Practice Makes Perfect

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Practice Makes Perfect Page 25

by Charlene Groome


  Gasps come from all over.

  She can barely look up.

  Someone reaches over for her hand. “Let me help you.”

  Meghan is slow to get up and shakes herself off. Her face red with embarrassment, she exhales, getting back her composure. There’s no time to waste. She has a mission to accomplish. She needs to find Ted before people start to get out of their seats. As Meghan takes a step, her foot bends, and she realizes that the heel of her shoe is broken. She closes her eyes again, takes another deep breath, and walks with a limp to the main entrance. Perhaps Ted went outside for some fresh air.

  “Are you okay, miss?” a hotel employee asks.

  She nods, looking straight ahead, focused on the main doors. As she gets to the entrance, she only sees taxicabs and a limo parked out front. There is a doorman and a valet attendant. No sign of Ted. No sign of Jared.

  Meghan decides to take the elevator back upstairs. She waits, taps her foot, turning for distraction. She sees a bunch of people walking through the hall where she is standing. A blond woman catches her eye. It’s Lauren, wearing a royal blue cocktail dress, strutting through the groups of people, on a mission to be somewhere. Is she going to the black-tie event? There’s a ding of the elevator, and Meghan steps in. Lauren has no reason to be there. Is Jared waiting for her? Her stomach falls as the elevator goes up. She glances at her full reflection in the mirrored wall. Her low bun has come out of the elastic and is dangling like a tail on her neck. She lowers her head, anxiously waiting for the elevator doors to open. She tries not to put pressure on her foot, as the heel is barely hanging on. How is she going to make it through the rest of the night wearing only one shoe?

  Meghan takes small steps out onto the floor. Ted must be around here somewhere.

  She hears her phone in her purse. She stops to answer it. People are walking around her.

  It better be Jared. He better be coming.

  She is disappointed when she looks at the call display. “Hello?”

  “Meghan. Did you find Ted?” Keri asks, her tone demanding.

  “Not yet.”

  “Maybe he went out for a smoke break.”

  “I looked. I thought he didn’t smoke.”

  “Check the men’s washroom,” she demands. “I’m looking in the banquet room. Everyone seems to be done with their dessert. They’re getting restless.”

  Meghan spots a man from afar who resembles Ted. “I think I see him. I gotta go!” She hangs up and walks as fast as she can without a definite limp of her foot and without losing her balance as she tries to hold her heel together. If she can just keep it on for a little longer until the gambling gets under way and she’s stuck in the dimly lit room, she may be able to go barefoot.

  Meghan races toward the man she thinks is Ted. As she gets closer, she notices his beard, but Ted is clean-cut. Meghan stops and decides to head for the washroom. A busy entrance.

  “Hi,” Meghan says to the first guy she sees leaving. “Did you notice an older man, white hair . . .”

  The man shakes his head and continues to walk away.

  Another guy comes out and she asks the same question. The answer is no. As a man is walking in she stops him and asks to look for Ted. She waits outside the washroom for the report and continues to scan the venue. No sign of him. Then she hears commotion coming from the elevators. She looks over to see a group of men walking with Ted. They are having a loud conversation about what teams are expected to make trades in the new year.

  Meghan sprints for the group. “Ted!” she says, rushing toward him. “Mr. Walker,” she says, changing her tone from friendly to businesslike when she is close enough for him to hear her. “I need you to do the presentation right now.”

  “I thought I had time,” he says coolly. “I’ll be right there.” He is so relaxed and not bothered by her panic. Meghan walks with him and the group he’s with so that he stays on track and gets where he needs to be. People are trying to capture Ted’s attention, but thankfully, he keeps walking, heading toward the ballroom.

  Meghan leads him to the stage and then hobbles to the side to find Jared. There is still no sign of him. She grits her teeth. It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want to be there because of her.

  She walks Ted to the stage and gives Keri a thumbs-up as she passes. She still needs to find another player to present the check after Ted’s speech.

  Meghan makes her way around the back wall to reach Alex Price and Mason Ward, who are standing at the entrance. They are both dressed in suits. She takes note of the men; all of them are here except Jared. She sighs, hobbling toward them to let them know where they need to be.

  “Alex,” she greets. The bald-headed twentysomething smiles and asks how she is. “Are you and Mason able to present this after Ted is done speaking?”

  His eyes widen and he grins, bringing his hand to his face. “Who’s missing?”

  “Jared. He’s not here.”

  “He’s here. I saw him.”

  Meghan puts her hand on her hip. “Are you sure?”

  “I spoke to him.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I can’t run all over looking for him,” she whispers.

  Ted Walker walks on stage and asks to have everyone’s attention.

  With one quick turn on her broken heel to look at Ted, she feels a snap underneath her, causing her to lose her balance. Thankfully, she puts pressure on her other foot and manages to slip her foot from the shoe. There’s no use in trying to wear it, walking with a limp, so she takes off both shoes and kicks them under the tablecloth. She flexes her toes and wiggles them. Her taupe nylons are holding in the heat and are making her feet uncomfortable. Will anyone notice if she took them off?

  “What do I have to do?” Alex asks.

  “Just read this.” She hands him a piece of paper from her clipboard. “We’re presenting a check to the board members of Children’s Hospital.”

  “I’m saying one line?” he asks, reading the paper.

  “With the generous donations, the sale from tonight’s tickets and the Warriors’ Heroes Campaigns . . .” Ted says.

  Meghan listens for Ted’s key words to indicate he’s done. “Come with me,” she says, picking up her pace heading to the stage.

  “. . . We have raised enough money to provide this state-of-the-art machine for a much-needed facility.” Ted looks to his side at the projection on the wall that has an enlarged photo of the purchase.

  As she enters the ballroom, at first the room is quiet. Her stomach sinks and her heart thumps so wildly. The crowd is fixated on the stage, where Mason is approaching the podium. She exhales with relief. This event is almost over. She can breathe again. Meghan has been so involved with pulling off this event, it almost seems surreal that she’s in the middle of it. She steps aside, so that her angle is away from the audience. Meghan takes a breath and tells herself everything is fine.

  “To present our donation,” Ted says, his hands resting on the podium, “let me introduce the Warriors’ forwards, Jared Landry, Mason Ward, and Alex Price.”

  Meghan’s stomach sinks. She forgot to tell him Jared wasn’t here. Then, strutting onstage are Alex, Mason, and Jared, all smiles, dressed in suits and patterned ties. Her mouth drops. Why didn’t he tell her he was here?

  Meghan turns on her foot and escapes to the back wall, where she blends into the dark room.

  She checks to make sure each gambling table has a worker at it and every player who is there has a job to do. She will pretend that Jared is not there. He probably wouldn’t do a job for her anyway.

  Meghan escapes to the hallway to redo her hair in a low bun, smoothing the strands against her scalp. She glosses her lips and wipes away the smudged eyeliner that is on the crease of her lid.

  As she wipes a finger away from her eye, she is caught off guard by Lauren standing in view. Meghan’s mouth opens. She turns around. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came with
Jared,” she says.

  Meghan inhales, feeling her insides crumble. She tries to zip up her purse as she walks past Lauren.

  Meghan feels a hand on her arm, springing her back, causing her to drop her purse.

  “He’s mine,” Lauren tells her. “Don’t think you have a chance.”

  “Lauren,” Keri calls out from the ballroom doors. Her authoritative voice causes Lauren to drop her hand.

  Meghan picks up her purse and rubs her arm where she was pinched.

  “Jared doesn’t belong to you,” Keri says, walking toward them. “He’s not yours. You two aren’t together anymore.”

  “I thought you were my friend,” Lauren says, her eyes piercing with anger. “Whose side are you on?”

  “It’s not about sides, it’s about reality and you can’t make someone like you. You can’t treat people this way,” Keri says.

  “Meghan always wants what I have,” she says through gritted teeth. “Jared is mine.”

  “No, I’m not,” Jared says, coming into view. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

  “You told me I was your date,” Lauren says.

  “I didn’t say that.” He looks at Meghan. Her insides are mush.

  “She said you two are—”

  Jared shakes his head. “We’re not.”

  “Lauren,” Keri says. “I think you should leave. This isn’t the place. It’s a private function.”

  Lauren walks up to Keri. “Am I ruining your event?”

  “Not yet,” Keri says. “Don’t make your problem mine.”

  Lauren’s face changes. “Tell her, Jared, tell her I’m with you tonight.”

  Jared tilts his head slightly. His grin is mischievous. “We talked downstairs. I told you I was coming up here without you. You made me late, you’re ruining my life and I don’t want to ever see you again.”

  Lauren throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, crying. “You don’t mean that! I love you! You can’t get rid of me that easy.” Jared tries to pull her off him, but she is stuck like glue.

  Meghan watches Keri signal security.

  “Get off me,” Jared tells her. Lauren is crying so hard, people are looking now, wondering what is going on. Meghan steps in and tries to pull Lauren’s hand away.

  “Don’t you touch me!” Lauren spits, waving her hand at Meghan.

  A security guard grabs both of Lauren’s hands and pulls her off Jared. As she’s kicking, another guard steps in to help.

  Jared runs his hand through his hair. He takes one look at Meghan and smiles. Her heart is in her throat. She hears the band play.

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “I didn’t know Lauren was like that.”

  “I warned you.”

  “And we used to be friends.”

  “You would never be friends with her. She’s hard to understand,” Jared says.

  “Did you just get here?”

  “No, I arrived as dinner was being served, but then Lauren wouldn’t leave me alone . . . I decided to get some air.”

  “I thought you weren’t going to be here.”

  “I wouldn’t miss this.” He puts his hand on her arms. “I’m sorry if you think I haven’t been there for you. I wanted to . . . I’ve missed you.”

  She swallows.

  “I planned on showing up.”

  “You needed to wait to make a grand entrance?”

  “That was an entrance?” he asks, still holding on to her arm. His fingers tickle her forearm, the feeling racing all over her body. She wants him so bad. It’s not fair that this attraction is so fierce that it rips her insides apart. She will only be that girl to Jared and not the one who stole his heart. They should just say their good-byes and she can recover from the heartache.

  “Do you need an entrance from me? Show people what you mean to me?”

  She searches his eyes for an explanation.

  “I love you, Meg. I’ve missed you like crazy. The past week has been impossible for me to live. I need you. You are so important to me. I don’t want to mess this up. What we have. I know you were waiting for me and I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.” He reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out the necklace. “You left something at my house. I want you to have it. It belongs to you. You belong to me.”

  He unclasps it and puts it around her neck. “It’s yours. I wish I spent Christmas with you.” He lets go of the necklace, sliding his hands down her arms. “I’m sorry you received this in the mail . . . I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner how much you mean to me,” he whispers. “When I’m on the road, I want you to think about us and the stars we can count together. That night, looking at the sky made me think of all the things we share.”

  Meghan’s throat is dry. She swallows, staring at his seriousness and how much she cares for this man. It doesn’t matter that there are people all around them, listening. She won’t hide the fact that the two of them are closer than acquaintances and more than friends. She can see the look in Jared’s eyes telling her that he wants her, needs her, and that they do belong together. It’s everything she wants from a man.

  “There’s nobody else,” he tells her. “There hasn’t been since we’ve met. I will always be there for you. Whenever, wherever you need me, I will be there. I have never felt so close to anyone in my life as much as I am with you.”

  Meghan hears someone call Jared’s name, but he doesn’t look up. His eyes are on hers and he pulls her in closer. Their foreheads come together. All she can think about are his lips on hers.

  He glances down at her feet and whispers, “Guess I owe you a foot massage.”

  A half smile comes to her lips.

  “You really need to invest in good shoes,” he says.

  “They weren’t cheap. I thought I learned my lesson last time.”

  He wraps his arm around her waist. “Meg. I love you.” Her heart picks up. His mouth is finding hers and she closes her eyes to feel his touch.

  “I love you, too,” she murmurs.

  This is the man she wants. This is who she craves. There is no amount of practice flirting that can lead to the attraction and chemistry she feels with Jared.

  This is real. This is perfect.

  LYRICAL PRESS is published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2015 by Charlene Groome

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  Lyrical and the L logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  First Electronic Edition: August 2015

  eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-348-8

  eISBN-10: 1-60183-348-2

  ISBN: 978-1-6018-3348-8

 

 

 


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