Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1)
Page 6
CHAPTER TWELVE
Andrew sighed. “I hate it,” he muttered.
He turned around and looked at his neighbors. David and Beth were sitting next to each other on the wide leather couch in Andrew’s hotel room.
“You look great,” Beth said.
They sat in silence as Andrew stared into the mirror.
Beth looked over at her husband. He shrugged. She kicked his foot.
“Yeah, I agree,” David said as he looked over at his wife. “Come on, man, it’s a masquerade ball. You look exactly how one should look at a masquerade ball.”
Andrew shook his head as he pulled at his tux.
“What’s up?” Beth asked. “Don’t you like the mask?”
He shook her head. “I don’t know,” he replied.
David sighed. “Hell, Andy, you are acting like a teenage girl before her prom night,” he said. “What’s going on with you?”
“Do you want us to grab another mask?” Beth asked. “There are a ton of them downstairs in the lobby. They are spares but they are quite elegant.”
Andrew shook his head. “No, it’s fine,” he replied.
Beth and David exchanged a glance.
“When is Katy going to get here?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Andrew said. “I haven’t talked to her today.”
“Oh,” she said quietly. “Is everything okay between you two? You haven’t mentioned her much lately.”
“She’s fine,” he replied. “We have just both been busy.”
Beth nodded. “Good. I am looking forward to seeing her,” she said.
Andrew looked away from the mirror. He slowly walked over and sat down in the lounge chair next to Beth and David.
“Honestly, I am just looking forward to having tonight over with,” he said as he plopped down into the chair.
David scrunched up his face. “Oh, really?” he asked. “I am a little surprised to hear that. I thought you had been looking forward to tonight.”
“Yeah, me too,” Beth said. “What are you worried about? Everything looks great downstairs. There were already photographers lined up outside earlier this afternoon. It’s going to be a massive event.”
Andrew shrugged.
“Don’t even worry about it,” David said. “You have all of the hard work done at this point. All you need to do now is just get down there, make some chit chat and have a few hors d'oeuvres. The night will be over in no time. Just try to relax.”
“Yeah, Andy. It’s not like you to be so nervous,” Beth said. “You have been going to these sort of galas your entire life.”
“Yep,” Andrew said as he stood up. He walked over to the mini bar in the corner of the presidential suite. “Do either of you want a glass of champagne?” he asked.
“That would be great,” Beth said as she stood up and walked over to where Andrew was standing.
David stood up and followed behind her. “You are starting a little early tonight, aren’t you?” he asked.
Andrew shrugged. “Let’s just have a little glass to get our night started,” he said as he grabbed two more glasses from the bar. “It’s always good luck to have a pre-party toast.”
Beth smiled as she watched Andrew pop the cork of the pricey champagne bottle. “You hardly need luck,” she said. “Tonight is going to be fabulous. I can’t believe that you were able to get the chef from Karman. He is the hottest chef in New York City right now. He was just featured in the New York Times last week.
Andrew stared forward. Beth looked at him for a moment.
“Earth to Andy,” she said.
He jumped as if he were startled to see that he wasn’t alone. “Sorry,” Andrew said. “My head is just somewhere else tonight.”
David shook his head. “Alright, it’s time for a chat,” he said. “Come clean with us. What’s going on tonight? YOu have been acting a little strange all week.”
Andrew sighed. “Isabel is coming tonight.”
Beth frown. “Isabel,” she repeated.
“Yeah, Isabel,” he said. “Remember, we are childhood friends. She has the fashion line in Brooklyn.”
She laughed. “Of course I remember who Isabel is,” she said. “I am just surprise to hear you talking about her right now.”
“Well, we are close friends,” he said.
“Yep, I know that,” she replied. “But if you are close friends then why are you so bothered by the idea of her coming to the gala tonight?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Our relationship is really complicated right now.”
“How so?” David asked.
“Well, I haven’t seen her since we went out of town together,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” Beth said. “And I thought you told her that you don’t want to be friends anymore. What happened with all of that?”
Andrew looked down at the ground. “I didn’t mean that we would stop speaking forever,” he said.
“Okay, what exactly did you mean then?” Beth asked.
He paused. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he replied. “I have no idea what I was thinking.”
She nodded. “Fair enough,” she said. “So now you are having some second thoughts about the whole thing?”
“I suppose that I am,” he said.
“I don’t really get you,” David said. “You told us last time that she didn’t fit into your life anymore. I don’t see what has changed.”
“Well, nothing has changed in my life,” Andrew replied. “I guess I was just feeling overwhelmed with all of the changes that were going on for me earlier. You know, I had never actually had a career before.”
“Right,” Beth said. “A lot has definitely changed for you over the past year.”
Andrew nodded. “Indeed, it has,” he said. “And I just wasn’t feeling sure about how she would fit into it all.”
“And now you see that?” David asked.
He paused. “I don’t think it’s really about my lifestyle,” Andrew said. “My day to day life has definitely changed a lot. It’s not about that though.”
“So, what is it about?” Beth asked impatiently.
“The issue is that I haven’t changed. I miss my old friends. I miss Isabel and all of the things that we used to do together,” Andrew said. “I’m afraid that I really messed things up. I guess, all of the sudden, I felt like I was too good for her. It sounds so awful now when I think about it that way.”
David patted Andrew on the shoulder. “Everyone makes mistakes. I’m sure she will understand,” he said.
“I hope so,” Andrew said. “That’s why I invited her tonight. I want to apologize to her. I know that things will be different for a while but I’m hoping that we can reconnect.”
“Well, I don’t know why you couldn’t. I am sure that it's not as big of a deal as you think it is,” David said.
Andrew shrugged. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “I really hurt her feelings. I was pretty cold on the last weekend and then I sent her a text message rather than actually be upfront and talking to her in person. I was a jerk. I really do feel terrible about the whole thing. I just want to pick up where we left off.”
“Have you really thought this through?” Beth asked. “You do know that she wants a relationship, right?”
“Yeah, I know that,” he said.
“Well, what about Katy?” she asked.
Andrew sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “For now, I just want to focus on getting through tonight.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Isabel wiped the sweat from her brow. Her hands shook as she pushed the fabric through the sewing machine.
“I’m never going to get this done in time,” she muttered to herself.
Suddenly the door swung open. She jumped and hit her arm on the sew machine. Isabel yelped in pain. Cara looked over at her as she walked into the sewing room.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied. “You just startled me.”
“Yeah,” Isabel replied. “I just have a few last minute things to finish.”
Cara walked over to where Isabel was sitting and laughed. “And I definitely didn't expect you to be sitting here like this,” she said.
Isabel laughed and looked down at her bare legs.
“So, you did your hair and makeup, I see,” Cara said. “And now you are sitting here in your bra and underwear?”
“Yep, I am,” she replied.
“I wanted to be ready to leave by now,” she said. “But then when I put on my dress, I noticed that the seam wasn’t quite straight.”
Cara nodded. “Can I help you?” she asked. “You are really down to the last minute.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I will be fine,” Isabel replied.
She took a step closer and brushed the sweat off of Isabel’s forehead with her fingers. “Maybe you will be fine but you are starting to look a bit gross,” she said as we walked across the room to grab a box of tissues.
“Yeah,” Isabel said. “I did a bit of running around before I finally sat down to finish sewing this. I’m not sure how it got to be so late.”
Cara pulled out a tissue and wiped it across Isabel’s forehead.
“Thanks, I needed that,” she said as she dropped her hands away from the machine. She looked back at Cara. “And you look amazing by the way.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “I’m ready to go to the gala unlike some people.”
“Ugh, I know. I can’t believe how late it is,” Isabel said.
“Oh, relax. Why don’t you go rinse your face and touch up your makeup? I can see that the dress is nearly ready to go. Let me just finish up the hem and give it one final look. It’ll be ready to go by the time you are done with your makeup,” she said.
Isabel smiled nervously. “Thanks a lot,” she said. “That would be great.”
Cara learned over and rested her hands on Isabel’s shoulders. “Alright then,” she said. “Get up and get out of here. Let me sit there.”
“Okay, okay,” she said as she stood up from the chair. “I am going.”
Isabel stood up and walked to the mirror on the opposite side of the studio. “Oh God,” she said. “I don’t know where my makeup is. I don’t think I have anything with me. I seriously need foundation. Where is my bag?”
Cara walked over and picked up Isabel’s bag from the table in front of her.
Isabel laughed nervously. “Sorry,” she said. “I am blind today.”
Cara smiled at her friend. “Take a deep breath. It’s just another party,” she said. “Everything is going to be fine. You don’t need to run around like a crazy person. You look amazing and we are nearly ready to get out of here.”
Isabel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I know,” she said. “I know that you are right. I have just been going out of my mind today. My head feels like it’s spinning.”
“There is nothing to worry about,” Cara said. “Tonight is going to be fun if you just allow yourself to have a good time. I promise.”
Isabel leaned down to look at herself in front of the mirror. She patted the sweat off of her forehead with more tissue. Her hands shook as she reached down to grab her compact. “Yeah,” she said. “I am sure that it will be a good night.”
Cara pulled the dress from the sewing machine and held it out in front of her. She carefully inspected all of the seems. “I think the dress looks great,” she said. “Why don’t you come over here and slip it on so I can take a closer look?”
Isabel walked over to Cara. “Thanks for doing that,” she said.
“Alright, you are the model today,” Cara said. “Arms up.”
Isabel laughed as she held her hands over her head. Cara slipped the dress over her head then bent over to follow her eyes over the length of each seam.
“How does it look?” Isabel asked.
“It looks amazing,” she replied. “You really did a great job on this.”
Isabel smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “It took me forever.”
“I am a little surprised that you decided to make something new,” Cara said.
Isabel shrugged. “I couldn’t decide what to wear,” she said.
“You really are making a big deal of this gala,” Cara said as she stood up. “But I think that you look amazing now. The dress is definitely 100% done. Are you ready to go?”
Isabel didn’t respond. She looked around the room nervously.
“Come on,” Cara said. “You can only delay for so long. What is it that you think is going to happen tonight anyway?”
“I don’t know and I guess that is what worries me,” she replied. “I have no idea why he invited me to this party.”
“Well you are friends,” Cara said. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t invite you.”
Isabel sighed. “We aren’t exactly friends anymore. In fact, he did basically say that he doesn’t want to be friends anymore, remember?” she asked.
Cara nodded. “Yeah, of course I remember but maybe he changed his mind. He obviously wants to see you,” she said.
“I am not counting on that,” Isabel said. “There are a million different reasons why he might have sent me that invite.”
“You are being crazy. He is one of your best friends and he is having a party so he invited you. It really is a pretty straightforward situation,” Cara said.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she replied.
“alright, I’ll indulge you. Why else would he have invited you?” she asked.
“Well, for one thing, you know that Andrew didn’t personally send out those invites. I am sure that his assistant sent them. Maybe he hadn’t removed me from his address list,” Isabel said.
Cara shook her head. “This is an important party. I am very sure that he would have personally approved the guest list,” she said. “I seriously doubt that it was a mistake.”
“Fine, maybe,” Isabel replied. “But there is also the possibility that he was just being polite. Maybe he thought that I would hear about the party and he didn’t want me to be insulted.”
“You are just making things up now. It seems quite likely that he just invited you because he wants you to come,” Cara said.
“Well, yeah, I do hope that is true,” Isabel said. “But I definitely don’t want to get my hopes up. It’s very possible that we will go there and he won’t even bother to say hello.”
Cara shook her head. “I seriously doubt that but there is only one way to find out,” she said. “Come on, let’s get out of there.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“You impress me more every single day, Andrew,” she said as she put her hand on his shoulder.
Andrew turned around and saw his boss’ wife standing behind him.
“Well, hello, Victoria,” he said. “You look stunning tonight as usual.”
She smiled. “As do you, my dear,” she said. “Let me just say, I have been to a lot of charity events over my many years and this is definitely one of the best.”
“Thank you,” he said. “That really means a lot coming from you.”
“It should. I am probably the oldest person here and I’ve been around the proverbial block more than once,” she said.
Andrew laughed. “Well, you don’t look a day over 40,” he said.
“Oh, Andrew,” she said. “You know that flattery will get you everywhere with me.
He chuckled. “Flattery aside, it really is an honor that you could make it,” he said.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said. “In fact, it looks like everyone who is anyone in New York City is here tonight.”
He nodded. “We definitely had a great turnout. It really exceeded my expectations,” he said.
“And speaking of important New Yorkers, here comes that lovely lady of yours,” she said.
Andrew turned around and saw Katy walking up to them. He swall
owed hard. She beamed at them as she approached.
“It’s a pleasure to see you, Victoria,” she said. “I am glad that you could make it to our humble little shindig.”
“Of course, my dear,” she replied. “I was just telling Andrew what a lovely gala this has turned out to be.”