AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His sincere tone struck a chord in Kelly, and she was embarrassed now that she’d dragged him into her drama.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m also sorry for pulling you into my personal issues. It was very unprofessional.”
“Kelly, I had already crossed that line the first time we met by flirting with you. I like to think we’ve become friends these last few weeks, and friends help each other out.” He stood up once more and chucked her under the chin. “And now that we’ve made this fantastically awkward, I have in this folder Julie’s choice of bridesmaid’s dresses. She wanted to convey that she would love to have you as part of her bridal party, but having seen the dresses, I must advise that you run.”
Kelly chuckled and reached for the folder. She had stopped being a part of weddings years ago, but with her company hanging on a tight rope, she couldn’t afford to alienate the few friends she had left.
“Tell Julie I would love to be in her wedding.”
“You better look at the dress before you agree. It’s hashtag hideous, as the kids are saying these days.”
Kelly opened the folder, her eyes traveling over the very orange ruffled dress and laughed.
“I’m in. Maybe I can convince her to go with something in periwinkle.”
“That’s blue, right?” Hank asked.
“Yes.”
“I like blue better than orange, but we’ll come back to that. Check out these flower bouquets she sent me.”
Kelly stood up and glanced down at the photographs he laid out of bouquets, center pieces, and boutonnieres. All of them had painted roses in an array of colors that would have made a rainbow jealous.
“Your sister’s a bit of a unicorn, isn’t she?”
“You mean she likes bright colors and is unique? Yes, she is.”
As they smiled at each other, Kelly covered his hand with hers. “Thank you for being my friend, Hank.”
Hank stayed for an hour, going through the rest of the binder until they had a plan. After he left, Kelly sat down at her desk and let the dam of tears loose. She needed the release and let herself go for several moments until they began to slow.
Calm once more, she wiped at her eyes with Kleenex. When her vision was clear, she spotted the flowers Chris had brought her. His apology flowers.
She hadn’t meant to lie about her I love you, but on top of everything else, she hadn’t wanted to scare him away with unnecessary pressure. She needed him right now. Not just professionally, but as her friend and her lover.
Chris had stayed with her over the weekend until Saturday night, bringing little Fungi, who was completely cured and starting to grow his hair back. When his guy from LA had called, Chris had asked her to watch his kitten while he went to help his PI. Kelly had been on pins and needles waiting on a phone call or text from him, giving her any kind of update. Besides the check-ins and I miss you texts, though, she had heard very little from him.
Which made her think that things were not going well.
Her cell phone rang, and she came around the desk to answer. The screen flashed with Chris’s smiling face holding Fungi, and she hurried to slide her thumb across the screen.
“Hey.”
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“How are you? Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah, we did.”
Knee weakening relief rushed through her and she sank into her office chair. “You have no idea how good that is to hear. Are you going to tell me who it was?”
“Not yet. I need you to do me a favor first.”
“Anything.”
“Call Teresa Valdez and her fiancée and ask them to come down to your office tomorrow afternoon.”
Kelly worried her bottom lip. “What if I can’t get them here? As far as I know, they left town. They aren’t even talking to Veronica.”
