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Gherring chuckled. “No, I’ve never won. Well, I’ve won my age division, but that doesn’t count.”
Anne shook her head. “I don’t see how you find the time to train.”
“It’s pretty easy when you don’t have any obligations outside of work and a few required social events. And honestly, I don’t sleep all that much.”
Anne felt a pang of sympathy. She’d forgotten how alone Steven Gherring was. She had to find a match for this man. He really was sweet, even if he was a little controlling of her personal life. If he had a wife, he wouldn’t worry so much about his PA. “I think it’s pretty amazing you do Iron Man competitions,” she declared with a smile.
“It’s just a hobby,” Gherring said, but he looked pleased. And he hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on either, not that Anne was complaining.
Saturday afternoon found Anne down at Binding Books, the small bookstore where she knew Ellen worked. She’d run into the girl two more times since the first day they’d met on the subway, and she’d seemed starved for the older-sister companionship she found in Anne. They’d agreed to meet for a late lunch on Saturday. Anne found Ellen in the back of the small store, sorting through some used books.
“Anne.” Ellen’s eyes lit up. “Let me tell my boss I’m taking lunch. I’ve got so much to tell you.”
“I love your store, and Emily will really love this place. I’ll have to bring the girls here when they come next weekend. You’ve even got rare books. Awesome.”
“Yep, it’s pretty cool. But I’m hoping I won’t have to work here forever.”
As they walked out of the store and down the street toward a small pizza place, Ellen bubbled with excitement. “I got a part in a play! I have the lead role—I’m Jane and the play is called Rainbow Junction. It’s way, way, way off Broadway. Really low budget. But it’s a start. And if we get noticed and get some publicity, then we could maybe move closer to Broadway. It’s a musical, so I get to sing. And the music is great.”
“I’m so happy for you. Congratulations. When does it start?”
“We rehearse a lot for the next five weeks, and then we’re on. Actually, the rest of the group has been rehearsing already, but their lead got diagnosed with vocal nodes and had to quit suddenly. They didn’t have an understudy, so they had new tryouts for the role, and I got it.”
“Wow, that’s great. I knew you could do it.”
“Ha! You’ve never even seen me act or heard me sing.”
“Yes, but I’ve been told I can see deep into your soul.” Anne laughed.
“And who told you that?”
“Henri told me. He’s such a flirt.”
“Is that the cute French guy you met on Monday?”
“Yes, but a lot has happened since then. Last night he took me to this big gala Gherring Inc. throws every year. In fact, there were reporters at the party last night. I bet the society page has his picture. You won’t believe what a hunk this guy is. I can’t even believe he asked me to go.”
Ellen took out her iPad and pulled up the society report. “Let’s see… Friday night. Okay, it mentions the gala… Let’s look at the pictures. What does he look like?”
“Dark hair, green eyes, and hot,” said Anne.
“Wow!” cried Ellen. “Here’s your picture.”
“My picture? Me and Henri?”
“The first one is you with Steven Gherring. The second one is you with some other hottie—must be Henri. He is gorgeous.” Ellen licked her lips.
“That picture with Gherring must be from Tuesday night. Why is it in today’s report? Let me see…”
Ellen read aloud. “The caption says, ‘Desolated by Steven Gherring, Anne—the Angel from Texas—lands in the arms of Henri DuBois.’” She turned to look at Anne. “Honey, you’ve got som
e explaining to do.”
“Jeepers! Is there anything written about us in the article?”
“Hmmm, let’s see…” Ellen searched the article. “Yep, here it is. Henri DuBois, one of France’s most sought-after bachelors, announced his date for the evening was ‘Anne, my angel from Texas.’ The mystery angel may have fallen from the arms of Steven Gherring, with whom she was seen earlier in the week at the Gershwin Theater.”
“Oh no! I can’t believe they put that in the report. I hope Mr. Gherring doesn’t read the society section. He’ll be sooooo ticked.”
