Falling into Forever (Falling into You) - By Lauren Abrams Page 0,62
the compliment. However, we have a prior engagement.”
She grabs my arm and hisses into my ear, “See, total strangers hitting on you? That’s a good sign. Now, stop fiddling with your dress and smile like you mean it.”
I give her a ridiculous jack-o-lantern smile, and she slaps my arm.
“Behave.” Still, she can’t hide her grin. I glance back, once more, to creepy grandpa, who winks at me. I see that his eyes are still following us as we’re ushered into a private room, set apart from the rest of the dining room by heavy black curtains.
I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. Eva’s right. If I really am going to look like a total slut, then I need to own the dress. Especially if I’m going to be face-to-face with Chris Jensen in about two seconds.
“Hallie Caldwell. Who would have imagined us meeting like this?”
The booming voice definitely did not come from the mouth of Chris Jensen. I give Marcus a wicked little grin that matches the one on his face.
“What exactly did you imagine, Marcus?”
“The way I see it, we move towards each other from across a crowded dance floor and then I sweep you into my arms. If I remember correctly, you had moves. But dance floor or not, it’s surprisingly good to see you.”
His teasing words are filled with unvarnished warmth, and I’m stunned to realize that I’m actually happy to see him, too. I ignore the flabbergasted faces of the men in suits around the table and offer my hand to Marcus, who promptly kisses it.
“Hello, Marcus.”
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I study him for a minute. “You look the same, I think. Older, but the same.”
That elicits some chuckles.
“How do you two know each other?”
The question comes from a perky-looking blond girl, scribbling furiously with a stylus on a tablet in the corner of the private room. She quickly looks down in embarrassment when one of the men scolds her. For a moment, I feel sorry for her. Then I realize I’m going to have to answer the question.
Marcus steps in instead. “Hallie and I are old friends. Golfing buddies, you might say. She used to humiliate me, and you all know that I don’t admit that easily, but it’s been a long time since she’s kicked my ass on the course. I’ve gotten much better since then.”
“It would be hard for you to get much worse. If I remember correctly, you ended up throwing more than a few clubs into the ocean on our last jaunt to Pebble Beach.”
“Your memory is clearly damaged.”
He gives me a quick grin before pulling out my chair. He’s not so chivalrous when he turns his attention to Eva.
“Eva. Of course. I was hoping Hallie would be unaccompanied by her bulldog, but I suppose we must make sacrifices for the honor of the writer’s presence.”
Eva’s not going to like that one at all.
Nope.
For a second, I think she’s actually going to crawl across the table to gouge his eyes out, but she merely shakes her head and gives him a menacing glare. I can practically see the fumes coming off her, but she’s managing to keep it together. For now.
“At least I managed to show up on time. Where’s your client, Marcus?”
He hesitates slightly. “Tied up.”
A shiver of disappointment crosses my spine, but then I see the faint concern behind Marcus’s eyes. He isn’t telling the whole story. Of course not. I remember all too well. How many times had I been the one to say that for Chris? I even used the same words. Tied up.
Marcus settles back into his seat, and as someone starts to make introductions, I dig my nails into his hand. I have to know whether Chris is all right. I can’t help thinking that there was something that I should have done. I shouldn’t have left him like that, all alone in the room.
“Where’s Chris? Tell me,” I hiss into his ear.
“He’s fine, Hallie. Fine.”
I glance at him through narrowed eyes.
“Then why isn’t he here?”
“Hallie, it’s not your problem.”
“What do you mean, it’s not my problem? Of course it’s not my problem. But that’s not the question I asked. Where is he?”
“Still a spitfire, huh? He’s at a meeting.” There’s something that Marcus isn’t saying, but before I can ask what it is, his fingers tighten on mine. “He’s pretty wound up, Hallie. I know I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you need to tread lightly.”