"So where's Andrea?" Will asked.
"She's not with me."
"I can see that. She couldn't make it?
"No, she's not with me anymore."
"You guys broke up? Why?"
Rob shrugged. "She was moving too fast for me. Gave me an ultimatum to get engaged or break up, so we broke up. Jesus, we've only been dating for five months and she wants to get hitched."
"She probably just wanted to see how serious you were with her, knowing your past reputation."
"Well, I'm not ready to give up my bachelorhood yet. It's much more fun being on the playing field than out of it," he said with a mischievous grin.
Will shook his head at his friend, smirking. "Grow up, Rob."
"No, thanks. Not yet," Rob replied with a chuckle.
"They're here! They're here!" they heard Megan shout with relief at the sight of the caterer's van approaching.
"Thank, God," Rick said as he rolled his eyes upwards. "I don't have to kill them after all."
~~
Megan's guests started arriving. Clarise got busy directing the caterers and left Will and Rick to help Megan with the new arrivals.
"So you're Megan's older sister?" Tom, the catering manager, said.
"Yes," Clarise answered tersely. Tom was starting to annoy her. He kept on staring and touching her arm when he spoke to her. If she wasn't in a hurry for them to get everything set up, she'd tell him off.
"You don't look older than her. You actually look younger. And prettier."
Oh, my God. Clarise rolled her eyes mentally. Did this guy have to flirt with her when they already got here late? How unprofessional. She would have to tell Megan not to consider them again in the future.
She felt a strong, familiar arm slide around her waist. She smiled as she looked up at Will.
"How's everything going, baby?" he said in a voice loud enough for Tom to hear.
"Getting there, hon," she said as she leaned into his embrace.
Will glared at Tom and the man visibly shrunk.
Megan broke away from a group of new arrivals. "I'll take it from here, Clarise. Thanks. Everything's almost done anyway." She gave Will a wink and a smile.
~~
Clarise and Will were saying hello to Faye and Steve when she heard someone call her name. She whirled around to see Jared Brigden approach her with a wide smile.
"Jared!"
Jared gave her a big hug, lifting her off the ground. "How's my favourite student?"
Clarise chuckled. "Still as bad in tennis as I was before you gave me lessons."
"Ouch. So you're saying I'm not a very good teacher."
"Well, I was going to say I'm not a very good student, but okay, I'll take that. You're not a very good teacher."
Jared laughed, hugging her tighter before releasing her. He turned to the others.
"Will! Good to see you here," he said as he shook hands with Will who looked bemused.
Clarise noticed Will's reaction. He didn't look happy. Oops. She moved closer to him and put both her arms around his waist in front of Jared, resting her head on his shoulder.
He looked at her with a surprised smile and slid his arm around her, kissing her forehead. She felt him relax.
Jared looked like he swallowed something unpleasant. "Uh, I didn't know you guys are together."
"We are," Will said simply.
Jared nodded and turned to Faye and Steve, introducing himself to them.
Clarise glanced up at Will with an adoring smile. He grinned back at her and held her closer, kissing her forehead once more.
Clarise gasped as she recognised the woman who arrived.
Will followed her gaze and saw Gina with her husband Chris. He sighed. There was only one way he could think of to put Gina in her place without creating a scene.
"Don't worry about her, okay, baby? Once she sees you and me together..."
"Will," Rick called. "Could you just help me move a table, please?"
"Sure, Rick." Turning to Clarise, he asked, "you okay, baby?"
"Yes, baby. I'm fine." Her bright smile told him she was.
Will went to help Rick, and Clarise decided to take the offensive. She strode towards Gina and Chris.
"Hi, Gina," she said pleasantly.
Gina's eyes went wide with surprise although why she would be surprised to see her here she didn't know. This was her sister's event, after all. Perhaps she was surprised she was talking to her.
"Oh, hi, Clarise. How are you?"
"Good, thanks. And you?"
"Yes, fine, thanks."
The man beside her extended his hand towards her. "Hi, I'm Chris, Gina's husband."
"Hi, Chris. I'm Clarise. Megan's sister." And Will's girlfriend.
"Oh, right. Good to meet you, Clarise. I didn't know you and Gina had already met."
Ah, so Chris wasn't in on the two witches' connivance.
"Yes, we met in my office."
"I handed Clarise my donation for tonight's auction," Gina added hastily. She didn't mention Karen. She obviously wanted to hide that from her husband.
Megan turned up at her side. Uh-oh.
"Hello, Gina," she said cooly. "Hi, Chris."
"Megan!" Chris exclaimed. "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has been, Chris," she said politely. "Gina, thank you for your donation although you didn't have to hand it to Clarise earlier. You could have handed it to me tonight."
Chris piped in. "That's what I thought we were going to do, Gina. I didn't know you've already given it to them. And I wanted to do the honours!" Chris said, oblivious to the tension around him.
"Oh, I thought it was a good idea to hand it in earlier," Gina said weakly, feeling the heat of Megan's stare.
"Hey, guys!" Chris said to Will and Rick as they approached. He gave them both a man-hug.
"Will!" Gina gasped in surprise. "I thought you're in Europe until next Friday."
Chris frowned at his wife. "Have you been seeing Will behind my back? How come you know about this Europe thing and I don't?" he asked jokingly.
Will gave a silent sigh of relief at the knowledge that his good friend Chris wasn't party to wanting to hurt Clarise.
"No, Chris. Gina hasn't been seeing me behind your back. She has been seeing my girlfriend behind our backs."
Gina reddened and looked horrified.
"What does that mean?" Chris asked in confusion as he saw the embarrassment on his wife's face.
Clarise felt sorry for Chris, and for Gina, too, for some reason. "Baby, don't tease them," she said as she gave him a playful tap on the arm.
Will's arm went around her shoulders protectively and he pulled her close.
"Oh," Chris said, understanding dawning in his eyes. "I didn't know you and Clarise are together, Will," he said good-naturedly. "Yes, my wife sneaks around my back to hand her our donation without me knowing," he growled at Gina playfully.
"To answer your question, Gina," Will said. "I was supposed to be in Europe but there were some unexpected developments and I decided to come home for a few days to be with my girl," he said as he looked at Clarise lovingly and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips in front of everyone.
Clarise blushed.
"Aww, since when did you become mushy, Matthews?" Chris said. "You two should get a room. I'm sure there's one available in this house."
"Chris!" Clarise gasped and blushed even deeper.
"Great idea, Chris. Rick," Will said, "which one can we use?"
Clarise pinched his arm and glared at him as everyone around them laughed, even Gina. Will hugged her tighter with both arms, grinning madly.
"Stop it, you guys. We have a fund-raising event to conduct," Megan pitched in. "You can get a room afterwards."
"Megan!" Clarise cried as Will kept her in the circle of his arms, laughing softly. She sighed with contentment despite her embarrassment, knowing she was loved by the wonderful man she loved so much.
~~
The event was a success and Megan was one mighty relieved girl.
As the night drew to a close, Clarise noticed two people talking intently in a dark corner and her mouth opened in surprise.
Jessa was smiling sweetly at Rob and staring up at him with an enamoured look.
"Yes, they've been inseparable all night," Faye whispered in her ear as she walked passed her to go to inside the house.
Oh, no. Why Rob of all people?
Clarise prayed that her dear friend wouldn't fall for Will's playboy friend. She would need to talk to Jessa later.
She looked around for her man. She spotted him laughing with the boys but broke from them when he saw her. She watched him walk towards her, eyes shining with an unmistakable look of love.
A vision flashed in Clarise's mind. In the vision, it was she who was walking towards him as he waited for her at the altar.
She said a silent prayer of thanks for having finally found 'The One'.
###
Heart Robber
(Lifestyle By Design Book 2)
The story between Jessa Allen and Rob Granger will be available in November 2012.
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About Miranda P. Charles
From her teens, Miranda loved reading romance novels and daydreaming about love and relationships.
For many years, she had written technical and non-fiction materials for professional use and had only dreamt about writing a novel.
Then, one day, after finishing reading yet another romance book, she decided to sit in front of her computer and start writing about love and romance. She knew, then, that was what she really wanted to do. Within a few months, her first novel, "Will To Love", the first book of the Lifestyle by Design series, was completed. Miranda knew this was just the first of many stories she would love to tell through her books.
She lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband who lovingly and patiently supports her journey as a novelist.
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Will to Love Page 21