AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After her guest left, she’d figure out whether to call Scott or not. First, she needed to get through the interrogation her friend probably intended. “Please. I’ll be right out.”
Paige left her smartphone on the bed and grabbed the clean shorts off the top of her unfolded laundry basket. She always took a shower after work, but tonight it’d have to wait until after Clarissa left.
A tall glass of white sangria, her favorite kind, sat on the kitchen island when she reentered the kitchen. An identical glass sat in front of Clarissa as she sat nibbling on a brownie.
“Ambrosia makes the best stuff,” Clarissa said, pointing to the bakery box on the counter she’d grabbed the brownie from. “It’s a good thing there isn’t one a little closer to us or I’d be there every day.”
Paige agreed. Unfortunately, working in the city meant she could easily stop in several times a week. “I’m breaking into my stash of Favre chocolate tonight. Do you want any?” She didn’t offer her good chocolate to just anyone.
“Bad day?” Clarissa knew her well.
“Let’s say challenging.” Paige grabbed the candy from the cabinet above the stove.
For a moment Clarissa considered the offer, glancing at the chocolate Paige held before looking over at the bakery box again. “As tempting as it is, I’ll pass tonight. I’d rather splurge with another brownie if it’s okay with you.”
“Knock yourself out.” The more brownies her friend ate, the fewer she would. And she’d already had one with lunch today.
Paige popped a small piece of chocolate in her mouth and closed her eyes. Heavenly. It was the only word to describe it. Hands down, Favre made the best chocolate available. She’d only discovered the small European chocolate maker two years ago when Aunt Bebe brought some back from Switzerland. Since then she asked her aunt to pick her some up every time she traveled to Europe. If she ran out between her aunt’s trips, she ordered directly from the company website. Unfortunately, the shipping costs were ridiculous.
“Okay, I have to ask. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the Helping Hands bachelor auction on Friday? And don’t tell me you forgot about it. A person doesn’t spend that much on a ticket to an event and forget about it.”
“Just didn’t think of it?” she offered as an excuse before sipping her drink. At the time it hadn’t seemed like a big deal. She assumed she’d sit next to Aunt Bebe, have a nice meal, watch a lot of women spend money, and then go home. Knowing her aunt as well as she did, maybe she should’ve considered her answer before agreeing to go along. “And I only went to keep my Aunt Bebe company. She bought the tickets, not me.”
“I wish someone had purchased me a ticket. I would’ve loved to go. Do you think your aunt wants another niece?” Clarissa leaned forward, propping her elbows on the kitchen island. “Anyway, how did you manage to win Scott Belmont? I’m sure all the bachelors including him went for a lot, considering who attended. The article I read said Milan Novak was there as well as several Sherbrookes, Zoe Laurent, and Selena Cruise.”
She hadn’t seen the two actresses Clarissa mentioned, but considering the other women in the room it didn’t surprise her they’d been there too. “He did, but I didn’t exactly win him.”
“C’mon, I saw the picture of you on stage kissing him, and your name was listed alongside his.” She reached for her brownie and broke off a chunk. “If you didn’t win him, how did you end up on stage kissing him?”
While both her granddad in Texas and her aunts had more money than they knew what to do with, neither Paige nor her parents did. So, she never saw a reason to tell people, not even Clarissa, just who her relatives were. After all, it wasn’t anyone’s business.
“All Aunt Bebe’s doing. She tugged my arm up at the last minute. Before I put it down the auctioneer saw it.” Paige mentally growled thinking back to the fundraiser. “She paid for everything Friday. The only thing I bought was my dress and shoes.”
Creases appeared in Clarissa’s face as she sipped her drink and considered Paige’s words. “Well, that makes a little more sense, I guess. Even if you had that much money just lying around you’d never waste it on something like a bachelor auction. Aunt Bebe, she’s the one who lives in Texas and took you to New York City for your birthday?”
Paige nodded. As far as she remembered, Aunt Bebe was the only one of her aunts her friend had met. Neither of her dad’s sisters had visited since she bought the house two years ago. Her mom’s sister had stopped by a few times, but she didn’t think Clarissa had been over at the time. “She doesn’t have any children and has always spoiled Joe and me. Sorta like a grandmother.”
“There’s spoiling, and then there’s spoiling. What she did falls into the second category, my friend. I wish someone would spoil me like that. My aunt buys me new shoes every time she goes to the outlets in Wrentham, but that’s about it.”
“Uncle Earl, her husband, is the CFO of Foster Oil, so she can afford it.” Paige selected another chocolate from the box. Later she might regret it, but right now she needed another small taste of heaven.
“Guess I should’ve studied business in school instead of sociology.”
Paige forced a laugh. “Maybe we both should’ve studied business.”
Once Paige answered the questions regarding how she’d ended up the proud owner of four dates with Scott Belmont, Clarissa wanted details concerning the rest of the night. Who had she seen? Did she talk with anyone famous? What was everyone wearing? She did her best to answer the firestorm of questions and not let her annoyance show. While she understood her friend’s fascination with the auction, after all, it had been a well-publicized event, and may have shared it under different circumstances, she didn’t want to think or talk about it. Especially considering all the questions she’d answered at the hospital today. Instead, she wanted to pretend it never happened for as long as she could.
After finishing her second brownie, Clarissa checked her watch. “Wow, I’ve been here for two hours already. Sorry. I really didn’t mean to stay so long tonight.” Standing, she took the final sip from her glass. “I want to finish my laundry tonight and catch up on Code Red. Alan hates watching it, so I need to get it in when he’s at work.”
She’d watched the medical drama a few times and didn’t understand how her friend enjoyed it. While the lead actor was drop-dead gorgeous, the character always came across as a jerk and the writers got so many details wrong. “Have fun.”
Alone finally, Paige poured herself another glass of sangria and snagged more chocolate. This time though she saved the good stuff and opted for the leftover chocolate eggs she had from Easter. Something told her she was going to need the good stuff in the upcoming weeks, thanks to Aunt Bebe and her actions Friday night.
After biting into the
large filled chocolate egg, she licked the caramel from her bottom lip. Yep, not as good as the other stuff but good enough. With no other distractions, she reconsidered her dilemma from earlier. Should she call Scott back? He’d given her his number. If he objected to receiving calls, he wouldn’t have shared it. Besides, he may not be available to talk anyway. She might find herself leaving him a message. Before she changed her mind, she got her smartphone and searched her contacts list.
She counted as the phone rang. If not picked up after six or seven rings, most calls went to voice mail. Five. Six. Seven. Scott’s recorded voice came through, telling her to leave a message.
