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Elizabeth really could have used her parents’ support. A year ago she’d lost her sister, brother-in-law and niece. The ache of the loss rarely left her, but the pain had eased over the past twelve months. She no longer had days where it was nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning, but not a day went by when she didn’t see or hear something and pick up the phone to dial her sister. And now, it looked like she’d be spending Thanksgiving and the anniversary of their death alone.
Damn. Tears piled up in her eyes. She blinked away the moisture and willed the elevator to arrive. Already she was running late for her evening with Roark. He was expecting her at his loft in ten minutes. She’d give just about anything to be heading home.
They’d been out every night this week. Dinner with friends. A launch party for a socialite’s shoe line. A special gala to raise money for diabetes research. And last night, he’d taken her to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.
Anywhere and everywhere they could be seen together.
As the elevator deposited her on the first floor, Elizabeth pulled out her phone and dialed Roark’s number to let him know she was on her way at last. For a man who claimed to prefer an unfettered personal life, he’d demonstrated a protective streak.
At some point in the past fifteen minutes since she’d looked outside, a snowstorm had kicked up outside. Fat, quarter-sized flakes drifted down. If she hadn’t been so darned tired, she might have enjoyed the beautiful scene. Instead, all she saw was the traffic snarled on the street before her. Catching a cab was going to be harder than she expected.
Flinching at the damage she was about to do to her favorite pair of shoes, Elizabeth pushed open the door and was surprised to see Roark’s driver heading her way.
“Good evening, Miss Minerva.”
“Hello, Fred.” At the warmth of his smile, her throat tightened and tears sprang to her eyes. She was obviously more tired and overwrought than she thought.
“Mr. Black sent me to fetch you. He thought you might have trouble catching a cab tonight.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I was just thinking that exact thing.”
They’d agreed to meet at his loft tonight rather than have him pick her up at work. Until her day fell apart, she’d hoped to get out at three, go home and grab an hour’s sleep before heading out for tonight’s clubbing.
“Can you take me to my apartment so I can change?”
“Mr. Black requested I bring you to him directly.”
And so she was being kidnapped. Elizabeth settled back into the comfortable leather and watched the city slide past her window. The slow journey lulled her into closing her eyes. The sound of Fred’s voice awakened her.
“We’re here, Miss Minerva.”
She covered a jaw-cracking yawn with a gloved hand and swung her feet onto the pavement. “Thanks.”
Groggy from her short nap, she half stumbled across the sidewalk and nodded to the doorman as she passed. When the elevator door opened, she was surprised to see Roark.
“You were supposed to leave work at three.”
Her heart thumped at his concern. She liked the way he worried about her. “Margo Hadwell is a demanding, difficult woman to plan a party for.”
He tugged her into the elevator and pushed the button to take them to his floor. “You work too hard.”
“I’m going to have to if I want Josie to make me a partner.”
“How did your meeting with her go today?”
Thanks to Roark, when she’d approached her boss about her future with Josie Summers’s Event Planning, Elizabeth had been ready to counter her boss’s speculation about Elizabeth’s surprise engagement.
“She swallowed our story that we met at a club the last time you were in New York, and that we had a whirlwind affair. How we fell in love by email. The roses you sent me after the Banks wine auction helped sell it.” Elizabeth grinned in triumph. “After that, I was able to keep her focused through my entire proposal. She agreed to bring me on as partner, but only if I land Green New York’s spring gala.”
Sponsored by the largest conservancy organization in the city, the gala was one of the must-attend events of the spring. Josie had pitched on it three years in a row without success. This year she’d challenged Elizabeth to do the impossible.
“Whatever introductions you need, let me know.”
“Thanks, but there’s more to winning the gala than just knowing the right people. I need to present the perfect proposal.”
“You can do it.”
Roark’s confidence in her abilities raised her spirits. He’d been so supportive, exactly the way she’d dreamed the man in her life would be. Only Roark wasn’t the man in her life. At least not in the traditional sense.
