AllFreeNovel
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Stepping out of the bedroom wearing my new dress and shoes, I find Chase sitting on the couch, waiting for me. He’s dressed in a tuxedo, and looks delicious. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice our bags are packed and ready by the door. His eyes find mine, and his breath hitches.
“Whoa, Olivia, you look amazing,” he murmurs.
“A tux, Chase? Where are we going?”
Standing, he saunters over, pulling me into his arms. “You’ll see when we get there.”
“What’s with the packed bags?”
“It’ll be late when we leave where we’re going, so I’m having a car drive us straight to the airport.” He looks me up and down. “God, the way you look, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Then let’s stay here,” I goad, earning a growl from low in his throat.
“No,
we’ll have plenty of time for that later,” he whispers. Releasing me, he picks up two boxes off the end table and hands me one. “I thought you would complement these nicely,” he says, smiling.
Opening the square box, I find the most exquisite necklace I’ve ever seen. It’s white gold, I think, with three flowers made of diamonds centered on the chain.
“Ohmigod! Chase! This is gorgeous, and obviously ridiculously expensive. I can’t accept this!”
“Of course you can. Here, let me.” He reaches for the necklace, placing it on my neck. “Look. It was made for you.”
Walking over to the mirror by the door, I look at the necklace around my neck. It is the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen.“Where did you get this? I don’t recognize the box.”
“Van Cleef and Arpels.” Standing behind me, he hands me the other box. “You can’t wear a necklace without a pair of earrings,” he breathes. Opening it, I find a pair of diamond-clustered earrings that match the necklace perfectly.
Staring down at the box, I’m struck dumb. Regaining my composure, I manage to breathe out, “You’re insane.”
“Do you like them?” Pulling me into his arms, he runs his nose along the side of my neck.
“Like them? I love them! I’ve never owned anything so beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs against my skin. “Let’s go. There’s a car waiting downstairs.”
We arrive in front of a large brick building with tall, white Grecian columns and a red carpet leading to the entrance. In front, a crowd has gathered, all similarly dressed in evening gowns and tuxedoes. I get the feeling this is going to be an extravagant evening.
Chase motions for me to stay put as he gets out of the car. Coming around to my side, he opens my door and helps me out.
Taking my hand, he leads me into the building down the long red carpet. “Where are we?” I ask.
“The Boston Symphony Orchestra Gala. They have it every year,” he answers.
As we stroll down the red carpet, a photographer stops us and motions for us to stand in front of a screen. Sensing my reticence, Chase firmly places his arm around my waist and pulls me close. “Smile for the camera,” he whispers in my ear. After several flashes, we’re released and the photographer goes after his next victims.
Upon entering the hall, we proceed through a long corridor which empties into a tremendous room. There are raised boxes along both sides of the wall with rows of seats. Where chairs would have been is now a series of tables set with fine china and crystal. The tables alternate from long and rectangular to small and round. The rectangular tables are dressed in all white with silver accents; the round tables are bright red with gold floral accents. The stemware on each table repeat the color scheme.
Chase escorts me to one of the round tables smack in the center of the room, sandwiched in between two rectangular ones. It’s relatively small for a dinner table, surrounded with six red and gold chairs.
“How did you know where we were sitting?”
“It’s the same table every year. Since my brother and I both went to Harvard, my father has made several contributions to the arts here. We’ve attended this gala for quite a few years. There are different levels of donation and we chose to purchase a table. It’s the same table every year.”
“So, you come every year?”
“No, not every year. My father will give tickets to friends if they’re going to be in the area, or we’ll donate them.”
“Wow, that’s nice of you.”
