Clarise marvelled at the number of expected guests. For what was supposed to be a small party for family and close friends only, there were still around fifty place settings. But she knew Megan worried about their other friends she couldn't invite, as she and Rick had to be ruthless with their guest list.
She nervously thought of the single men Megan had invited. Not many, she hoped, feeling guilty. She should have thought of the charade with Victor much earlier.
She caught sight of her sister, looking radiant and beautiful with Rick beside her. She felt a warm glow in her heart with seeing her younger sister so happy. With only fifteen months separating them, they shared a very close bond.
"Meg!" she called.
Her sister ran to her and hugged her tightly before turning to Victor.
"Hi, you must be Victor," Megan said, discreetly checking him out from head to toe.
"Yes, how are you Megan?"
"I'm wonderful, thank you. I'm glad to meet you."
"Likewise," Victor responded.
"I'll leave you in the capable hands of Clarise, Victor. My boss just arrived and he's by himself. I better introduce him to some people."
"Don't worry about us," Clarise said. "Go attend to your guests."
Megan gave her another hug and whispered in her ear, "He's hot, sis."
"I know," she whispered back.
Megan winked at Victor before walking away.
This little charade seemed to be working and Clarise allowed herself to relax.
~~~~~~~
"Lilly!" Clarise heard Megan call out as an adorable and cute as a button three-year-old girl walked in with her parents, Mark—Rick's older brother—and his wife Bella. With them was Bella's brother Evan.
She felt Victor tense by her side. "What's wrong, Victor?"
"That's Evan," Victor responded a little nervously. "I know him. And he certainly knows me!"
"What do you mean 'he certainly knows you'?"
"Well, I met him at this speed dating thing two weeks ago, and we've been out on a couple of dates. He's really cute, isn't he?"
"Oh, no, Victor! You're supposed to be my boyfriend tonight!"
"Don't worry, darling. I'll tell him of our little secret and ask him to go along with it. I'll just go talk to him and we'll pretend we're talking about work or something." With that, Victor sauntered to Evan, his eyes shining.
She rolled her eyes upwards and prayed that Victor—and Evan, for that matter—could keep the charade up for her, just for tonight. How highly embarrassing would it be if the others noticed that Victor was gay when they'd already assumed he was her boyfriend?
Geez, I might as well have 'loser in love' stamped on my forehead. Please Victor, you're a straight man tonight.
"I didn't know Victor knew Evan," Megan said from behind her, making her jump.
"Oh, they met at an industry function, you know, for work and I think Victor wanted to talk to Evan about an article in the latest issue of Lifestyle," she babbled.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you to bring a date tonight until you told me about him two days ago," Megan said with a grin. "It's a shame. There is a very eligible man here and Rick and I were excited to introduce him to you."
"Megan," she said with a warning in her voice.
"Yes, I know, I know. No matchmaking for me tonight," Megan said with a laugh.
"Well, that's a relief!"
"You know, we did invite this guy for the purpose of introducing him to you," Megan commented. "We'll just have to explain the situation to him."
"Are you saying there's only one of them here tonight? You certainly gave me the impression that you were going to invite all the single men you and Rick know. I'm glad you didn't, though."
Megan chuckled, "Yes, that was my original plan. But Rick and I decided that wasn't a good idea. One at a time would be better, we thought. More personal."
Megan's look became serious, her eyes narrowing. "Is there a possibility that Victor is 'The One'?"
"I couldn't be happier he's here with me tonight," she answered cryptically. It was the truth, although it wasn't an accurate answer to the question.
Megan, however, seemed satisfied with her response. Her sister patted her arm and walked off with a smile.
She said a silent 'thank you' to the heavens.
~~~~~~~
By the time dinner was served, Clarise had slipped into a carefree mode. She chatted cheerfully with Bella and Mark about their business.
The couple owned two popular restaurants that served food and beverages that were made of chocolate or had it as a main ingredient. The concept had been a huge success and they would soon be opening a third location.
Mark and Bella's story was an inspiring one and she recently had the pleasure of writing an article about their journey for Lifestyle by Design.
That was what she loved most about her job. She got paid to write about some of the best restaurants, hotels and professional services, which meant she got to sample their offerings and interview some very interesting, influential and successful people.
"Hey Mark," Bella said to her husband. "Didn't you say Will wanted to talk to Clarise about an article for his business?"
"Oh yeah, Clarise," Mark said. "My friend Will runs a boutique travel service that's very specialised. He caters to the well-to-do and his company organises high-end type trips for those whose tastes are very discerning. He'd seen the article you wrote for us and he was wondering if your magazine would consider doing one for his business."
"High-end travel? Sure, it's something we can have a look at," she responded readily.
Because of the magazine's immense popularity, they had been receiving plenty of requests from businesses and establishment owners for write-ups on their products and services. Those savvy entrepreneurs knew that exposure through Lifestyle by Design ensured a deluge of new clients.
"Great!" Mark replied. "He'd be pleased to hear that. He's actually here so I'll introduce you to him. I was meaning to do it before dinner started but he arrived a little late."
Bella pursed her lips and mused, "You know, I've been wondering why Rick invited Will to tonight's party but didn't invite his other tennis buddies."
Mark chuckled. "Rick mentioned he invited Will because he's single and available. He didn't want to elaborate when I prodded him but it looks like the engaged lovebirds are playing matchmaker for Will and someone else. I wonder if it's with that girl sitting next to him. I'll have to quiz Will about her when I get the chance."
Clarise and Bella followed Mark's line of sight and Bella pointed Will out to her.
Her breath hitched as she caught sight of the handsome in a rugged kind of way man with slightly wavy, dark brown hair talking to Mary Jane, Megan's best friend. She didn't recognise the other person sitting on the other side of him, but it was another male.
Well, Mary Jane is not single, she thought to herself. Her husband is currently in Brisbane for work.
With a heart-flutter, it hit her that this good-looking eye candy was the single man her sister had meant to set her up with.
Geez, if I had only known about hunky Single Will tonight, I wouldn't have plotted that charade with Victor.
She was surprised at the turn of her thoughts. She composed herself and tried to look cool, calm and collected.
"So, Clarise, I'll introduce you to Will later, okay? He's really keen to see how he can be in your magazine," Mark said innocently.
"Yeah, sure," she said a little too brightly, trying to hide her discomfiture.
They don't know, she assured herself.
*******
Will became more relaxed as the dinner progressed. There were no unattached women at his table and no one had been introduced to him so far. He knew that Rick invited him to this party to set him up with some single woman. Apparently it was all Megan's idea but Rick was happy to go along with it.
He had been single for nine months now and, seeing how devoted he was to his parents, he was
a favourite among his friends to be matched up with nice single girls they knew. They all thought he was a decent guy—and very eligible.
But after Karen, he was not after a serious relationship. No strings attached, casual sex worked just fine for him and that was all he was after right now. If Rick wanted to play matchmaker for one of Megan's family or friends, he was not going to entertain it. It could destroy his friendship with both Rick and his brother Mark.
He knew that Rick hadn't grasped how determined he was to keep his status as 'not in a relationship'. He hadn't talked to anyone about the reason why. As far as he was concerned, it was no one else's business but his.
No, he wasn't interested in meeting a potential love interest but he was keen to meet a particular woman—Rick's future sister-in-law—for business reasons. He wanted to have an article on Lifestyle by Design. He would be opening another branch in Melbourne and the magazine would give him the exposure he needed for his expansion goals. Clarise Carson's article for Mark and Bella's restaurants had done wonders for their business and he would jump through hoops to have the same opportunity.
Dinner was mostly finished, apart from a handful of people going back to the buffet table to load their plates again. The DJ announced that it was time to start dancing and played a slow, romantic song.
Will scanned the room, looking for Mark, who promised to introduce him to Clarise. He spotted him on the dance floor with his wife Bella in his arms. He also saw the engaged couple, who were busy looking at each other with lovestruck eyes while dancing intimately together.
I might as well look for her and introduce myself.
He hadn't meant to arrive late but he got held up with some urgent work. People were already getting food when he arrived. Mark did point Clarise out to him and he registered the fact she was in a blue dress, although he didn't get to see her face well from where they were standing. He only noticed her long, silky, beautiful dark hair that fell straight down past her shoulders.
His eyes roamed and he spied Rick's Aunt Bonnie talking to a stunningly beautiful woman in a blue dress. He couldn't help but stare. His heart beat faster and he knew it was Clarise. Something warm flowed through him and he recognised it for what it was—attraction.
Easy, you're here for business, not pleasure. And Clarise is a no-go. She's your friends' family.
He took a deep breath. In any case, this was his chance to be introduced to the lovely lady. Rick's Aunt Bonnie and her husband were his clients.
He strolled to where the two women were standing.
"William!" Bonnie Smithson cried as she saw him approach. "How wonderful to see you here!"
"Hello, Bonnie, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm great, thank you, but I can't wait until May when we go to that wonderful holiday in Europe that the lovely Leila in your office is organising for us. She is doing a wonderful job, by the way."
"That's good to know. So everything is to your satisfaction?"
"Oh, yes, definitely. You certainly know how to give your clients a wonderful experience even before they start their actual holiday," Bonnie said sincerely.
"Thank you. That's our goal," he answered with a slight bow of his head and a grateful smile.
"Do you know Clarise, William?" Bonnie asked, putting her hand on Clarise's arm.
"We haven't been introduced but I've heard of her," he said to Bonnie, his gaze already settling on Clarise.
Something caught Bonnie's attention in the far corner and she hastily introduced them to each other. "Clarise, this is William Matthews, his office is organising our next European holiday. William, this is Clarise Carson, Megan's sister. Now if you'd both excuse me, I see my chance to play with Lilly. Oh, such an adorable, pretty, little girl." Bonnie hurriedly left them with a wave of her hand.
Will gestured for a handshake as he stared at the attractive woman standing in front of him. Her gorgeous brown eyes were wide, as if she was surprised by something. Then she blinked and took his proffered hand.
"Hi, William, it's good to meet you," she said, her lips curling into a shy but devastatingly beautiful smile.
"Call me Will, please," he replied, in somewhat of a daze and desperately trying to regain equilibrium. He only realised he was still holding her hand when she gently extricated it from his grip.
"Uh, I've been looking forward to meeting you tonight, Clarise. I've been promised an introduction but the man who was going to do it is too busy dancing, so I thought I'd seek you out myself."
Her face flushed and she looked uncomfortable. It occurred to him she might not want to talk about work during a family party. He hastily tried to explain himself.
"Mark must have already mentioned to you that I'm interested in having your magazine do an article for my business. I know this isn't work time for you and we don't have to discuss it right now. I just want to introduce myself so we can talk about it some other time," he said apologetically.
"Oh, I see. I'm certainly happy to talk about your business tonight," she said. She seemed relieved.
"Thanks, but really, let's talk about it some other time. Maybe I can call you at work and discuss it?"
"Yes. Sure. You can call reception and talk to Elena. She can organise a meeting time for us."
"Great," he responded. He was aware he was being rude by continuing to stare at Clarise, but he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Would you like to dance?" He found himself holding out his hand as an invitation for this enchanting creature to go with him to the dance floor. Huh? Since when do you dance, Will Matthews? You have two left feet!
"Sure," Clarise answered with a smile as she placed her hand on his.
Too late. Damn me.
Some sappy love song that he vaguely recognised was playing. Hell, he wasn't much of a dancer.
"Um, I think this is a good time to tell you I can't dance," he said to Clarise, his mouth quirking upwards, both embarrassed by and amused at himself.
Clarise chuckled, "So what are we doing here then?"
"Shuffling our feet. Well, I am anyway. I don't know about you."
"You're not doing too badly with the feet shuffle. I can shuffle too, you know. You're not the only one who's good at it," she teased.
They grinned at each other.
He held Clarise with an arm around her waist, his hand flat on her lower back, as they swayed with the music. Her hair smelled like flowers and he caught a whiff of her delicate perfume. She smelled lovely. She felt lovely.
His arm around her tightened involuntarily and he held her closer, acutely aware of an electric current in the air around them. He felt her sink into their embrace. He wondered if she had noticed that magnetic force, too. He could feel it slowly enveloping them with a power he could neither explain nor resist.
They danced, hardly moving to the music, their bodies pressed like they'd always belonged together.
His thoughts went to Rick and Megan's matchmaking plan and he wondered if there was a chance it could be Clarise they wanted to set him up with. The idea greatly interested him, and he forgot for a moment his determination not to get involved with anyone Rick might introduce to him tonight.
"Now, how about you twirl me?" Clarise said suddenly, pulling away, putting some distance between them.
"Pardon?" he asked, feeling bereft that she was no longer in his arms.
"Twirl. You know, like this." She proceeded to hold up their hands that were clasped together and twirled around.
"Oh, okay." He twirled her, his lips curving in an amused but perplexed smile.
The sappy love song ended and fast dance music started playing.
"Sorry, Twirly, my shuffling feet can only do slow, not this," he said with an abashed grin.
"Okay. Well, thanks for the dance, Shuffles."
They smiled at each other and stood there, looking into each other's eyes for a long moment while other partygoers danced around them. Then Clarise turned and left the dance floor.
He followed, not cari
ng where she was going, only knowing he wanted to talk to her some more.
"Darling, there you are!"
Will glanced sharply at the man who called out to Clarise. He bristled as the intruder possessively put his left arm around her shoulders while openly regarding him with a questioning look.
"Hi, I'm Victor Michaels." The other man extended a hand and it took him a second to register the action.
"William Matthews," he responded, shaking Victor's hand as his eyes narrowed imperceptibly at Clarise who had an unreadable expression on her face.
Mark approached them at that moment. "Oh, good, Will. You've obviously met Clarise. And Victor, too. Just the two people you want to meet. Have you mentioned the article you want from them?"
"Victor, too?"
Will was sure he would have preferred not to have met Victor. He was somewhat antagonistic towards the man. Especially when he had his arm around Clarise like that. Especially when he looked like the possessive boyfriend.
He tried to mentally shake his irrational feelings and looked at Mark quizzically.
"Yeah, he works for the magazine too."
"Yup, I'm the head graphic designer there," Victor confirmed. "Clarise is the one who writes the articles, along with Jessa Allen, if an article is what you're interested in."
"Yes, Clarise and I discussed that briefly." Looking at Clarise, he said, "So I'll be meeting with you sometime this week, then?"
"Yes, just talk to Elena. You'll find our phone number on our website."
He nodded, thinking he'd accomplished what he came here to do—to meet Clarise Carson for business purposes—and now he could leave. He said his goodbyes and went to look for the engaged couple.
~~~~~~~
Will tapped Rick and Megan on their shoulders. "May I interrupt your marathon dancing session?" he said with a grin. "I just want to say thank you for inviting me tonight. I've really enjoyed myself but I'm afraid I have to go. There's still some urgent work I need to finish this weekend."
Megan pulled them towards a more quiet area before giving him a hug. "Will, thanks so much for coming. We really appreciate it. I know Rick mentioned introducing you to someone tonight but it turns out she's already going out with someone else," Megan said sheepishly.
Always (Time for Love Book 4) Page 18