AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was acting strange. Maybe she wasn’t excited about tonight. I needed to remember this was her first event. This was also out of her comfort zone.
Chapter Thirteen
ELLA
I crawled into the car with his driver, and he took me downtown to the boutique to find a dress to wear tonight. When I walked in, I saw all kinds of costly gowns, and I felt very out of place.
The girls at the boutique were lovely and flattered to know they got to help me pick out a dress for tonight. They brought me ten dresses to try on, and of course, the first dress was too revealing. I turned it down. The next one was long and a beautiful lilac color. It felt great against my skin. It was not too revealing but showed just enough, and that was just what I wanted.
As I twirled in front of the mirror in the dress, I felt beautiful. Even more beautiful now than in the dress he bought me for our first date when he couldn’t keep his eyes off me. I was hoping tonight would be the same. I didn’t want to look at the price because I knew it would make my stomach hurt knowing I was about to spend God knows how much on a dress, shoes, and jewelry for an event I didn’t really want to go to. At the same time, I knew I needed to try and look the part. If I didn’t try, then it was just not worth being in the relationship with him.
Next up on the agenda, getting my hair done. Alexander didn’t mention he had booked an appointment for me. Thedriver was the one to break that to me. I could do my own hair. The next two hours were spent at a salon with someone trying to figure out what to do with it. They finally decided on a cute updo with side curls. I could have done this for free at my house.Let’s get the hell outta here!
His driver dropped me off at home finally, and I had to get dressed. Alexander had texted me to let me know he was on his way to pick me up. Shortly after I slipped my dress on, he was outside in the limo. I opened the door, and he looked stunned. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.
“I’m sorry, do I look okay? I’m so sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have done this; it’s not nice enough for the event, is it? I’ll take it back and try to find something else. Let me just get changed really quick.”
He grabbed my hand and said, “No, you look fine, absolutely gorgeous. This dress looks magnificent on you. I’m one lucky guy. I can’t wait to show you off tonight.”
They jumped in the limo and it was a short ride.
We pulled up to the event, and I noticed there were cameras all around. Alexander got out first and gave me his hand to help me out of the car.
He whispered in my ear, “Just smile, babe; it’ll be okay.”
I got a calm feeling from him. He was trying to make me feel better, and that meant a lot. He could tell how nervous I was about tonight, worried about not fitting in or embarrassing him in some way. He just kept telling me to be myself and people would love me for who I was.
As we walked into the event, everyone was staring at us. It made me feel uncomfortable like they knew I didn’t belong there. Alexander whispered in my ear, “They’re not staring at us; they’re staring at you. You are the most beautiful woman in this room, and everyone knows that.”
We walked around and spoke to some of his colleagues. He wandered off to talk business with them while I just kind of moseyed around. I got a couple of drinks and chatted with some ladies that were at the bar. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Nobody asked me what I did for a living or where I lived. Maybe tonight wasn’t going to be so terrible.
Alexander came to me with his hand out, asking me to dance. It had been so long since I’d last danced; I wasn’t sure if I could. He took me out on the dance floor, twirled me around, put his hand on the small of my back, and kissed my naked shoulder while he whispered in my ear, “I love you.”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond or even if I should. Did this man really love me, or was he just saying that because of tonight? Was it possible to be in love with someone that fast? It had been five months. I felt woozy and good all at the same time. I wanted this man, but it seemed like it was going too fast.
I just wanted to enjoy being in his arms tonight. I was having fun with him and learning more about him and what he did. I saw a man staring at us from across the room. I didn’t recognize him.
“Honey, do you know him?” I asked as I pointed to the man.
“That’s Shawn,” he said as he waved him over. “Come over, buddy.”
“Hey, bud, I see you are having a good time. Nice to meet you finally, Ella,” Shawn said to me.
Shawn was tall and had dirty-blond hair. He was built the same as Alexander.Jesus, were there more of them?
“Are you enjoying yourself, Ella?” he asked as Alexander stepped away for a minute with a colleague.
He didn’t have to stay around and chat with me, but he did. Shawn was personable and close with Alexander. “Yes, I’m having fun.”
“It’s about time to take our seats,” Shawn said.
Finally, the event started, and a lady named Ms. Hemingway went on stage to talk about the children’s hospital and what they did. It seemed this hospital specialized in helping kids with cancer. The donations made to this hospital went directly toward helping the children and the parents.
“We’ll begin taking donations, and we will also be auctioning off some things that have been donated to us tonight. First thing, an all-expenses-paid vacation to Paris for two. This is a four-night package. We will begin bidding at ten thousand dollars,” Ms. Hemingway announced.
Alexander stood up and said, “Fifty thousand dollars.”
“Are you serious? Fifty thousand dollars. Are you crazy?” I hissed into his ear.
