Change (Finding Anna Book 5)

by Sherri Hayes

  Once I was finished getting measured, I dressed and went to join Lily in the sitting area.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Okay.” I glanced toward the room where Bridget was getting measured. “Bridget keeps asking me about Stephan.”

  Lily frowned. “What did she ask?”

  “She asked how long we’d been together and asked if we were married. I don’t know why.” I think that’s why her questions were bothering me so much.

  “I’ll talk to her,” Lily said.

  I tilted my head to the side, confused.

  Lily sighed. “Bridget was most likely trying to find out how serious you and Stephan are. As a couple.”

  “Oh.” Now that her questions made sense, I liked them even less.

  A few minutes later, Bridget emerged from the dressing room, dressed, and with a big smile on her face. “All that dress shopping has made me hungry. Know anywhere good to eat nearby?”

  Lily glanced at her watch. “It’s almost lunchtime. There’s a café across the street that has great sandwiches.”

  “Perfect.” Before either Lily or I could say anything more, Bridget was on her way out the door. She turned on her heel, still backing toward the door. “Come on. What are you waiting for?”

  “You gonna be okay if we have lunch at the café?” Lily asked me.

  I nodded. “I need to text Stephan to let him know where I’ll be.”

  Lily nodded and took hold of my hand. “Let’s get to the café and you can text him while we’re waiting on our food.”

  Given we couldn’t see Bridget any longer, I agreed. I didn’t like leaving the store without letting Stephan know, but I didn’t see much of a choice. In the end, I thought it was better to stay with Lily than to insist on staying at the store by myself. “Okay.”

  Stephan

  The meeting was wrapping up when I cleared my throat and brought up the one issue I knew I needed to address before jumping into this working arrangement. “How much did Logan tell you about why I’m no longer running The Coleman Foundation?”

  During the meeting, Josh had dropped hints that he’d only recently returned to Minneapolis. He’d spent four years in the military, and given the size and scope of his organization, I’d estimated that he’d been back no more than two years. The presses attention had waned significantly at that point, so I had no idea if he knew about Brianna or my involvement with her, Ian Pierce, or anything having to do with the trial.

  Josh leaned back in his chair and brought the tips of his fingers together in a point. “Not much.” He sat forward again, resting his forearms on his desk. “I did a little of my own research, though, and I have to say I came across some interesting articles.”

  I could only imagine what he’d found. Some of the worse had me being part of Ian’s sex trafficking ring. “The press was very interested in my life for a time.”

  Silence lingered for several moments. I waited him out. “Whatever happened to the girl?”

  “She’s currently shopping for bridesmaids' dresses with Lily, Logan’s fiancée.”

  “You still keep in contact with her.”

  This was the part that seemed to trip people up, but it was best to get it out there. “We live together.”

  “I see.” His face gave no indication of how he was taking the information I’d provided.

  “Will that be a problem?” I asked.

  He glanced at the door before returning his gaze to me. “I’d like to meet her.”

  It wasn’t the strangest request, but still one I was hesitant about. “She’s not fond of people and even less of men she doesn’t know.”

  “She knows Logan, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  He stood. “Great. How about a small get together, then? You and Brianna. Logan and Lily. And me and my wife. We can discuss how best to address the fundraising issue and get to know each other in the process.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say no, but then I decided better of it. “When?”

  “How about tonight? You’re already in the city. No sense in you making another trip.”

  “I’ll discuss it with Brianna and get back to you this afternoon.”

  Josh walked me down the hall to the front of the office where Stella was sitting behind the reception desk. “Sounds good.”

  He offered me his hand and I took it. “I’ll be in touch.”

  I made my way down the elevator to my car. The last thing I’d expected to end up with was a dinner invitation. It made sense the more I thought about it. What better way to gauge whether what the media said was true than to meet the woman at the center of the rumors.

  As I was maneuvering onto the road, my phone dinged letting me know I had a message. I immediately found somewhere to pull over. Normally, I’d wait until I was at my destination, but with Brianna out with Lily and in an unfamiliar situation, I wasn’t taking any chances.

  Putting the car in park, I reached for my phone. The message was from Brianna.

  Bridget wanted to go to lunch. We’re across the street from the bridal shop at Carly’s Café. - Brianna

  I released the breath I’d been holding and texted back.

  I just left my meeting. I’ll see you soon. - Stephan

  Placing my phone in the cup holder, I pulled back into traffic. It took almost fifteen minutes to get to my destination and find a place to park. Traffic had increased significantly over the last two hours.

  It wasn’t difficult to find Carly’s Café. The pink sign stood out against the blacks, browns, and grays of the surrounding buildings. There were quite a few people standing around waiting to order their food when I walked inside, so it took some searching to find Brianna, Lily, and Bridget.

  Lily noticed me first and waved me over. “You found us.”

  Brianna’s head came up and met my gaze. Her lips curved up into a beautiful smile and my heart skipped a beat. I pulled out the chair beside Brianna and sat down.

  Before I could say anything to Brianna, Bridget interrupted. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her shirt dipping down in the front to show off her cleavage. It wasn’t that I was paying attention exactly, but it was kind of hard to miss. “I was hoping you’d be joining us.”

  I didn’t want to be rude, but I had no interest in entertaining whatever Bridget was attempting to convey. Instead, I turned my attention to Brianna. “Have you ordered lunch?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I didn’t know how long you’d be.”

  There was still a bit of uncertainty in her eyes. She wasn’t one hundred percent positive what my reaction was going to be. But the fact that she wasn’t sitting here shaking, unable to meet my gaze, proved how far she’d come.

  I grinned, letting her know I wasn’t upset, and then held up a hand to flag down a server. A young man hurried over and wrote down my order. I kept it simple since I’d never been to the café before. I figured it was hard to mess up a turkey sandwich.

  Once the server had walked away, I asked how the dress shopping had gone. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  Lily launched into a long description of the dress style they’d chosen and how perfectly it matched the theme she was going for. I understood about half of what she said, but given Lily’s knowledge of style and fashion, I was confident Brianna would look great in whatever dress Lily had picked out.

  Our food came and I tucked into my sandwich. Brianna sat quietly beside me eating the salad she’d ordered. The sandwich was good, and the chips looked to be made in house. Then again, the food had to be pretty good given the number of customers they had.

  “Did your morning go as well as ours?” Bridget asked as she picked at her salad.

  I could hear the huskiness in her voice and the way her fork lingered near her lips to try and draw attention to her mouth. She was trying to flirt with me. I’d seen the same thing many times over the years, but it didn’t have the same effect on me now as it had when I was younger.
There was no interest there. My only issue was that she was doing it in front of Brianna.

  Wiping my mouth, I placed my napkin over my knee. “It did. In fact,” I twisted so I could see Brianna’s face. “We’ve been invited to Josh’s house to have dinner with him and his wife.”

  There was a moment of panic that crossed her face, and then she lowered her gaze. I monitored her breathing, making sure she was able to control her anxiety, while I waited for her response. It took a few minutes, but eventually she looked up and nodded. I knew she’d been going through all the possibilities in her mind and had most likely come to the same conclusion I had. She needed to get more exposure to people if she wanted to accomplish her goals and this would be a good opportunity.

  I reached for her hand and brought it up to my mouth for a kiss. “I’ll give Josh a call after lunch and let him know to expect us.”

  “Does that mean you’ll be staying in the city tonight?” Bridget asked.

  “Probably. I doubt we’ll want to drive home that late.”

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Maybe we could all meet for breakfast.” She turned to include Lily in the conversation. “Logan’s off tomorrow, isn’t he?”

  Lily was trying not to laugh, but she wasn’t doing a great job of it. She knew exactly what Bridget was doing. “Yes, he is. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t have other plans, though. Logan likes to keep our weekends free.”

  It was my turn to hide my reaction. Apparently, Lily’s friend didn’t know about Lily and Logan’s lifestyle. That could make breakfast together on a weekend rather interesting.

  I picked up the tab and we all headed outside, my hand firmly holding on to Brianna’s. As we were nearing the door, I touched Lily’s arm with my free hand, letting her know I wanted her to hang back. She paused and turned her head to look at me. “Josh invited you and Logan to join us tonight as well.”

  She nodded. “I’ll call Logan and ask.”

  Logan and Lily began their weekend play at six on Friday evenings. Whether they went to dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning would be completely up to Logan.

  Bridget was waiting for us when we walked out of the restaurant. “There you are. I thought I’d lost you.” She was looking directly at me.

  Lily sent me a knowing grin and looped her arm through Bridget’s before addressing Brianna and I. “Thanks for coming today. I think the dresses are going to look great on both of you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Brianna said. “The dress is really pretty.”

  Lily smiled, and then turned to Bridget. “I’m in the mood for some ice cream. What do you say?”

  Bridget groaned. “You’re going to kill my figure and I’m never going to be able to fit in that dress.”

  Laughing, Lily guided her down the street away from Brianna and me. “You’ll just have to spend a few more minutes on the treadmill.”

  Once they were out of earshot, Brianna released a loud breath. I glanced down at her. “You okay?”

  “Yes.” She looked down the street, and then at me. “Is Josh nice?”

  She’d already moved on from Bridget. I cupped the side of her face and gave her a kiss. “I liked him.”

  That seemed to be enough for her as she changed subjects again. “I’m feeling tired.”

  I brushed her hair behind her ear. “I’m feeling a little run down myself. Let’s grab a nap before getting ready for dinner.”

  Chapter 11

  Brianna

  It felt nice being in the condo again. Even though I loved our new house, there was something about the condo that was comforting to me. Maybe it was because this was the first place I’d felt safe. The place where I’d learned to trust again. The place where I’d fallen in love with Stephan. There were so many memories here.

  Stephan rolled over and nuzzled his nose into my hair. We’d been in bed since five minutes after walking through the door. The late afternoon sun was shining through the windows, warming our naked bodies. “Hmm. We need to start getting ready or we’ll be late.”

  “How did your meeting go today?” We hadn’t talked much in the car on the drive to the condo since he’d been on the phone with Josh confirming that we’d be coming tonight, and once we’d gotten to the condo, talking had been the last thing on either of our minds.

  “It went well. I think I can help him get his fundraising up and streamline his operations.”

  There was something in his tone that told me there was more. “But?”

  “No, buts. It was a good meeting.” He ran his hand down my side. “I guess I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. After what happened, and having to give up my position at The Coleman Foundation, I’m not sure jumping back into the fray is wise.”

  I turned in his arms to face him. “Do you want to?”

  He hesitated for a moment before answering. “I do. I miss working, helping people. Knowing I’m positively contributing to society.”

  Stephan was a good man and he had a big heart. It had upset me that he had to step back from his family’s foundation because of me. If this was his opportunity to get back to what he loved, I would support him one hundred percent, just as he’d supported me. “How can I help?”

  He smiled and pulled me against him. “I love you, Brianna.”

  I didn’t get a chance to respond. Stephan covered my mouth with his and gave me a lingering kiss that had me wanting to feel him inside me again.

  His fingers skimmed down my back before cupping my backside. He sighed. “We need to get out of this bed before I forget we have obligations tonight.”

  Staying in bed sounded like a terrific idea, but that wouldn’t be helping Stephan get his career back. “Can we shower together?”

  He gave my flesh a squeeze, and then began climbing out of bed. I followed his lead and we made our way into the bathroom to start getting ready.

  A little over an hour later, we were pulling up to a two-story townhouse on the opposite side of the river. It looked like a nice house with a large tree in the yard and a front porch that stretched across the entire front of the house.

  Stephan took my hand and laced our fingers together. “Are you ready for this?”

  “I’m ready, Sir.” And I was. More so than I thought I would be.

  We walked up three steps onto the porch and Stephan rang the doorbell. Immediately, a dog began barking from inside the house and we could hear movement inside. “Stay,” a man’s voice said. The dog stopped barking.

  A moment later, the door opened to reveal a man who I assumed was Josh Berkley. He was younger than I’d expected him to be. For some reason, in my head, I’d assumed he would be older. He was also shorter than Stephan by a couple inches and had broader shoulders that made me think of football players with those big shoulder pads. “Come on in.”

  The inside of the house looked more modern than the outside. It reminded me a little of Lily and Logan’s apartment, but bigger. Off to the left sat a large golden retriever. His tail was sweeping frantically back and forth on the floor.

  “Hi, I’m Josh,” the man said, offering me his hand to shake.

  I took it because I knew that was what was expected, even though it was uncomfortable for me. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  He smiled and patted the side of his leg. The dog trotted over to him. He sniffed my hand, and then rubbed up against it. “This is Charlie. He likes people.”

  Stephan held out his hand, letting Charlie sniff him, and then gave him a couple of pats on the head. “How old is he?”

  “He turned three last month.” Josh said, turning to lead us down the hall. Charlie followed. “My wife, Cynthia, is putting the finishing touches on dinner.”

  The hallway opened into a kitchen and dining area that looked as if it had recently been remodeled. A woman with blonde hair and brown eyes stepped out from behind the counter to greet us. “You must be Stephan and Brianna. Welcome.”

  Stephan released my hand so he could shake hers, and then place
d a comforting touch on my lower back. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  I let her take my hand and envelope it with her own. She seemed nice enough, but it was hard to let my guard down with people I didn’t know. I tried to remember to breathe.

  “Dinner’s almost ready. We’re just waiting on the potatoes to finish up in the oven.” She turned to her husband. “Logan did say he and Lily were coming, right?”

  Josh strolled over to the refrigerator, Charlie still in tow. “He said they’d be here.” Then he turned to Stephan and me. “What would you like to drink? I have beer, wine?”

  “We’ll just have water, thank you,” Stephan said.

  Our host looked to me as if waiting for me to chime in, but I didn’t. Stephan had already answered for us. There was no need for me to as well.

  After a few moments, Josh realized I wasn’t going to answer and went to get glasses out of the cabinet.

  “Why don’t you two take a seat and make yourselves at home,” Cynthia said.

  Stephan guided us over to the table and held out a chair for me. I sat down and folded my hands in my lap, not sure what to do with them. Stephan lowered himself onto the chair beside me, and then reached for my hand. “Relax.”

  Relax. I could do that. It was dinner. And Lily and Logan were coming.

  Josh brought two glasses of water over and placed them on the table in front of us. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the doorbell rang, cutting him off. “That must be Logan and Lily. I’ll be right back.”

  Cynthia was moving around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on everything. I glanced at Stephan. “Should I offer to help?”

  He looked at Cynthia, and then back at me. “I think she’s got everything under control.”

  The sound of heels clicking on the hardwood floor brought our attention to the hallway. Seconds later, Josh and Charlie reappeared with Logan and Lily. Logan was still in a suit and tie, something I rarely saw him in outside of work. Lily was wearing a simple black dress with red heels that were so high I’d probably trip and fall in them if I tried to wear them.