Page 31 of With a Broken Wing
The way she’d hurried to tell me everything was in order made me chuckle. I guessed she’d learned pretty quickly, after all. “You did good. Thank you.” I relished in the soft, satisfied smile she now wore.
She stood up and grabbed the pink notepad she’d carried in with her from my desk. “Oh, and I’d like you to make a reservation at Restaurant August. You are welcome to join me. It’ll be just us this week.”
A smirk pulled at my lips when she let the surprise show on her face. “Just us?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. Just… don’t you need the team for your meetings?”
I laughed. “No, Andy. This one is a done deal. I’ll be meeting with a close family friend. Really just going to buy him a few drinks over lunch and sign the paperwork. The rest of the team was given the next few days off.”
“Oh.” She was cute when she was confused, almost innocent.
“So, as I said. If you’ll please make a reservation… for two.” She nodded and turned to leave. “Oh, and Andy. You’ll want to wear something a little lesscolorfulfor dinner.”
With a sharp glare, she closed the door behind her.
Restaurant August was probablythe nicest restaurant I’d ever called and would definitely be the nicest restaurant I’d ever been to. Arguably the nicest one I’devergo to. Anxiety flowed through my veins while the phone rang, and I took a deep breath to steady my voice.
When the hostess answered, I froze for a second before kicking myself. “Sorry, hi. I need to make a reservation for tomorrow night for two under the name Carlisle, if possible?”
“Sure, ma’am. Let me pull up our availability. May I place you on a brief hold?”
The hold music was soothing for a moment before a second call ringing on my phone interrupted the sound with a series of beeps. I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at the caller ID.Mother.
I groaned and hit the ignore button, sending her to voicemail before I could let the feeling of dread settle in my stomach. She would know I’d hit the decline button, and she wouldn’t be happy about it. As if on cue, my phone rang again.Mother.
The anger she was feeling could almost be sensed through the phone, but I steeled my spine and hit the red button a second time. My hands shook, and I gripped the device tighter in hopes of not dropping it.
My phone started to ring again at the same time the hold music stopped.Father. My stomach turned to stone.
“Mrs. Carlisle?” The hostess’s voice broke my daze.
“Yes, sorry,” I said, before realizing what she’d said.Shit. I just basically told her I was married to Demetri.
“I can get you and your husband in tomorrow at 7:30. Will that work?”
Was I supposed to tell this woman Demetri wasn’t my husband? I started to when my phone rang again, causing my heartbeat to race in my chest. “That works. Thank you.”
I hung up after confirming the time, quickly turning my phone to silent and tossing it on my desk. It showed four missed calls, and the hostess’s words echoed in my mind.You and your husband.
A groan left my lips, and I dropped my head onto my hands on my desk. “What the hell have I done?”
I didn’t knowwhat color I expected Andy to be wearing when she opened the hotel room door, but navy blue wasn’t on the list. A dark formfitting dress hugged her curves, flaring just past her hips and loose the rest of the way to the floor. She was breathtaking, but she didn’t look like herself.I wished it was bright fucking pink.
Andy ran her hands down the front of her dress in that self-conscious way that told me she was nervous. “Hey, sunshine. You look nice. Very… neutral.”
“You told me not to wear anything colorful. I borrowed it. Are you sure it’s okay?” Her voice was a whisper.
The instant desire to cover herself settled in her expression, and I stepped forward. “Youlook perfect.”Not the dress. “Are you ready to go?”
With a nod, she stepped out of the room and into the hall. “Perfectis an exaggeration, but thank you. I think.” The smile on her face was small, but gentle and genuine. The kind of smile that made her eyes brighten with it.
“Don’t be stubborn, sunshine. Take the compliment.” My tone was almost a warning, enough to make her breathing quicken before we stepped onto the elevator.
When it stopped on the first floor and the door slid open, Andy broke the silence. “Um… you too.”
“Me too?” I raised an eyebrow and suppressed the laugh that rumbled in my chest. She chewed on her lip, like she thought that would pause the anxiety, and I wanted to pull it from her teeth with my own.
