Page 44 of Second Chance Wedding
“Am I? Quinnie, if something is wrong,tellme. Maybe I can help.”
“Nothing is wrong. I mean it. Nothing. And tonight is all about you. Stop changing the subject and focus on that.”
Ana’s phone dinged, and since it was face up on the counter, Quinley’s smile turned genuine when she read the text.
“Prince Hottie has arrived.”
“This conversation isn’t over,” Ana said. “I know I’ve been distracted and focused on Benjamin and this mess, but one day soon we are going to sit down and have a serious talk.”
Quinley grabbed Ana’s phone and quickly typed out a message while avoiding Ana’s frantic attempts to get the device back.
The sound of the text being sent left a shiver rolling over her spine. “What did you just do?”
Her best friend handed the phone back to her with a raised eyebrow and a grin.
“I asked the question you couldn’t.”
Ana glanced down at her phone to read the text Quinley had sent.
So is this evening business or pleasure?
“Quinley!I can’t believe you did that to me.”
She stood glaring at her best friend when her phone dinged and vibrated in her hand seconds later. Ana froze, clutching the phone to her stomach before she slowly shifted it to see the face.
Quinley crowded close and peered down as well to see what it said.
Let’s find out.
* * *
Cole leaned his shoulder against a broad, decorative column in the hotel lobby near Ana’s boutique and waited for her to appear. He’d thought he’d find Analise inside her store, but her assistant manager had said Quinley had arranged for Ana to get ready in the spa.
He didn’t begrudge her the pampering, but he hated standing there like he’d been stood up and wasn’t comfortable hanging out in the ladies’ boutique. He also didn’t want to face Jones and the rest of his team alone, and he called himself every kind of a coward because of it.
Sasha turned off the lights and exited Coastal Couture, shooting him another smiling look at his dress blues before waving goodbye.
“Have fun,” she called on her way out of the hotel.
The lobby was starting to fill with men and women in uniform along with their companions, either migrating to the hotel’s main bar or down the corridor to the ballroom located somewhere behind the column where he leaned.
A prickling along his neck and spine alerted him to Ana’s arrival. Cole straightened and turned his head, his gaze scanning until he found her. She’d emerged from one of the other hallways leading back to what he assumed to be the pool and spa area, and his gut clenched at the sight of her.
His thoughts returned to the text message she’d sent minutes ago about the evening being business or pleasure, and right now he could only focus on pleasure as her beauty literally sucked the breath from his lungs.
“You clean up pretty well there, soldier.”
Cole let himself peruse her from head to toe and back again, relishing the rosiness that flushed her cheeks as a result. Silence followed, and he took it to collect his senses and oxygenate his brain. “Red is my favorite color.”
She bit her lower lip and wrapped her hands around the tiny purse dangling off her shoulder by a sparkling, thin chain.
“No, that’s not right.” A shake of her head left her sleek and shiny earrings dangling. “Your favorite color is blue.”
It used to be. Until he saw her in that dress. “Not anymore.”
He liked the way her lips curved in a shy smile, and he leaned in to brush a kiss over her cheek because he couldn’t help himself. “You look amazing, Ana.”
“Thank you. It’s not my gala dress, but when it came into the boutique for the holidays, I had to have it. Thanks for giving me a chance to wear it.”
