Seduced The Unexpected Virgin - By Emily McKay Page 0,39
out that fantasy.
“Why does that bother you?” Emma asked.
She held up the dress again, struggling to put her concerns into words. “It’s a dress designed for a goddess. Literally. Don’t you think I’m a little ordinary for a dress like this?”
“You are a lot of things, my friend, but ordinary is not one of them.” Emma bumped her shoulder playfully against Ana’s.
“Don’t you think it’s a little—” Ana broke off, searching for the right word. “I don’t know. Extravagant?”
At this, Emma’s smile grew broad and self-satisfied. “Not at all. Chase said that Ward is very romantic. That when he was dating Cara, he did all kinds of crazy grand gestures for her. Why do you think he wrote so many songs for her?”
Hearing it put like that, all of the anxiety that had been brewing in Ana’s stomach coalesced into a tight ball of dread. She had expected their relationship to be all passionate sex. Instead, he was taking her on romantic dates and buying her presents. How was she supposed to stay emotionally uninvolved under these circumstances?
She forced a smile to cover her dread. Shaking the dress out with a flourish, she grabbed a hanger from the footstool by the bed. As she slipped the dress onto the hanger, she said cheerfully, “Well, if I’m going to this grand bash, I might as well make the most of it.”
Emma’s face blossomed with glee. She looked like she might very well have clapped her hands if her cast hadn’t prevented her. “Okay, we’ll need to start with a pedicure and manicure, then we’ll need to figure out something for your hair. I’m thinking something Grecian and piled on top—”
“Hold on there, fairy godmother,” Ana interrupted, as she propped open the door to her wardrobe and hung the dress from the edge. “I can handle that all on my own tomorrow afternoon after your wedding. And you’re the one getting married tomorrow. What I meant was, if I’m going to be hobnobbing with the rich and famous, I might as well find a way to drum up some interest in Hannah’s Hope.”
Emma’s expression went from excited to crestfallen. “Most people would sell their left foot to go to a party like this. On the arm of Ward Miller no less! And all you see is a chance to shill Hannah’s Hope? Do you ever stop working?”
“Nope,” Ana answered with a cheerful grin. “Can’t afford to. Too much work to do.” Then she jabbed Emma delicately in the ribs. “And admit it. If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same.”
Emma gave a good-natured grumble. “Would not.”
“Yeah, you would.”
Emma ignored her. “Well, for now you should concentrate on just meeting people and talking about Hannah’s Hope. Put out feelers. Maybe someone will be interested in coming to the street fair. Or…” Emma’s eyes lit up as she paused dramatically. “We could invite them all to a gala fundraiser.”
“Are we having a gala fundraiser?” Ana asked hesitantly.
“Well, we haven’t planned one yet.” Emma all but bubbled as she warmed to the idea. “But we should! Think about it. It just makes sense. You can talk up Hannah’s Hope tomorrow night at this Valentine’s Day thing. Ward can invite all the bigwigs he knows. Chase can, too, for that matter. We can host the event in a couple of months when we have some real successes to show off and—”
“How is Rafe going to feel about this?”
Emma’s gaze narrowed in fierce protectiveness. “Right now, I’m so not concerned about how Rafe feels about anything.”
“Oookay.” Apparently, Emma was still worried that Rafe planned to dismantle the company bit by bit. Ana knew Chase was doing everything in his power to convince Rafe to take a different approach, but if Emma’s reaction was any indication, he must not be making very much progress. Over drinks, Emma had mentioned that she’d done what she could to smooth over the rift between the stepbrothers, but apparently, her generosity of spirit extended only so far.
“Just think about it,” Emma continued. “You’ve been worried about funding anyway. This is the perfect way to secure funding for the charity.”
Ana was warming to the idea. “I don’t think anyone at Hannah’s Hope has the experience to organize something like this. Well, maybe you do.” She dropped her gaze to Emma’s belly. “But you’re going to have your hands full in the coming months. We’re going to have to hire someone to plan it.”
“Didn’t you say you’d recently been to a wedding