Laughing like a loon, she dashed through the pool area, nearly running smack into Meredith.
“Whoa.” Her sister put up her hands, tottering back on her stilettos until she regained her balance. “Where’s the fire?”
“Oh, I have the best news.” Breathless, she started to skirt Meredith, hoping Keith was still in his office. Okay, that was probably not a very good locale for a conversation, actually...
“Well?” With a cheeky grin, Meredith jammed a hand on her hip. And waited.
Eyes wide, Cara stared at her. “Well, what?”
“Don’t make me beg. What is it?”
It finally dawned on her. Meredith thought Cara had been looking for her to share the news. “Oh. I was actually on my way—”
She swallowed the rest before she admitted out loud that she’d wanted to share this triumph with Keith first. Before her sister, who was also her best friend. And her assistant. “Never mind.”
“Never mind you’re not going to tell me? That’s not fair. You got me all excited for nothing.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal,” she lied. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her sister’s feelings. “I just got word of a potential proposition for my dresses that I need to discuss with Keith. Because he offered to advise me on my business plan.”
That last part may have come out a little too rushed, but it was true. And it was better than admitting she’d never even once thought of telling Meredith.
“Uh-huh.” A knowing light glinted in Meredith’s gaze. “You’ve got it bad, sister.”
The joy of having someone who could read her so well. Cara sighed. “I do not.”
That was such a lie she couldn’t even keep a straight face as she delivered it.
As wake-up calls went, it was not pleasant. When exactly had she fallen off the sex-and-nothing-else wagon?
Well, she should climb back on, stat.
Hooking arms with Meredith, she reversed course and returned with her sister to their room, chatting up the call with Nick Anderson. Keith would never find out she’d accidentally started thinking of him as someone to share things with.
She deliberately stayed away from Keith the rest of the day. Fortuitous, since she made significant progress on the critical tasks for the fashion show in two days. She also got a lot of practice at squelching the ache inside that she feared meant she missed Keith.
At nine o’clock, the expected text message from the man in question arrived, inviting her to his room. Period. No further explanation, as if he knew she’d come running when he called.
