Crossroad to Love (Fab Five Series) - By Anna Kristell Page 0,70
glad to hear it. We’d better get inside. Chloe has been working hard all day to make this dinner special for our new friends and associates. Shall we?”
The group made their way inside the restaurant and followed Ryan to a large, round table in the private dining room. The girls had not been in this room and were all very much in awe at the beauty of it. A large stone fireplace covered the rear wall of the room, larger than the one in the main dining room. A crackling fire had been lit and it was just the thing to take the chill off the cool autumn night. The room was decorated in soft shades of clay and turquoise depicting an appropriate Southwestern atmosphere. Candlelight glowed from the center of a beautiful floral arrangement placed in the center of the large round table, which had been set perfectly. The creamy-colored tablecloth was accented with clay and turquoise napkins, and the china was an exquisite southwestern design. Crystal water goblets and intricately-designed flatware completed the picture. The artwork on the walls was perfectly matched to the color scheme, while various southwestern-style trinkets were scattered about the room for effect.
“Ryan, this room is wonderful,” Katy remarked as he seated her, drinking in the atmosphere with pure delight.
“Thank you, but I can’t take any of the credit for it. This room was all Chloe’s doing, too.”
“Did I hear my name taken in vain?” Chloe laughed as she entered the room.
“Chloe, I love what you’ve done with this room.” Katy smiled as she spoke to her new friend. Chloe certainly had a flair for design, another thing they had in common, besides an eye for the O’Grady brothers.
“Thank you. Coming from our new designer, that is quite a compliment.” Chloe blushed slightly as she returned Katy’s smile. Their eyes locked for a second, Chloe wondering if Katy would reveal her identity to Ryan tonight. Katy turned to Liz and Rex and introduced Rex to Chloe and to Shane, who had entered the room shortly after his wife.
Jon introduced himself to the O’Gradys and the group proceeded to the table.
“I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of preparing our meal tonight myself.” Chloe began as they were all seated and comfortable. “The waiter will be bringing in our appetizer soon.”
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve prepared for us, Chloe. I’m sure it will be absolutely scrumptious,” Angie spoke for the first time since arriving to the restaurant.
“I hear you’re a marvelous cook,” Marianne added. “I’ve read that’s how the restaurant came to be, because of your love for cooking.”
“Basically, yes, that is how we first came up with the idea. I always loved trying new recipes and had worked in other establishments. Shane had the business background, so we decided to combine the two and start ‘Chloe’s Place.’ We needed a partner and that is how Ryan became involved. Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would be such a success and that we would be embarking on the adventure of expanding to other cities. It’s been a whirlwind,” Chloe answered with a smile.
The waiter arrived with lobster-stuffed pasta shells and a large bread bowl with spinach dip. The guests began to eat and were not disappointed.
“This is wonderful, Chloe,” Lizzie said as she finished her first bite.
“I can’t wait to try the rest of the meal,” Marianne said.
They all agreed. They spent the next several minutes enjoying the appetizers, drinking champagne and indulging in light conversation. It was beginning as a wonderful evening. But how will it end? Katy thought again as she looked around the room at all her friends, old and new, together. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go on like this forever?
She noticed that Michael and Angie were beginning to feel comfortable in each other’s presence again and spent a good deal of time gazing into each other’s eyes. It felt good to be out with them as a couple again. Marianne and Jon were a little less tense with each other, and Jon was noticeably making an effort to woo his wife. Marianne had lost the bitterness from the night before and seemed to be making a real effort to enjoy the evening. Rex and Lizzie were discussing the ad campaign with Shane. They had set a time to meet tomorrow afternoon to finalize the paperwork and discuss schedules. It looked like Katy’s friends were all finally getting their happy endings.