The Billionaire's Masquerade Page 0,20

was that she was relaxed! Before her weekend with Jack, she was never relaxed. Some weeks she lived off of antacids because she was so nervous about her suggestions to her clients.

It had to be Jack. Or maybe her success had nothing to do with him and everything to do with how much she still wanted to see him.

“Overnight delivery for you Rachel,” the receptionist said, handing Rachel a cardboard envelope.

Rachel took it warily since she wasn’t expecting anything. Pulling the strap, she opened the cardboard and peered inside. It didn’t even have a letter, just a smaller piece of paper at the bottom. She pulled it out and looked at the information, then her smile widened, her shoulders relaxed and she almost bounced in her seat from excitement. Jack had sent her a plane ticket! It was round trip for tomorrow night, returning Sunday evening.

She picked up her cell phone and texted him, feeling free and happier than she had all week. “Got the ticket, see you tomorrow night!” was all she said.

She then sent off another message to Nikki and Brianna. “Lunch? Need to talk with both of you.”

She’d barely put down her phone when two more dings came back. “Usual place?”

Rachel smiled, truly grateful for having these two women in her life. “Absolutely!” she laughed as she pressed the send button. Nikki and Brianna had been orphaned when they were young and placed in the same foster home. They’d bonded because of the horrific experience so when they’d arrived at school, it was as if Rachel understood their fears. From the day Nikki had bended the three of them together until now, they had been the best of friends.

When eleven-thirty rolled around, she grabbed her purse and rushed out of the office. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends about her weekend. She’d held off until now because she hadn’t thought it was real. It had been just a weekend fling, something she could smile back on and think about with fond memories.

But with the ticket for this weekend, she was excited and couldn’t wait to tell her friends all about Jack and how wonderful he was.

Outside, the heat was almost unbearable but she was practically skipping down the street. It was only a few blocks to their normal lunch hangout. She was the first one there and got everyone’s lunches ready, holding the three hot dogs in her hands.

“You shouldn’t be buying all of us lunch!” Nikki exclaimed as soon as she walked up behind Rachel. Nikki could only be described as a ball of energy. Her brown curls danced around her face and shoulders, never still. And her mind was always working, always spinning and creating new ideas about whatever was going on in her life. She was fearless and Rachel worried that she was going to get herself into trouble with that kind of fearlessness.

Nikki took one of the hot dogs and gave Rachel a big hug. “You look amazing,” she said, backing up a step. They headed over to one of the park’s picnic tables, the only one that had a bit of shade from a large tree.

The third woman in their group walked up a moment later, giving Rachel and Nikki a quick hug. While Nikki was all energy and laughter, Brianna was the essence of kindness. There was an aura of tranquility surrounding Brianna that Rachel wished she could emulate. Brianna also had brown hair, but hers was a softer kind of style.

“Whew! Hot day today, huh?” Brianna asked, sitting down on the rough wood and handing everyone a cold bottle of water. She glanced over at Rachel, her eyebrows going up high on her forehead. “What happened to you?” she teased. “You’re practically glowing!”

“I just thought the same thing,” Nikki commented as she took a bite of her hot dog.

Rachel laughed, feeling light and carefree despite the oppressive heat and humidity. “I met a guy last weekend,” she said, then waited for their reactions, worried now because she hadn’t told them immediately.

“What?” they both screeched in unison.

Nikki was the first to get over her surprise. “I thought you were going up to Maine to meet The Ogre!”

“Who is this guy?” Brianna demanded, worried for her friend.

This was the part that Rachel was wary of explaining. But she’d never hidden anything from these two friends before so she wasn’t going to start now. “He’s a handyman that works on Watson’s grounds.”

Rachel was looking down at her hotdog so she didn’t see