“You think we could sneak out during dessert?” he whispered back.
Her blue eyes sparkled. “You mean skip the auction? You bet I do, but only if it isn’t a date. No offense, but we tried that once already.”
“Yes, but that didn’t work out because you left.”
“No, that didn’t work out because you’re exactly what my mother wants me to marry. I don’t want to marry what my mother wants. I want to marry what I want, and that does not include billionaires who would drag me to stuffy events like this.”
Drew chuckled. He liked Avery, he missed her quick wit, and it was true. Their romance had fizzled before she left though he couldn’t really remember why. However, he had enjoyed their friendship, and if she was back in town, he wanted to rekindle it. “Okay, not a date then. I kind of have another woman on my mind anyway.”
Avery flashed him a crooked smile and leaned closer. “Ooh, do tell.”
“I met her at my mother’s masquerade ball the other night. She was beautiful, but she didn’t act like she knew it.”
Avery chuckled. “How was she at your mother’s ball then?”
“I’m not sure she was supposed to be.” He moved his arm as the server approached. “She certainly didn’t act like the other rich women my mother is always trying to set me up with, but she said she was on the list.” The plate clattered against the table and Drew looked up at the woman. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide, but there was something familiar in them.
“I’m so sorry,” she said averting her eyes.
Her voice tickled his ears and triggered a memory, but it couldn’t be. She’d said she owned her own business, so why would she be serving at an auction?
Fear flickered in her eyes, and her eyes glanced around for the nearest exit. In that instant he knew. “It is you.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled again and ran for the side door. He wasn’t letting her get away this time though.
“What’s going on?” his mother asked.
“Nothing. I’ll be right back.” Drew tossed his napkin on the table and hurried after the woman. He didn’t even care that he was causing a scene behind him.
As he pushed open the door, he found her leaning against the wall to his left. When she heard the door open, she looked up and turned to bolt.
“Carrie, wait.”
She stopped in her tracks and though her back was to him, he saw her shoulders droop. Slowly, she turned to face him. “My name isn’t Carrie.”
“What do you mean?” He took a step toward her aware that he should be increasing the distance between them after her admission instead of closing it.
“My friend is Carrie Bliss, the dress designer your mother invited. She asked me to attend in her place. I’m sorry. I didn’t know I would meet you, and I didn’t think I was hurting anyone.”
“You didn’t,” he said taking another step. “I’m glad you were there for whatever reason. Those parties generally bore me to no end, but you… you made it interesting.”
She stared at him, her green eyes peering into his soul. “Why?”
He blinked, her question catching him off guard. “I don’t know why. Maybe because you were genuine.”
She raised her eyebrow at him, and he chuckled as the irony of his statement sunk in.
“Okay, other than the fake name part. I felt there were parts of you that were genuine like when you talked about working in the nursery. I’m surrounded by so many people that only say what they think I want to hear. You didn’t seem to care about that. It was refreshing.”
“Well, I’m glad. Look, I’m probably going to get fired when my boss finds out I caused a scene, but I should really get back to work.”
“Wait.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bracelet. He’d been carrying it with him everywhere since the night of the ball as if he hoped it might help him find her again. As he held it out to her, it surprised him to see her eyes glisten with tears. “It’s important to you then?”
She nodded, taking the bracelet from his palm. “It’s the last thing my parents gave me before someone killed them. It’s all I have left, and I thought I’d lost it for good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He should leave it at that. Say ‘you’re welcome’ and walk away. His mother would never approve of him seeing someone like this woman, whatever her name was, but he couldn’t make his feet move away from her. They were rooted in place, glued to the floor. He’d felt something when he danced with her that he’d never felt, and he wanted to feel it again. “Will you tell me your real name now?”
She chuckled and shook her head. “It’s Gwen. Gwen Rodgers.”
“Well, Gwen Rodgers, I would really like to see you again. Do you think we could arrange that?”
Her eyes lit up for a moment and then the light flickered and faded. Sadness laced her voice as she answered. “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. We come from two different worlds, Drew. Thank you for returning the bracelet, but I have to be going.”
Stunned, he watched her walk away. He should be relieved because she was right of course. They did come from different worlds, and his mother would never approve, but that didn’t erase the tug of curiosity he was feeling.
The door behind him opened and Avery’s head appeared. “You better get back here. Your mother is livid, and she wants an explanation.”
With a sigh, Drew followed Avery back to the table.
“What is going on, Drew?” his mother asked. “You have caused quite a scene in here. The looks have been downright scandalous, and you know very well there will be talk tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. That was the woman from the dance the other night. I wanted to give her back her bracelet.”
“You carried it around with you?” His mother’s forehead wrinkled, and her nose turned up in disgust. “You better not be falling for this girl, Drew.”
* * *
Gwen waited until she was around the corner and out of sight of Drew to let the tears fall. She was thankful to have her bracelet back, embarrassed at the scene she had caused, and angry or disappointed - she wasn’t sure which - that she had turned him down. Gwen knew she had made the right decision - telling him they were too different - but a part of her wished she had said yes. She hadn’t felt a connection like that with anyone, ever.
She opened her hand and stared down at the bracelet. It looked so ordinary compared to the jewelry the women were wearing out there, but it meant the world to her. With a shaky hand, she fastened it around her wrist once more and then continued to the kitchen.
“Where have you been?” Martin asked. “Rachel has already started bringing back her dishes.”
“Sorry, I uh had to take a short break. I’ll get right back out there.”
“No, you stay here and start washing. I’ll bring your dishes back.” Martin emphasized the word to let her know she was causing him extra trouble. Then he shot her an agitated look before exiting through the swinging door.
Gwen bit back a smile. He thought he was punishing her, but she’d rather be holed up back here than face Drew and his party again. She rolled up her sleeves and filled the sink with water.
“You gonna tell me what happened out there?” Rachel asked as she placed another round of dishes on the counter.
Gwen kept her head down and focused on scrubbing. Maybe if she feigned ignorance Rachel would let it go. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Rachel scoffed. “Yes, you do. Some handsome, wealthy man left his entire table to follow you. The whole room saw it.”
Gwen bit her lip and sighed. Nope, ignorance was clearly out of the question. “Okay.” She turned off the water and glanced toward the door to make sure Martin wasn’t around. “I met Drew Devonshire at a masquerade ball the other night.”
“You were invited to a ball that Drew Devonshire attended?” Rachel’s words were slow and incredulous.
“No, not me, my friend, Carrie. She didn’t want to go, and we
look similar, so she asked me to go as her. I didn’t know it was an elite ball. Anyway, I lost my bracelet and when Drew recognized me tonight, he followed me out to return it.”
Rachel narrowed her eyes. “That’s it? He followed you out to return it?”
Gwen shrugged. “And to tell me he wanted to see me again, but I said no,” she added quickly.
Rachel’s eyes bulged, and her jaw dropped. “You said what? Girl, have you lost your mind? Drew Devonshire wants to see you again and you said no?”
“It would never work out. He’s… well, he’s Drew Devonshire, and I’m… no one.”
“Girl, that’s why you say yes. Don’t you remember Cinderella? Pretty Woman? They were nobodies too, but rich men fell for them and their whole lives changed.” Rachel shook her head as if she couldn’t believe Gwen could be so dense.
“Yeah, but those were fairy tales, Rachel. This is reality, and that just doesn’t happen in reality.”
“Guess you’ll never know now.” Rachel shot her one last disbelieving look before exiting the swinging door.
Gwen stared after her. Was she right? Had Gwen passed up a chance to be a real-life Cinderella? She shook her head. No. She believed in God and she believed in miracles, but that just seemed too farfetched to be true.
Chapter 7
Drew woke up the next morning determined to learn all he could about Gwen Rodgers. He kicked off the heavy comforter and padded to his desk where his laptop sat. He started with a simple search for her online. It was rare nowadays for people to have no online presence. There was usually a social media page or three, videos and pictures that others had posted, and sometimes even an address. Gwen had none of these. In fact, the only thing he could find was her school picture.
So, she was a teacher as well. A noble profession. And she must not have a lot of money if she was working two jobs. But this wasn’t the information he sought. He wanted to determine if she was married and what her interests were. He wanted to know her. It was time to call in a favor.
He picked up the phone next to his computer and rang Manuel. “Can you have the car ready in fifteen? I need to go downtown.”
“Of course, sir. It will be waiting for you.”
“Thank you.” Drew hung up and shut the laptop lid. He needed a quick shower and something to eat and there was no time to waste.
Ten minutes later, clean and dressed, Drew headed down to the kitchen to grab a breakfast on the go. Usually, he let his master chef, Ernesto, whip him up a healthy fare, but there was no time today.
“Good morning, Mr. Devonshire,” Ernesto said in greeting as he entered the kitchen. “Egg white omelet today?”
“No time, Ernesto. Must see about a girl. I’ll just take a bar with me.”
Ernesto’s lips pulled into a grimace and his nose rose in the air. “If you had let me know, sir, I could have had breakfast waiting. You needn’t have resorted to a processed bar.”
Drew smiled. “I suppose that’s true. Tell you what, Ernesto, if I’m back in time for lunch, I’ll let you serve whatever you feel like making, okay?”
A tiny light of enthusiasm sparked in Ernesto’s eyes, but he was too composed to show much more than that. “I await your word.”
Drew nodded, ducked into the pantry and grabbed the forbidden bar, and then headed to the front door. Manuel was indeed waiting for him. He leaned against the limo but straightened as soon as he saw Drew.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Morning, Manuel. I need to go to the police station downtown.”
If Manuel wondered why, he said nothing, just nodded and opened the door for Drew.
Twenty minutes later, the limo pulled to a stop in front of the police station. Drew waited for Manuel to open the door before stepping out and taking in the short brick building. How Scott worked in this bland building every day was beyond him. He must really love his job.
Scott was the one college friend Drew kept in touch with. It never hurt to have someone on the force in your corner. Drew had never had to ask for a favor, but he hoped that his annual donation would be enough to buy him one today.
“Drew Devonshire?” Scott’s voice carried across the small room as Drew entered. Several other heads swiveled his direction as he crossed the room to his friend. “Well, I never thought I’d see you in here.” Scott shook Drew’s hand and motioned at an empty chair.
Drew cleared his throat. “Actually, is there a private room in which we can converse?”
Scott’s eyebrow arched, but he led the way down the hall to a conference room. When the door was shut, he turned to Drew. “Okay, you want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I was hoping you could find out some information on someone for me.”
“Someone who owes you money?”
Drew chuckled. “Hardly. I doubt this person has much.”
“So, someone you are hoping to buy out?” Scott was clearly fishing.
“No, a woman I met. She’s like no one I’ve met before; she won’t even let me take her to dinner. I tried to gather information about her online, but she doesn’t even have a social media page. Who doesn’t have a social media platform nowadays?”
This time Scott smiled. “More people than you’d think but continue.”
“She’s a teacher at Ryland High. That’s all I know, but that means she’ll be in the system, right? You can find something out about her?”
“Her fingerprints will be in the system, yes. It doesn’t mean I’ll be able to find out much about her. If she’s a teacher, I doubt she has a record.”
“Please, whatever you can find.”
* * *
Gwen was just finishing prepping for her final lesson of the day when Carol, the school secretary, popped her head in her doorway. “Gwen, you got a second?”
“Sure, Carol, what’s up?”
Carol laughed. “How about you tell me? These just came for you.” She stepped the rest of the way into the room, and Gwen’s eyes widened. In her hands was an enormous bouquet of white carnations and stargazer lilies. “It seems you have an admirer.”
A soft heat crawled up Gwen’s neck. She assumed they were from Drew, but she didn’t want to accept them. After finishing the dishes and packing up the night before, Martin had informed her that she was fired. Evidently, someone at Drew’s table had complained about her causing a scene. Rachel had tried to stick up for her, but it was no use. Now, in addition to everything else, she needed to find another part-time job. However, that was way more than she was prepared to share with Carol. She would graciously accept the flowers and get rid of them later when no one would notice.
“Thank you.” Gwen took the flowers and looked around for an empty counter to set them on. Her desk was out of the question. She was what most people referred to as “organized chaos.” Papers cluttered her desk, and while no one else knew where anything was, Gwen could always find anything needed. She figured it was an unconscious rebelling from living with her mother.
Gwen and her mother had been polar opposites. Her mother was a complete neat nick while Gwen thrived with a little clutter. She always hated Saturdays when her mother made her dust the furniture, vacuum the house, and clean her room. At least, she hated them until her mother died. Then Gwen regretted ever fighting with her mother, and she had bargained with God to never complain about cleaning if he just brought her parents back. Of course, that hadn’t happened, and Gwen had retreated into her shell. But as much as she tried to be like her mother, she just couldn’t be as organized as her mother had been.
Her file cabinet was about the only furniture in her room clean enough and large enough to hold the flowers, so she set them there. They filled the space looking more like a small garden in her room than a bouquet. A white card sat nestled in a plastic contraption that looked a little like a tuning fork. Though she wasn’t sure she cared what the note said, Gwen plucked it out and opened the card.
“It was such a pleasure to meet you, Gwen. I know you think we
are worlds apart, but there is more to me than the money. My hope is you will enjoy these flowers and give me another chance. I have included my number, so you can reach out to me, and I await your call.” - Drew
His number was indeed at the bottom, but there was no apology. Did he not know she had gotten fired? Gwen bit her lip as she contemplated rushing to her phone and calling him right then though she wasn’t sure ‘thank you’ would be the words out of her mouth.
“So?”
Gwen looked up surprised to still see Carol standing in her room, “Oh, just a thank you for someone I met the other night.”
Carol’s brow shot up. “Wow, that must’ve been some meeting.”
It really had been, and Gwen wasn’t even sure why. They had just danced and talked, but there was something in the way he had held her that made her feel safe and secure. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
But she didn’t want to share this with Carol. For one thing, she really couldn’t even explain it. For another, she feared if she talked about it, the night would feel less real, less special somehow. And there was the firing thing. So instead, she feigned nonchalance. “I guess it was.”
Carol stood a moment longer as if expecting more, but she finally shrugged. “All right, well, I look forward to the story one day. Enjoy your flowers.”
Gwen wasn’t certain she could do that. Were these apology flowers? If so, was he so arrogant he thought he didn’t need the actual apology? She hadn’t thought he was. So, maybe he didn’t know Martin had fired her, and he was interested in seeing her. The question then was who had gotten her fired and what should she do about it?
“Whoa, Ms. Rodgers, who did you get the flowers from?” Rhea, one of her students asked as she entered.
One thing was for sure. Gwen would have to take the flowers home. “Just a friend saying thank you.”
“That’s some thank you.” Rhea’s statements were echoed by the other students when they entered, and it took an extra ten minutes to get the class on task.
The Billionaire's Christmas Miracle (Sweet Billionaires 3) Page 5