AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re not attracted to him?”
“Alissa, you already know the answer to that,” I said.
“At least you’re not lying to yourself about that. But there is no reason to deny yourself a chance to be happy. Because that’s exactly what you’re doing. If it were me, I’d grab that red dress, pop on some lipstick, and just enjoy my time with him. I learned very quickly after my accident that time is precious. Jasper and I cherish every moment together. You need to start doing that yourself.”
She didn’t get it. No one seemed to. I would think that her marriage to Jasper would have helped her understand, but nope. “I’ll think about it. But if I don’t get off this phone and get ready, then all this nagging you’ve done will be for nothing,” I teased.
“Nagging? Wow. I’m usually the one who gets nagged. I like this better,” she chuckled.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Goodbye, Alissa.”
“Have fun!” Still laughing, she ended the call.
Fun wasn’t what I was worried about. Anytime I was with Finn, I had fun. What worried me was what would happen if I actually took Alissa’s advice.
Looking at the pile of clothes on my bed, I knew she was right. There really was only one dress for me tonight. I pulled it off the hanger and slipped on the sleeveless dress. It hugged every curve.
I think I enjoyed that Irish food too much, because this is tighter than I remember.
It would only be for a couple of hours. What’s a little discomfort to looksexy? It wasn’t something I had ever strived to be. It would have brought unwanted attention my way. With Finn, I liked it when he looked at me. I felt beautiful and…wanted.
I chuckled as I looked one last time at myself in the mirror. I’ve talked too much to Alissa lately because I’m starting to think like her.
That wasn’t really a bad thing. Even though I gave her a tough time for being so outspoken, Alissa was one of the strongest, kindest women I knew. Jasper really got lucky when he crossed paths with her.
I couldn’t picture myself ever being so lucky. Heck, I even killed my lucky shamrock plant.
There was a knock on the front door and I knew who it was. My driver has arrived. During the day, I had no issue with driving myself but this dinner could run later than I planned and I didn’t want to risk coming home in the dark.
When I opened the door, I wasn’t prepared for who stood there. Trying not to let my disappointment show, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
Barry held his microphone in my direction, but his eyes travelled up and down me. “Since I haven’t had any success getting an appointment with you at your office, I figured I’d try your home again. Are you going out?” he asked.
“I am. I have a dinner engagement to discuss business,” I said. Really, I had no idea why we were gathering for dinner, but the topic of business always came up. It was deeply rooted in the Hendersons. No matter how much all their wives tried to change that, they weren’t successful.
“Dressed like…that?” Barry asked. “I’ve seen you at business meetings. You’re in a plain dress, long sleeves, very…ordinary. You look like a…”
“Watch your words,” Finn’s deep voice bellowed from behind Barry.
Oh, God.
I was thrilled to see Finn again, but not here, not like this. Barry was going to have a field day writing up his article.
Barry turned to look at Finn and asked, “Who are you?”
“Dr. Finn O’Connor. And you are?”
“I’m Barry Patrell. I was just asking President Florraz where she was going. She seems to have forgotten that she had a…date.”
I held my breath, dreading Finn’s reply.
“I was not aware that she had one, either. Mr. Stone and I were sent to escort her,” Finn stated, meeting Barry’s inquisitive stare.
Good thinking, Finn.
Barry looked around Finn, and sure enough, Bennett Stone was not far away. “My mistake,” he said. “What exactly is the meeting about?”
I needed to intervene. Finn was good, but he knew nothing really about the dynamics in Tabiq. He spoke too quickly for me to stop him.
