Unexpected Chance

by Joanne Schwehm

  “I guess you’ll have to open it.” He winked.

  Smiling, I raised the cover on the hinged box. My eyes immediately filled. It was a beautiful platinum bracelet with an orchid in the middle that was encrusted in white diamonds. “Alex . . .” I couldn’t stop the tears that were streaming down my face. “It’s beautiful.”

  “May I?”

  I nodded, and he took the bracelet out of the box and put it on my right wrist.

  I was studying it. “I love it. I love that you’re sharing an orchid with me.” I looked up at him.

  He moved his thumb under my eye and across my cheek to wipe away my tear. I leaned into the palm of his hand. I looked into his eyes. I wanted to tell him so badly that I loved him. “I better go fix my face.”

  “Your face is perfect. Let’s go. The car is downstairs.”

  He took my hand and entwined our fingers together. I looked down and wasn’t sure which fingers were mine and which were his. He was the piece to my puzzle that I didn’t even know was missing. He was part of my heart. I never wanted someone as much as I wanted him, and there would never be another that would make me feel like this.

  We arrived at the fundraiser, and there was a red carpet outside. I was nervous. People were lined up to get in, and photographers were there. My hands twisted on my lap. “Don’t be nervous, Aubrey.”

  I looked at him and then back out the window of the limo. “I’ll try not to be, but there are so many people here. I know how important this is to you. I just don’t want to trip and fall. I’m sure all the other women you’ve brought here were much more graceful.”

  “I’ve never brought a date to this event. It’s too personal. No one mattered as much as you do. I want you here with me—only you.”

  I turned and looked at him. “I want to be here with you too.” I wanted to tell him so badly, why wouldn’t the words come out of my mouth? We stared at each other, both of us smiling. Then he put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I didn’t want the kiss to end. He had to know how I felt.

  He pressed a button on the console next to him, which must have signaled the driver because he was opening my door seconds later. He helped me out of the limo, and Alex followed. He held my hand and we went in.

  The ballroom was magnificent. It was decked out in black and gold. There was gold tulle draped on the ceiling and on the back of the chairs that were wrapped in white silk. There was a dance floor and a small stage for the band, which was playing background music. There was a table that had place cards on it with the guests’ names and seating assignments. I wondered who we were sitting with.

  We found our table, number two; it was placed near the stage and dance floor. The round tables sat about eight people, and the place settings were beautiful, which would easily accommodate a seven-course meal. In the center of each table was a floating candle with a white orchid in each one. Alex put our name cards down on the table in front of our seats.

  “I have a couple more surprises for you tonight.” He smiled, took my hand, and led me to the dance floor. He pulled me into him and started dancing with me. The band was playing “The Way You Look Tonight.” I love that song.

  There weren’t any other couples dancing, but I didn’t care and neither did Alex. I looked around the room, wondering which man was his father. It seemed like a sea of tuxedos; just then, a man turned around and looked at us. I could tell by his smile that he was Jack Logan, since it matched Alex’s. He looked at me and gave me a curious look.

  I looked up into Alex’s gorgeous navy eyes that were looking down into mine. “Did you tell your dad that you had a date tonight?”

  “No, I haven’t talked to my dad in a while. His assistant knows. Why?”

  “Because there is an older version of you looking at us, and he doesn’t look thrilled.”

  “It isn’t you, Aubrey. That’s just my dad. I’m not his favorite person. Let’s finish this dance, and then I’ll introduce you.”

  The song ended, and we walked over to his father. Why wasn’t he his favorite person? He should be so proud of Alex. He owned a successful club, he was smart, and he was his son. I stopped walking. Alex turned around and looked at me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why aren’t you his favorite person?” I really hoped I wasn’t overstepping.

  Alex ran his hand through his hair. He pulled me over to our table, which was still empty, and he pulled out my chair for me. He sat and turned to face me; he took my hands in his. “Aubrey, when I was young, my dad was never around. He was always at work.” I just looked at him. “I know what you’re thinking. I work a lot too, but I’m not married with kids. Anyway, my mom did everything for my sister and me. She drove me to my baseball and lacrosse games and drove my sister, Ellie, to her dance recitals. The day they got in the accident that’s where she was going. She was taking Ellie to her recital. My dad should have been driving the car, but he was out of town on business. It was a Saturday and his priority was work. He should have been with us. Who knows if the accident could have been avoided or if the timing would have been different, and . . .”

  I put my hand on his left cheek. “Alex, you don’t have to tell me this. I can see it’s hard on you.”

  “No, I want you to know. I blamed my dad. We had a huge blowout. It was horrible. I felt as if I lost my entire family that day. Ever since then, for the past sixteen years, we’ve learned to co-exist, and that is about it. He wanted me to join his business, to fulfill his dream of leaving it to me as his legacy. I wanted nothing to do with it, so I opened the club, exactly the opposite of what he wanted me to do. His legacy should have been being a good father and husband, not being a rich businessman.”

  I nodded and tried to absorb everything. “You were twelve, Alex. Naturally, you’d be upset and look to blame someone. How are things now?”

  “We talk occasionally. He knows that I want nothing to do with his business, but at the end of the day, he is my father, so let me introduce you.”

  We stood up, and Alex steered me in the direction of his father with his hand at the small of my back. We reached his dad, who was talking to an older couple. They turned and saw us. I looked up at Alex. He looked a little tense.

  Alex kissed the woman on her cheek and extended his hand to the man. “Patrick, Nancy, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Aubrey Ryan. Aubrey, this is Patrick and Nancy McManus.” We shook hands.

  Nancy looked surprised. “It’s very nice to meet you, Aubrey. I didn’t know Alex had a girlfriend.” She leaned toward me. “He’s going to break a lot of hearts tonight with that news.”

  I just smiled. I wasn’t sure what that meant. My heart was the only one I was worried about breaking. His father walked up to Alex. “Son, it’s good to see you. Who is this lovely young lady?”

  “Hi, Dad, this is Aubrey Ryan, my girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend? My boy is off the market?” He chuckled and extended his hand to me. “It’s a pleasure, Aubrey.”

  “Hello, Mr. Logan, it’s nice to meet you too.” I started feeling self-conscious.

  “Please call me Jack.” He smiled and I reciprocated.

  “The room looks nice, Dad. And it looks as if there’s going to be a good turn out.”

  I glanced around the room. It was starting to fill up. There had to be 300 people here. I looked at the door and could have sworn I saw Julie. I wished she were there. Then I remembered that Walker-Stone had a table at the event, but that usually meant the executives would attend. I could use someone on my side tonight. I also hoped that Nancy and Patrick were not at our table. Nancy rubbed me the wrong way.

  “We should probably go to our table now.” Alex took my hand, and we said good-bye to Patrick and Nancy. His dad shook Alex’s hand.

  “We should get together soon, son. Bring Aubrey over, and we can have dinner one night.”

  Alex looked puzzled. “We’ll see, Dad.” And we walked away.

  Walking to our table, we were stopped by a f
ew more people. Alex introduced me as his girlfriend to everyone. I really liked the sound of it, but wasn’t particularly pleased with the reactions I was getting, not to mention that most of the reactions were from older women. What was that about? I’d have to ask him later. I did notice plenty of women who eyed my man. I couldn’t blame them really. He looked delectable, but he was mine. I held on to him tighter.

  We went to our table, and I noticed that it was still empty. Alex’s phone beeped. He must have received a text because he was typing back. I looked up to see Brett, Julie, and Mark walking toward us. I looked at Alex and he smiled. “Surprise!”

  I leaned over and kissed him. Julie looked gorgeous. She had a floor-length black satin gown on, and her hair was up in a perfect twist. Brett and Mark looked amazing in their tuxedos. Julie sauntered up to me.

  “How awesome is your boyfriend? He sent us an invitation and even sent a car to get us. How fantastic is that?” She kissed me on the cheek and then planted one on Alex’s. “Thank you, Alex. This is amazing.”

  Brett shook Alex’s hand and gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you, man. Thanks for the invite and ride over. I thought Julie was going to pop something; she was so excited for this. Aubrey, you look beautiful. Take care of my man here.”

  I smiled. I looked at Mark, who looked a little uncomfortable. I turned toward him and gave him my best smile. “Hi, Mark, I’m so surprised that you’re here.”

  “Hey, Aubrey, you look great.” He turned to Alex and extended his hand. “It’s nice seeing you again. Thank you for the invitation.”

  Alex shook his hand. “I’m glad you could make it.” They took their seats at our table. I felt bad because there was an empty seat between Alex and Mark, where Jessica should have been.

  I turned to Alex. “Thank you for inviting them.”

  He smiled he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “You know what, Aubrey?”

  I looked at him and smiled. I could feel my cheeks blushing. “What?”

  “I’m happy. You make me very happy.”

  His breath was so warm. I could feel it on my neck. His cologne was amazing. He smelled so good, but he always did. I leaned into his ear. “You make me happy too, Alex.” He pulled me in for a kiss.

  Brett cleared his throat. “Uh, guys, want to keep it PG before the old folks around here need to restart their pacemakers?” We all laughed.

  There was a tap on the microphone, and Alex’s dad was on the stage. “I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight. We are all here to support a very important cause that is near to my heart and my son’s. He would like to say a few words. Alex.”

  I didn’t know that he was going to be speaking tonight. Alex kissed me, stood, and walked over to the stage. I looked around the room and felt that all eyes were on me. I shifted in my chair and kept my eyes on my boyfriend.

  Alex took the mic. “Thank you, Dad.” He cleared his throat and looked out to the guests. “Education to prevent drunk driving affects all of us. Thirty-one percent of car accidents are related to drunk driving.” He looked nervous and confident at the same time. I wanted to go and hug him. “Approximately 10,000 people died last year alone.” He looked down as if he were gathering his thoughts. “As some of you know, I lost my mother Angela and sister Ellie at the hands of a drunk driver.” He cleared his throat again. “Thanks to many causes against drunk driving and educating the public, the number of yearly fatalities has decreased. As my dad said, we want to thank you for coming this evening. This is a good cause and one that is very personal to me.” He looked up at me, and I could tell he was starting to struggle. I nodded and smiled. He smiled back. “Ladies and gentleman, have a good time this evening, open your wallets, and donate for a wonderful cause. Life is too short not to make a difference, and through your generosity, we can save lives. Thank you.”

  Alex walked off the stage and everyone applauded. The band started playing as the wait staff brought out our salads. I stood when Alex reached our table. “That was really nice. Are you okay?” I worried about him and how difficult that had to be.

  “Having you with me makes everything okay, even dealing with my dad. I hate public speaking, and he makes me do it every year. Every year, I say the same thing. I hate it. What I want to say is take care of your loved ones, be there when you need them, and put them first. I think my dad would get the message then that I don’t want to speak about it in front of people. I love the cause and donate to it, but making me talk about it . . . Well, it pisses me off quite frankly.

  I nodded and we sat down to start on our salads. The rest of the food made its way around, and it definitely was a seven-course meal. I was starting to wonder how much each plate cost. They had to make a lot of money tonight.

  The food was fantastic as was the company. I didn’t eat too much for fear that I would pop a seam in my dress. Our plates were cleared, and the band was starting to get people on the dance floor. Brett and Julie left the table first. I felt bad for Mark. I was going to ask Alex if he would be upset if I danced with Mark, when I heard a familiar voice. I looked up and saw Valerie.

  “Alex, that speech was lovely.” I rolled my eyes and looked over at Mark, who was looking at Valerie. She was rubbing Alex’s shoulder.

  Mark then looked at me and I shrugged. “Valerie, you remember my girlfriend, Aubrey, and this is Mark.”

  “Yes, hello, Aubrey, I didn’t realize you came with a title now.” She looked toward Mark and nodded.

  She was such a bitch to me, but on some level, she seemed nice. I idly wondered if she knew Leah.

  Alex stood and held his hand out to me. “Dance with me.” It wasn’t a question, and I was more than happy to get away from Valerie.

  I took Alex’s hand and looked to Mark. “Excuse us.” Mark smiled. I knew he was genuinely happy for me.

  On the dance floor, I looked at Alex and then back to the table where Valerie was now sitting next to Mark.

  Alex ran his fingers through my hair and looked into my eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh nothing, well, no, that’s not true. I’m wondering if Valerie plans on going for Mark now or if she is going to continue coming on to you, even in my presence.”

  He twirled me and spun me around, making me laugh. “Aubrey, I don’t care about Valerie that way. I want you, and if she wants to go after Mark, I have no problem with that.”

  “I guess I just don’t want him getting hurt.” What I really wanted to say was, if they get together, I wanted it to be because of Mark, not as an excuse to hang with us.

  We danced another song and walked back to the table. Mark was getting up to leave. “Thanks again, Alex, this was very nice.”

  Shaking hands with Mark, Alex said, “I’m glad you could make it. I’ll have my driver take you home.”

  “That’s okay; I can grab a cab, but thanks.”

  I wondered what happened to Valerie, but I took it as a good sign that she was gone if she was into Mark for the wrong reasons. I hugged Mark good-bye and told him I would see him when I came back from my trip.

  Alex pulled me into his arms. “Want to get out of here?” He smiled, and I could feel myself throb between my legs.

  I looked at his beautiful eyes. “Most definitely.”

  Chapter 13

  We said our good-byes to Jack and some other guests. We spotted Julie and Brett looking as if they were going to start dirty dancing at any minute. Julie caught my eye, and I nodded toward the door. She smiled and whispered in Brett’s ear, and they left with us.

  The leather seats of the limo were a welcome feeling. The event was nice, but draining. I knew it took a toll on Alex. The relationship with his father was definitely strained and so were the looks I was getting from women of all ages. Julie must have picked up on it too since she blurted out, “Boy, Aubrey, you were not a favorite among the ladies tonight.”

  The three of us looked at her. Brett grabbed her hand, and I looked at Alex then back to Julie. “I picked
up on that too. Alex, what is the deal with that Nancy woman? She did not look pleased at all to hear that I was your girlfriend.”

  Alex looked at Brett with a worried look, and Brett shrugged his shoulders. “Your man is popular, Aubrey. All the moms in town want him with their daughters. You just took one of New York’s most eligible bachelors off the market.”

  My mouth fell open a little. I knew that women liked him and I knew why, but to hear he was considered one of New York’s most eligible bachelors? I had no idea. I guess if I had gotten out more and took my head out of my books, I would have known this. All I could say was “oh.” I was so eloquent.

  Alex picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “I could care less what anyone thinks or who they want me to be with. I know what I think and who I want to be with.” He smiled that panty-wetting smile of his. I rested my head on his shoulder.

  The car came to a stop; I looked out the window and noticed we were at the guys’ apartment building. I looked back at Alex.

  He winked. “I thought we could spend tonight at my place.”

  I smiled and the driver opened the door. We all got out and headed toward the elevator. Julie and Brett were laughing about some guy who was drunk at the bar, telling bad jokes. I was so happy for Julie. She was totally falling or had fallen for Brett. We got in the elevator, and Alex invited Julie and Brett up for a night cap. Part of me didn’t want them to come, but I really needed to spend time with my best friend. I looked at Julie with pleading eyes; she answered for them and said, “Yes.”

  We walked into Alex’s apartment. It was gorgeous, really not what I expected. It was spotless, and I thought he must have a cleaning person. The palette of the apartment was gray, black, and white. It was crisp and contemporary. There was a picture of a white orchid hanging in the dining room. He had a black leather couch in the middle of the living area with glass coffee and side tables. There were travel books on the coffee table and a little statue of the Eiffel Tower on his mantle, which reminded me about our impending trip. His kitchen was off to the left. It was large for an apartment, but then again the apartment wasn’t like any apartment I had ever seen. I thought Brett’s was large, but compared to Alex’s, it didn’t seem that big anymore. I lazily wondered what his bedroom looked like, but thought I would stow that thought for a while.