Page 44 of Dreams
Chapter Ten
Thursday arrived quickly, and Taylor found herself standing outside the restaurant with a nervous Josh by her side.
“Thanks for coming with me,” he said, staring at the door. He walked mechanically towards it and reached for the handle.
“Of course,” she replied, her eyes shifting towards him. The stiff set of his shoulders and the tenseness in his jaw told her everything she needed to know. This was going to be hard on him.
He stilled before swinging the door open and she put her hand on his arm, feeling him relax slightly under her touch. They walked into an elegant space. It was a white-tablecloth-and-champagne kind of place. The large restaurant was cordoned off into smaller rooms to provide a semblance of privacy and quiet.
A man in all black with a silver bow tie led them down the hall to their waiting party. Modern black-and-white paintings hung on the walls, interspersed with tiny mirrors. Every few feet Taylor got a glimpse of herself and was surprised each time at the woman staring back at her. It wasn’t the grieving, depressed little girl who’d spent the last year hiding away.
No, this was a woman who looked older than her nineteen years. The sadness only added a look of experience. Wearing a deep blue dress she’d borrowed from Abigail, she felt almost beautiful. Its square neckline was mature, and provided enough modesty that allowed the sides to hug her curves, the hemline stopping mid-thigh. She’d refused to wear heels, but let Abigail apply her makeup and curl her short hair. The black framed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose were the only part of her outfit that screamed it was her.
When Josh picked her up, she’d been disappointed when he didn’t seem to notice her new look for the night. For a reason unknown to her, she wanted to impress his father. And she wanted Josh to say something, anything that gave her the impression he liked what he saw. But his distractions had won out.
She wasn’t delusional. Josh was an attractive professional hockey player and there was the fact that he was actually a nice guy. She knew the kinds of girls he could have.
She shook her head to rid it of those thoughts, not knowing where they’d come from. It was confusing. They’d agreed to be friends, and he was only helping her move on.
They reached a room that held four tables, only one of which was occupied. The two men stood immediately upon seeing them. Josh stepped into the waiting arms of the older man and gave him a long hug. The man smiled at Taylor over Josh’s shoulder and released him.
“Son.” He draped an arm over Josh’s shoulders as he regarded her. “Are you going to introduce me to this lovely woman?” He smiled widely and winked.
Taylor suddenly felt a little sick. Was he flirting with her? He was attractive, sure, in an older kind of way, with twinkling eyes and an open, inviting smile. But, he was Josh’s father.
A scowl flashed across Josh’s face for just a second before it disappeared. He surprised her by stepping towards her and pulling her to his side, his hand on her waist possessively.
“Dad, this is Taylor.”
His dad looked like he was going to give her a hug, but then stuck his hand out instead. Josh’s grip on her tightened as she took it.
“She’s my girlfriend.”
Taylor almost choked on her own tongue.
“It’s nice to meet you, Taylor.” He released her hand.
She glanced at Josh in question, but he was staring at the younger man behind his father.
“You too, Dr. Walker,” she finally said, following Josh’s gaze to the man who looked eerily similar to him.
“Ethan,” Dr. Walker said. “Isn’t it wonderful that your brother has found such a beautiful woman?”
Ethan didn’t respond as he ran a shaky hand through his short, blond hair. That was one of the differences between the brothers. Josh had much longer hair. He was also taller than his brother by a few inches at least and his broad, well-defined shoulders dwarfed Ethan’s smaller frame. Ethan had a narrow, chiseled jaw where Josh’s still held some roundness. But the eyes… those were the same.
“Hey, Bro,” Ethan said tentatively.
Taylor watched him shift from one foot to the other and couldn’t imagine this was the same cruel man Josh had described.
Josh stood with his feet planted shoulder-width apart, one arm still around her waist and the other undoing the single button on his suit coat. He released her and slid his coat down his arms to drape it on the back of a chair. Then, pulling out a chair for Taylor, he nodded to her and took his own seat.
“Ethan,” he finally said, inclining his head.
Tension somewhat passed, the other two men took their seats.
The waiter arrived to take their order and then left.
“Aren’t getting any wine, Ethan?” Josh said calmly, a hint of something Taylor couldn’t parse out. A challenge.
