“Harrison, can you please tell me what I should expect tonight? You’re right, I am nervous.”
“First, I have something I would like to show you.”
Oh god, what now. What could he possibly throw at me at this hour before the event. He walks behind the kitchen counter and grabs a white box of some sort.
Harrison turns the box so it’s facing me and lifts up the lid with its hinges back towards him.
GASP! “Oh my. Is that...?”
“A beautiful sapphire necklace for a beautiful woman.” They are for you to wear this evening. One of our generous sponsors of the event designed it. I think it suits you.”
Oh my lord I have never seen anything so exquisite. Harrison takes the choker length strand of large cushion cut sapphires all perfectly in a row from the box and walks behind me.
“I want to see you in these and nothing else tonight.”His whisper dances on my ear. His lips brush up against the tender curve. My body tightens and everything inside of me pulses with intensity as he places it around my neck and kisses it briefly.
Holy hell! I’ve completely lost my voice and breath!
“Thank you, Harrison.” I see my reflection in the kitchen window and the sparkles match how I feel on the inside.
“Exquisite on you. Our car is waiting. Shall we?” He places one hand on the small of my back and escorts me outside.
Waiting in front of the estate is a slate grey Bentley Phantom with all the windows blacked out. A man is waiting at the back of the car. A different chauffer. An older man.
“Good evening Sir, Madame.”
“Aw Nicolas, so good to see you. How is the family?”
“Very well, Sir. Thank you.”
While whistling, the jovial Nicolas opens the back passenger door and assists me into the car. He sweeps up the bottom of my dress and tucks me neatly in. He walks around with Harrison as they chat for a few minutes. I wonder who this chauffer is. Harrison obviously knows him well to be chatting with him like he hasn’t seen him in quite some time. Nicolas opens the other passenger door and Harrison slides in next to me.
“So, tell me. What exactly is the benefit this evening for, Harrison? I don’t believe you ever really answered last night in the hot tub.”
Another of his devious smirks comes over his face as he looks out the window. He doesn’t look at me.
“I sponsor this annual gala to raise money for “Reach out to Read Oregon”. The charity funds various literacy programs throughout the state.”
“Wow. That’s wonderful. The charity must be something that’s close to your heart?”
“Yes.”
“So, how did you get involved with this?”
He hesitates and then sighs. “Well, I hate to bring the night down, Danielle. Let’s just have a good time. You do wear those jewels and dress with grace. If I forget to tell you tonight, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
Bring the night down?! Lord, he sure knows how to skirt around a subject, doesn’t he? I have to find the underlying cause of this. There he goes again with providing no details and avoidance.
We have been driving a few miles when we pull into another large estate. It has a security checkpoint at the gate. Two men standing on each side.
“Good evening. Name and code please?”
Harrison rolls down the window. “Towers. 0010.”
“Thank you, Mr. Towers. Enjoy the evening.”
We continue to drive onto the property. It’s a large estate sitting up on the hill, with another large rounded circle drive. There’s another road that veers off to the right. We travel down the smoothly paved road and in the distance, I can see a vineyard with thousands and thousands of tiny white twinkling lights above it.
“The event is outdoors?”
“Yes. This year they chose ‘Vino under the Stars’ as the theme.”
“How lovely. What a beautiful night for this.”
His expression is still straight and steady. He’s more closed off than usual. He’s sitting very quietly and almost distracted. He grabs my hand, still looking out the window. He runs his thumb over the knuckles of my left hand. Sweet and delicate, as if he’s worried about something. This is all too confusing. Well, I’m just going to enjoy the evening. I make a mental note to revisit this at another time.
As soon as we pull to the second checkpoint, I can see the line of photographers and the flashes from their cameras. Oh great. Another guard asking for invitation, name and code. Nicolas gives the Towers, 0010 code, and we are ushered out of the car. The cameras begin flashing from all directions. There is chatter amongst the photographers. I’m sure they’re wondering who in the world Harrison is making his grand entrance with. All eyes are on us.
We walk along the raspberry colored carpet, stopping along the way to pose for the camera with each other.
The gala decor is amazing. We stop at the entrance to retrieve our table number. I look up in complete amazement. I see a huge arch that was created to resemble grape branches intertwined with thousands upon thousands of tiny white lights threaded through. Breathtaking. What a beautiful concept.
“It is almost magical, isn’t it,” Harrison says while escorting me towards our table.
There must be at least 300 people already at the event. Of course, we had to make our grand entrance. Mostly men come up to Harrison to talk about business and the vineyard. Women watch with their mouths literally wide open as we pass by. Jealous and inquisitive to say the least.
I tactfully excuse myself and head over to the bar to grab myself a glass of wine. These large events really aren’t my kind of thing. But the cause would hit anyone in the heart. On the bar are little napkins that read,
‘If you really want to change the world, teach a child to read.’
Well isn’t that the truth. I truly am honored to be here to support Harrison and the gala.
“What would you like Ms. Austen?” Okay the bartender knows my name. Odd.
“Um. I will have a glass of Pinot Griggio, please.”
“Yes, of course. How about Towers 2010?”
“Yes, Perfect. Thank you.”
“Ahh, Towers 2010. That was an excellent growing season, Ms. Austen,” says a woman’s voice from behind me.
Oh, shit. Now who. Why in the hell do all these people know my name?
I turn to find this exotic looking woman smiling at me pertly. Dressed all in white, dark wavy shoulder length hair, cranberry stained lips, and a perfect olive complexion. She almost looks to be of Eastern Indian ethnicity.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, forgive me. I am Marion
Deveraeux
, one of the sponsors of the gala. They make it our business to know who will be attending with our grand patron sponsors.”
“I see.” I look at her with a guarded stare.
“You know, you are the first person Harrison has brought to this event since Adelaide. I really am quite shocked. You look stunning though. His type. It’s so nice to see you are supporting him in his ex-fiancé’s charity.”
I stop dead in my tracks. Not a word comes out. It must be written all over my face how freaking shocked I am.
“Oh darling, I am so sorry. He hasn’t told you, has he?”
“What Harrison and I discuss is really none of your business,” I answer as I turn on my heel and walk away from this meddling bitch.
Shit! Who the hell is Marion? Adelaide? And now an ex-fiancé? The sick feeling of disgust waves over every vein in my body. Ice cold. My breathing is now shallow and quickening. I’ve got to get out of everyone’s sight and digest all of this.
I grab a seat a little outside of the gala’s main entrance. There are a few benches on the side inset in the vineyard. This is why he’s so secretive. He has too many dammed women in his life. And when in the world was he going to bring up his EX-FINANCE? Is she here? Shit! It is her charity, of course she would be here. I must be a damned fool to think I was the only woman currently in his life! I’m sickened by the thought that I may just have another Bradley on my hands.
I walk over and grab another glass of wine off the tray. I look around to make sure nobody is watching and throw all the wine back. Every last damn drop. Ah, now hopefully this will take a little of the edge off.
I survey the area and finally catch sight of him. There he is. Grabbing two glasses of wine at the VIP bar. I wonder if he realizes I have run off to escape this soap opera. Oh god, of course! There goes brunette exotic bombshell to his side. Where in the hell does she come from? Her tight white, well above the knee dress showcasing every single asset. God, she’s stunning. Damn that wine witch! His back is to me so I can’t see the expression on his face right now. So who is she to him?
They’re too close for comfort. She’s smiling and whispering in his ear. Oh, there goes a damn hand on his forearm. Are you kidding me right now? Harrison is starting to look around now that she has a hold on his arm. Yeah doesn’t look good, Towers.
Now he’s on the damn phone again. Really? And he turns. Spot on catches my eyes, until I turn to break the connection. Shit! Okay so he’s having me watched. Someone on the security team I guess is keeping tabs on me. There’s no way he could turn and find me that fast in this crowd.
I turn all my attention to watch all of the beautiful couples here tonight in their lovely regalia. I can feel his presence closing in on me.
“May I have this dance?”
“Harrison, I’m really not...” I answer as I turn my head. It’s not Harrison. It’s some handsome rugged looking rock star type. Cheekbone length blonde hair, green eyes, 6’3 and yum! Where did he come from?
“Um, yes! I would love to.” I’ll show Harrison a thing or two.
“Danielle Austen.” I extend my hand.
“Danielle, you’re stunning,” he says as he grabs my hand with one of his and wraps his other around my waist, helping me stand. A little too close. But hell, I’m going to get Towers back. A little jealousy will do him good.
He escorts me on the dance floor swiftly. Our bodies close and his eyes intense as well. Christ, another hot one. Who in the hell is this, I wonder as he dips me back slowly and seductively. He pulls me up gently as I grab onto his shoulders for balance.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your-”
“Paul. I will take it from here, thank you.”
In one brief second, Harrison has cut in and taken over, spinning me into a tight hold close to his chest. Eyes intense and a stern look on his face.
“Danielle, why did you run off? I have been looking for you.”
“I’m sure your security team can fill you in.”
“My what? Okay, what happened?” He sighs.
“Alright. So explain to me this without talking circles around me: One, who is Marion? Two, who is Adelaide? Three, who is your ex-finance and four, with all these women in your life, what the hell am I doing here?”
He smirks, “Ah, Marion got to you.”
“She sure did. Thanks for the heads up.” I’m pissed off now.
“Danielle, I really wanted this to come from me, not some third party.”
“Well, it didn’t. Perhaps you should have answered me straight when I asked you last night and again in the car on the way here. You’ve had plenty of opportunities to give me the lay of the land. So...?”
“I apologize. I shouldn’t have waited this long to bring up some of my past, especially bringing you here tonight. Marion is the Wine Manager for Tower Vineyards. She also oversees all distribution in Canada. Her family, the Devereauxs, are long time family friends and colleagues of the Towers family. That relation goes back for many generations.”