Carrie’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry about your father.”
“Me too, but he was a good man. I’m glad I had him around as long as I did.”
“Yeah, that must be nice.” Carrie’s voice was so soft that Drew wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. Her eyes had dropped to her plate.
“Are you close to your family?” he asked.
“I used to be, but no, not anymore.”
He wanted to ask her more, but the tone in her voice led him to believe the subject was off limits.
Suddenly, she stiffened. Her eyes widened, and she stood. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“Wait.” He rose as well and grabbed her hand. “I want to see you again. Can I at least have your whole name?”
“No, I’m sorry, I have to go. Thank you for a wonderful evening.” She wrestled her hand out of his grip and hurried from the room. Drew stared after her wondering what had just happened. He wasn’t used to women running out on him. That was usually his move.
Something sparkly caught his attention. He bent down and picked up a diamond tennis bracelet from the floor. Drew was almost certain it belonged to Carrie. He examined it for some clue of who this mysterious woman was, but the bracelet didn’t appear out of the ordinary. It contained no engraving, and while he wasn’t a jeweler, he wasn’t even sure the diamonds were real. He looked again to the direction she had fled. He had a name, a bracelet, and a partial description. Would it be enough to find her again?
Chapter 3
Gwen didn’t stop running until she exited the hotel. She paused just long enough to text Carrie and ask her to send the driver, but the limo hadn’t arrived yet. Gwen pressed herself against the building in a shadow to wait. She’d been having such a good time. Why did Grant have to show up and ruin it?
Gwen hadn’t seen him enter, but she had been a little distracted. Drew Devonshire was charming. Probably a little too charming as she’d let her guard down. At least until Grant caught her eye as he turned from the buffet table. Gwen just knew he had been coming her direction. Not only would he have ruined it for Carrie, but for Gwen as well. Surely Drew Devonshire would have had her thrown out for crashing his party. At the very least, he probably would have been angry that she lied to him even though it was a tiny lie.
Ugh, this was why she hated lying. It never ended well. No, it had been better just to leave. Unfortunately, as much as she told herself that, it didn’t stop her heart from pounding in her chest at the thought of his blue eyes. Nor did it stop her mind from replaying every moment he had held her in his arms while they danced. She’d never felt so attracted to anyone, and she had felt none of the usual anxiety she felt around men. She’d felt like she fit. But of course, he had to be someone completely out of her league who thought she was someone else. Gwen had the worst luck.
She pushed herself off the wall and hurried to the limo when it pulled up to the curb. The driver opened the door for her, and Gwen scrambled inside. As he shut the door, she pressed her face against the darkened windows and peered out, but it appeared neither Grant nor Drew had followed her outside. With a sigh, she leaned back against the seat. It was too bad Grant’s appearance had cut the evening short. It was fun while it lasted.
“What happened? Are you all right?” Carrie asked when Gwen arrived at her penthouse twenty minutes later.
Gwen shook her head and dropped her handbag on the table. “I’m fine. The evening was great until Grant showed up. He was making a beeline to talk to me, er, you I guess, and I panicked. I knew he’d know I wasn’t you, so I ran.”
Carrie’s face folded in sympathy. “Oh, Gwen, I’m so sorry. I was hoping you would have a good time.”
Gwen plopped onto Carrie’s settee and removed her shoes. “I did have a good time. I met the most amazing man, and we danced. He had these arresting blue eyes.”
Carrie settled on the settee beside her, and her eyes sparkled. “Ooh, do tell. Did you catch his name?”
Gwen chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Drew Devonshire.” Her eyes fell to her lap and she picked off a piece of lint. “Evidently, his family owns the hotel.” Gwen lifted her eyes to gauge Carrie’s reaction.
Carrie’s eyes widened, and her head fell forward. “Drew Devonshire? You danced with Drew Devonshire?”
“Yeah, why? Is he a big deal? I mean I understand he owns the hotel, but-” Gwen reached up to undo her hair. The pins were digging tiny gauges in her head.
Disbelief filled Carrie’s voice. “Gwen, Drew Devonshire is only the most eligible billionaire bachelor in the city.”
Gwen’s hand froze. “What?” How could she have attracted the attention of the most eligible bachelor in the city? She was a nobody. Except that Drew didn’t know he’d danced with Gwen Rodgers, lowly teacher. He thought he’d been dancing with some wealthy woman named Carrie.
Carrie chuckled. “Yeah, he doesn’t just own that hotel, Gwen. His family owns a whole chain.”
A sigh escaped Gwen’s lips as her hair tumbled about her shoulders. “Figures. I knew he was rich, but I had no idea he was a billionaire.” Ugh, embarrassment flooded her. She should never have gone, but at least it had been only the one night. She would never have to see Drew Devonshire again, and he would never have to know.
“You liked him.”
“What’s not to like? The man is handsome, wealthy, and displayed manners. He was down-to-earth too.” Gwen tried to play off her affection, but her heart ached inside.
“No, I mean you liked liked him.”
Gwen groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “I did, but that’s a fantasy, Carrie. He’s a billionaire, and I’m a foster kid turned teacher. He would run the other way if he ever knew.”
Carrie touched her shoulder. “You don’t know that. I’m wealthy and we’re still friends.”
Gwen lifted her head to look at her friend. “Yeah, but you aren’t dating me. You said yourself that one thing you hated about the money was having to live up to the expectations of others. People expect a billionaire like Drew Devonshire to date an heiress or a princess or something. Not someone like me.”
Carrie opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. Gwen knew she had no words either. With a sigh, she pushed herself up. “I’m going to change out of your dress. Guess my Cinderella evening is over.”
“I’ll pour us a glass of wine while you change,” Carrie said as she headed toward the kitchen.
Gwen padded down the hallway to Carrie’s bedroom. She slipped out of the dress and pulled her clothes back on. As she hung up the dress, a pang of jealousy coursed through her. It wasn’t that she wanted Carrie’s life, but it had been nice to pretend. If only for one night. Her hand lingered for a minute on the satin, and then she headed out of the closet to return the earrings to Carrie’s dresser. As she put the earrings on the top, her breath caught. She looked at her left wrist and then her right, but both were empty. Where was her bracelet?
Gwen scanned the floor then retraced her steps in the closet. Nothing. No, this couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t lose the last thing her parents had given her. “No, no, no,” she mumbled under her breath as she cleared the closet and headed down the hall. Her heart wound tighter as she walked as if squeezed by an invisible vice, and she felt the tears building behind her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Carrie asked as Gwen entered the kitchen.
Gwen looked up, tears blurring her vision. “I can’t find my bracelet.” With those five words, the dam broke and the tears spilled down her cheeks. “I think I lost it.”
Carrie’s eyes grew large and she sucked in her breath. “I’ll call Antwon and see if it got left in the limo. He’s good people, Gwen, he wouldn’t have taken it.”
“But what if I lost it at the Devonshire Hotel? I’ll never find it again.”
Carrie wrapped an arm about Gwen’s shoulder. “It will be okay. I promise we will find it.”
Gwen’s knees gave out and she sank to the floor. “It�
��s all I have left of them, Carrie.”
“I know, and it will be okay. I promise.”
But Gwen wasn’t so sure.
* * *
“There you are, Drew, I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Drew turned to see his mother, dressed as Queen Elizabeth and wearing a fancy mask, heading his direction.
“Where have you been?”
He ignored her question and posed his own as his hand closed over the bracelet, hiding the contents from sight. “Is there a guest list?”
The question seemed to fluster his mother. “Is there what? What are you talking about Drew? I asked where you’ve been.”
“I’ve been here, Mother, dancing with an amazing woman, but she ran off and dropped her bracelet. I’d like to return it to her. So, I’ll ask you again. Is there a guest list?”
His mother puffed up. “Of course, there is a guest list. This party was by invitation only, but why don’t you just deliver it?”
“Because I didn’t get her full name, Mother. It’s a masquerade ball, and she was playing coy.”
“Well, what about her bracelet? Is it engraved at all?”
Drew unfurled his hand to show his mother the bracelet. “No engraving.”
His mother picked up the bracelet and examined it. Her forehead furrowed behind her mask and disdain dripped from her voice when she responded, “This isn’t even real, Drew. These are fake diamonds. This woman was probably an imposter.”
“Perhaps, but she was intriguing and imposter or not, I want to return her bracelet. It might be nothing to us, but I have the feeling it was to her. Why else would a woman wear a designer dress and a fake bracelet?”
His mother rolled her eyes. “I can think of many reasons. I’ll get you the guest list but promise me you won’t waste your time chasing after some ghost.”
Drew couldn’t promise, but he nodded hoping it would satisfy his mother.
She let out a large sigh. “Fine, come with me.”
He followed her out the ballroom and down the hall to her office. The namesake hotel was the one she liked to work out of most days. She said she felt the strongest connection to it since his father had purchased it first before Drew even was born.
She pushed open the office door after producing a key from some fold in her dress. After a minute of scanning the papers on the desk, she picked up a large stack and held it out to him. “Here you are.” Without another word, she whizzed past him and left the room.
Drew took the stack of papers to the desk and sat down. He grabbed a pen from his mother’s container and began scanning the list.
Fifteen minutes later, Drew sighed as he finished the last page of the guest list. It appeared his mother invited everyone in the Tristate area. A dozen Carries filled his list that he would have to check and that was only if she’d given him the right first name. Drew wasn’t even sure of that. Finding this woman might be like finding a needle in a haystack, but he would try. He didn’t even know why it was so important, other than she was the first woman who had excited him in a long time.
Chapter 4
Drew typed in the next name on the list. It had taken him a few days to find the time to search the Carries on the list, but determination pushed him to find the woman from the ball. Carrie Garner. An older brunette woman popped up on the screen. Real estate mogul. Nope, not the right one. That just left one more name. Carrie Bliss. He typed it into the search bar and a dress designer’s website pulled up, but there was no picture. Great. He added her to the list of other no picture Carries. At least this list was smaller. Only three names. Down from twelve. Drew glanced over at the diamond tennis bracelet. He wasn’t optimistic, but maybe his jeweler could help.
He shut the laptop screen and pocketed the bracelet before pulling out his cell phone. “Manuel? Can you have the limo ready in five? Wonderful, I’ll be right down.” Drew flicked his wrist to read the time on his Rolex. He had a few hours to spare. Enough time to see his jeweler before the auction tonight if he hurried.
With a hastened step, he crossed to his closet and pulled out his blue dress shirt. Women always told him it made his blue eyes pop, and though he wasn’t looking for a woman tonight, he wouldn’t mind the confidence booster. His mother had insisted he attend a charity auction with her.
He tucked the shirt into his black slacks and shrugged into an Armani blazer. Tie or no tie? Drew regarded his appearance in the mirror. He hated ties. They always made him feel as if he was choking, but his mother nagged him when he didn’t wear one. No. No tie. He might have to attend this event, but at least he could be comfortable during it.
Being the public face had never been Drew’s strength. That’s where his father had excelled and so when he passed, his mother assumed Drew would too, but he hated it. Maybe if he was married, it would be different, but being single and wealthy, it just made him feel like a piece of meat at the market. Men would eye him like competition and women would scan him from head to toe. It was even worse after Marjorie left as he was never sure if those stares were of interest or pity. Either way, they made Drew uncomfortable, and one day he hoped to pass the job off to someone else.
He trotted down the grand staircase and out the front door. Manuel was just pulling in front of the house as Drew shut the door behind him. Drew folded himself into the spacious backseat when Manuel held the door open.
“Where to, sir?”
Drew fingered the bracelet in his pocket. “To Barelli’s, Manuel.”
Joseph Barelli had been his father’s jeweler before Drew was even born. He was a wealthy Italian a few years older than Drew’s father would have been. Though his hair was grey, the man was still extremely handsome and always immaculately dressed. Drew figured it had to be some magic gene Italians were born with.
“Ah, what can I do for you today, Seignior Devonshire?” Mr. Barelli asked when Drew entered the shop.
“I need to see if you can tell me anything about a bracelet.” Drew withdrew the bracelet from his pocket and handed it to the elder gentleman.
“Mm, let me see.” Mr. Barelli grabbed a magnifying tool from the counter behind him and perused the bracelet. His brows knitted together in confusion as he turned the bracelet in his hand. “I don’t know what you are hoping for, sir, but this is an ordinary tennis bracelet.”
Drew sighed. “I figured as much. Are there no distinguishing features?”
Mr. Barelli shook his head. “It is not even high quality. This could have been sold at any discount store in the country. May I ask why you are so curious about it?”
“A woman who attended my mother’s masquerade ball the other night dropped it.”
Mr. Barelli blinked at Drew. “Why would someone of your mother’s status be wearing such a trinket?”
“That seems to be the million-dollar question, my friend,” Drew said with a smile. “This woman was intriguing, but very different from Mother’s normal guests.”
“Well, I wish you the best of luck in finding the owner, and please, let me know how the story ends.”
“I will, if I ever find her again.” Drew took the bracelet back and stared at it for just a moment before returning it to his pocket. “Thank you again.”
“No luck, sir?” Manuel asked as Drew slid into the back of the limo.
“No. Just a trinket as I suspected. The good news is the list is smaller now, so I’ll check out the few remaining women tomorrow. Tonight, however, I have to get to the auction.”
“I admire what you are doing, sir,” Manuel said as he started the limo. “Not everyone would display such commitment.”
Drew nodded and leaned back against the seat. It was true. Most people in his position would not have gone searching for the owner of the bracelet. He wasn’t even sure why he was doing it, other than some urge compelled him. No, not just an urge. It was something else. Something in the woman’s bright green eyes or the way she felt in his arms. It was something different that he hadn’t even realized he was missi
ng until it was gone.
* * *
Gwen sighed and tried one last time to twist her unruly red curls into some semblance of an up do. Her boss was particular that no tendrils hung down while she was serving food, but the Irish in her blood made pinning them down almost impossible.
She squeezed a tiny bit of gel into her hands and rubbed them together. Then she wiped her hands across her hair. The gel managed to tame the last few locks into place. Of course, Gwen had no idea if it would last all night, but at least it was a start.
After a final look in the mirror, she decided her appearance would suffice, flicked off the light, and wandered into the living room to grab her purse.
Carrie looked up from the couch where she sat playing with Tabby. Tabby was Gwen’s kitten - her one financial splurge because she had been so lonely. Carrie had offered to cat sit Tabby while Gwen worked her second job as a caterer. She didn’t want the responsibility of a pet full time, but Carrie loved coming over and having play time with Tabby while Gwen catered.
“Where are you off to tonight?” Carrie asked as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Gwen tried not to envy Carrie’s hair. Though also a ginger, God had blessed her with hair that followed directions, and it lay on her shoulders like velvety copper.
“Who knows? I never know till I get there.” Gwen didn’t love catering, but her teaching job was barely earning enough to pay the bills. Every paycheck went directly to her student loan, rent, cell phone, groceries, and her car. It was enough to get by but not enough to start saving, so Gwen had picked up a second job catering on the weekends.
Carrie wrinkled her perfect ski-sloped nose, and Gwen swallowed another tiny seed of jealousy. Carrie was feminine perfection. Small nose, delicate lips, slender hands. Gwen, on the other hand, wasn’t. Her nose was too big and dusted with freckles, her lips were too thin, and her feet were a size ten - too large to be considered delicate. In fact, her last boyfriend had called them Hobbit feet. She didn’t miss that aspect of him.
The Billionaire's Christmas Miracle (Sweet Billionaires 3) Page 3
