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Massive art pieces hung on the walls, and Alina instantly gravitated toward them. They were expertly painted and encased inside gold frames. Alina stared at the canvases with wide eyes, her mouth ajar.
“Stop gawking at it.” Taylor nudged her arm. “Else people might take us for art thieves.”
“I can’t help it,” Alina said, not taking her eyes off the multicolored paintings. “they’re…they’re spectacular,” she whispered with wonder in her voice. “I wish I could own a piece like these.” Then she shook her head. “No. I wish I could paint a piece like these.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Taylor interjected. “Your art is more…” she waved her hand at the painting while thinking of the most appropriate word, but all she came up with was, “… amazing.”
“That is so not true,” Alina objected. “But thanks for the compliment.”
Taylor wrapped one of her hands around Alina’s shoulders. “Anything for my bestie.”
Alina smiled and looked at her friend, praying that she didn’t display any more affection for her. Taylor had the habit of being overly friendly in public, which gave others the wrong impression. Alina didn’t mind so much, but she definitely did not want Dereck’s parents to witness it. Luckily, Taylor seemed to know how to behave tonight.
“Taylor, I’m delighted you made it,” Dereck’s mother addressed the dark-haired woman even as she approached, her husband following closely behind. “Darling, this is the girl I was telling you about,” she spoke to her husband. “Doesn’t she remind you of me when I was younger?”
The older man was quick to oblige his wife. “Certainly. It feels like I have jumped back into the past.”
Taylor gave Alina a sidelong glance, then cleared her throat. “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Johnson, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Taylor,” the man said. “Tell me, how do you know my son?”
Eager to include her friend in the conversation, Taylor slid across to Alina and gently touched her friend’s shoulder. “Actually, Alina is dating your son.” Then she addressed her friend. “Alina, tell them how we met.”
Alina chuckled before she began to speak. “Well, actually, it is a funny story. The restaurant mixed up our reservations, so we were forced to merge our two parties. Dereck was with his friend and I was with Taylor.”
The Johnsons looked at Alina now, their stares blank and uninterested. Still, she went on. “You wouldn’t believe Dereck and I couldn’t tolerate each other in the beginning. We spent that entire dinner arguing about everything.” She was rambling now but couldn’t help herself. “We met later at the hospital and continued where we left off.” She chuckled. “I thought he was so arrogant and obnoxious then. But when he saved me one night in a bar, I realized he wasn’t as bad as I thought. We started dating after that.”
When Alina finally stopped speaking, she glanced at her friend, whose eyes were wide and head shaking gently. It was a subtle signal for Alina to shut her mouth. Too bad she noticed it after listing the flaws of the Johnson’s son.
“Well then,” Dereck’s mother said as her face reddened even under the heavy layer of makeup. “That was quite a story.” She spoke softly and sarcastically. “I’m certainly glad that you were willing to see past the arrogance in my son.” The woman looked past Alina. “Now, if you will excuse us, we have to officially start the event.” Then a genuine smile grew on the woman’s red lips. “It was nice to see you again, Taylor.”
As the couple walked away, Alina’s frown grew more intense. “They hate me.”
“No, they don’t hate you,” Taylor tried to comfort her friend, though her words were not convincing. “They just don’t know you yet. You just have to find similar interests.”
The women’s conversation quieted as the Johnsons took the stage to welcome their guests. First, they thanked everyone for coming to celebrate with them and then shortly, the conversation reached the topic of their son coming home. It was during this speech that Alina lost sight of Dereck. He walked out of the hall while the crowd was distracted and disappeared. The Johnsons bragged about their son taking over the company business soon and Mr. Johnson spoke about retiring then.
Alina was stunned and she stood frozen in place as the Johnsons relayed their family’s plans.
“Did Dereck ever mention moving back to Connecticut?” Taylor leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“No, never.” Alina kept her head forward, struggling to work through the shock. “I knew they wanted him to take over the company, but he always objected to it.”
“Maybe he changed his mind after you guys broke up,” Taylor stated, but Alina didn’t want to believe it. If Dereck decided to move out of New York, then it was really over between them. She couldn’t accept that. She had to believe there was still a chance for Dereck and her love.
“I need some fresh air,” Alina told Taylor and turned away before her friend could react. Alina bypassed the crowd of elegantly dressed guests and walked through the double doors leading to the patio. She rushed to the balcony overlooking a marvelous garden of roses, dahlias, daisies, and other bloom Alina did not recognize.
Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath, but her eyes flew open when a woman emerged from the darkness. She was a petite woman with long, curly hair flowing around her face. Her long burgundy dress had an embroidered body and a deep neck. Dina strutted in six-inch heels as she made her way to Alina.
“Have you no shame?” She spoke in a harsh tone. “It is pathetic women like you that set the bar way too low.”
“Excuse me?” Alina took a step back and placed her hand on her chest. “You know nothing about me.”
“I know enough,” she blurted out. Then she mumbled to herself. “How my brother could fall for someone like you is beyond me.”
Then it made sense. “Dina?”
“Oh, so you do have some intelligence,” Dina pushed up her nose and creased her face in disgust. She moved even closer to Alina, intruding on her personal space.
