“I know this is last-minute, but my sister and her boyfriend are in town. Chaz has never seen Bourbon Street. We are heading down there this evening for a drink, and I wanted to invite you to join us.”
The silence on the other end of the line lasted so long, he wondered if they’d lost their connection.
“Bourbon Street? Thank you for thinking of me, but no. I don’t think so, Austin. That’s not really my scene.”
Not her scene? He bit back a laugh. As if it was anyone’s scene. Bourbon Street was a rite of passage, a been-there-done-that sort of thing you checked off the list, or something you endured when visitors came to town and they wanted to see it, which was the case with Chaz. For a split second, Austin was tempted to tell her as much, but it just felt exhausting. Bourbon Street certainly wasn’t his scene, and, he realized, someone as seemingly high maintenance as Macks wasn’t either.
Since his divorce, he’d found dating in general to take too much time and energy. But, he reminded himself, he wasn’t trying to date Macks. She was a business acquaintance, and that alone helped him keep his retort to himself.
“I completely understand. Have a nice evening, Macks.”
“Oh, Austin,” she said before she could disconnect the call. “Did you get a chance to consider the invitation I gave to Felicity for you? It’s to the opening of a show for one of my clients.”
“Felicity mentioned it, but I was out of the office and didn’t get a chance to look at the details. I will when I am at my desk tomorrow, and I will let you know.”
“That sounds wonderful, darling,” she purred. “I do hope you can make it. I’d love to see you. Just not on Bourbon Street.”
* * *
As Maia drained the pasta, Felicity refilled their wineglasses waiting atop the kitchen island. Maia’s three corgis, Honey, Buddy and Jasmine, played in the living room, which was visible from the kitchen of the open concept house.
“Start from the beginning and tell me everything,” Maia insisted.
Felicity did a quick rundown of everything that had happened since Kevin had sent her flowers.
“To me, it sounds like Austin is jealous,” Maia said. “That means you either need to tell him how you feel, or you need to put him in the past.”
As if it were that easy. She would’ve forgotten about Austin a long time ago if she could.
“Let me back up,” Maia said. “Do you like Kevin? Because it sure sounds like he likes you.”
Kevin was fine. But did she like him? That was a loaded question. She certainly didn’t have anything against him. Although, at times he came across a little pushy. He kept saying he wanted to pick her up at the office and take her somewhere. She didn’t want him to come to the office because if he did, judging by the way Austin had been acting, Austin might not like it very much.
On one hand, why shouldn’t she be able to have dates pick her up at the office? As long as it was after hours and didn’t interfere with her work. Austin had no business telling her what she could and couldn’t do with her own time. And Macks had brought that invitation to the office for him. Granted, he wasn’t there, and Felicity had no idea what was going on between the two of them—
“Hello! Felicity, where did you go?”
“I’m here. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Stay present, girlfriend. You spend too much time in your head. Kevin. I asked you if you like Kevin. Because if you like him, you are going to lose him if you keep mooning over the Beast, who I don’t think is nearly good enough for you.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. Of course Maia would think that. To say she wasn’t fond of Austin was an understatement.
“You are acting as if this is my final answer. As if I have to commit or lose out on love for the rest of my life. I am not ready to choose right now. I like Kevin—as in he is a perfectly nice guy. I am not in love with Kevin, and I’m certainly not at a place where I am going to forsake all others for him.”
“I didn’t say you had to do that. I just don’t want him to get frustrated with you.”
“Did you ever consider that if Kevin is that impatient, maybe he’s not the guy for me?”
Maia offered Felicity a conceding one-shoulder shrug.
“All I can say is I’m not in a place to commit to anyone and I don’t know if or when I will be.”
Felicity’s thoughts drifted back to the evening at R’evolution and the easy conversation with Austin. She wasn’t ready to share that with Maia. Because for all of her friend’s good intentions, she did tend to take things out of context and run with them. In Maia’s world, a romantic dinner could only mean that Austin was interested and therefore Felicity should bear her soul. But if she tacked on Macks Cole and included what happened this afternoon at Austin’s condo, when Savannah’s invitation had pushed Austin back into his shell, Maia’s cut-and-dried interpretation would be that she should forget him.
Felicity only wished she could. Because life would be so much easier.
Chapter Seven
Felicity sensed Austin approaching before he got to her desk. It was funny how she could do that. It was as if she had a sixth sense and could feel his energy before she even saw him or heard him approaching.
This morning he was walking with a white envelope or card in his hands. It was the same size and shape of the one Macks had dropped off. A sense of dread lodged in her stomach.
“Sorry to interrupt. Would you please put the art show that Macks Cole invited me to on my calendar?”
He handed her the card.
“Sure. Happy to.” Liar. “Would you like me to make a dinner reservation for two before the show?”
He squinted at her as if she had asked him a question in a foreign language. “A dinner reservation? No. That’s not necessary. Most likely, I’m just going to drop in as a courtesy.”
A courtesy? That was very encouraging. She would take him being courteous to Macks over him having a date with her anytime.
As she called up Austin’s calendar to add the date, the dread that had weighed down her insides a moment ago changed to something much lighter that she couldn’t quite identify, but it wasn’t bad.
“When I talked to her last night, I told her I’d stop by. The show is at her gallery. She wouldn’t have time to go to dinner.”
And just like that, the not-so-bad feeling was smashed by the wrecking ball that swung through her middle.
So, they talked last night. How cozy.
She took care to keep a neutral expression on her face. She certainly didn’t need to give herself away now, even if she was feeling crushed by disappointment. She didn’t know why she felt the need to test the waters further. But she did.
“I don’t recall Macks’s name being on the invitation list for the gala. Should I send her an invitation?”
Austin seemed to consider her question for a moment.
“No, don’t send her an invitation. That seems too formal. I’ll ask her myself.”
* * *
Austin had no idea why he’d said he would ask Macks to the ball when he had no intention of doing so. Actually, that was a lie. He had wanted to see if Felicity would react.
As he sat down at his desk, he scrubbed his eyes with his palms. She’d offered no reaction. Sure, he was going to stop by the gallery, but he had never even been on a date with Macks. The one time he’d asked her to get together, she had made it clear that she liked things on her own terms. The last thing he needed to worry about at something as important as the FI charity gala was a high-maintenance date. For a moment he regretted not having Felicity send Macks an invitation to attend on her own. The woman had money and he would be remiss in turning down her donation for their charity, much less the cost of a ticket. Maybe he would hand deliver the invitation himself, just as Macks had delivered the invitation to the art opening. She could bring her own date, just n
ot him.
* * *
When Kevin called, he’d caught Felicity at a weak moment. He’d texted her about an hour after she’d put Macks’s art event on Austin’s calendar and had been stewing on the thought of Austin taking Macks to the ball. It was one thing to think, in abstract, of Austin dating Macks, but to have to watch them together at an event she had to attend... Well, that sounded like cruel and unusual punishment. Utter torture.
That’s why when Kevin asked her to go to dinner that evening she said yes. On any other night she would’ve declined. But tonight, she had absolutely nothing going on, except plans to brood over Austin’s interest in Macks. And how next to gorgeous, willowy, sophisticated Macks, Felicity felt like a hairy chimp—despite having every waxable region of her body serviced.
So, in a split second, she’d weighed the pros and cons of seeing Kevin tonight. And now he was picking her up at the office at 6:30.
She stole a surreptitious glance at Austin and her heart melted a little. She couldn’t help it. His hair was a little longer than it should be because a meeting had preempted the hair appointment she’d made for him and he’d said he was too busy this week. But his hair was exactly the length she liked because after he raked his hands through it, as was his habit when he was focusing on something important, it got mussed and she’d decided that’s exactly what he would look like when he woke up first thing in the morning. Felicity blinked away the thought, smiling secretly to herself. He was wearing a blue shirt and a navy tie. It was a great color on him. But, come to think of it, had she really seen him in a color that didn’t look good?
Your sister approves of me, even if you don’t think of me as anything more than an employee.
That’s when he suddenly looked up and caught her in a full-on mooning daydream. She was too deep in her trance to look away quickly before he caught her. So, he caught her staring at him, with her elbow on her desk and her cheek resting on her hand. The only thing missing from the picture was her doodling his name on a notebook while cartoon hearts and flowers danced over her head.
He gave her a little wave, which was humiliating, and, of course, meant to convey that he had caught her daydreaming. The thing about Austin, though, was that he would never call her out for slacking off. Even if it appeared that she was coasting for a moment or two, she knew he knew her work ethic and respected the fact that she worked long, hard hours and was dedicated to her job. Still, it didn’t quell the embarrassment of being caught in the act of staring at him. She figured it was the perfect time to go to the restroom and fix her makeup. Kevin would be there to pick her up in about twenty minutes.
Austin was still watching her when she stood up from her desk. She grabbed her purse and gave him a little wave that echoed the one he’d offered a moment ago. He smiled at her and laughed a little in a way that seemed an awful lot like flirting. With the exception of his mild freak-out yesterday when Savannah had invited her to their family dinner, Austin’s mood had seemed lighter lately.
Probably because he’s in love...even if he doesn’t know it.
Because wasn’t that what happened to a person when they fell in love? It transformed the way they looked at the world, the way they treated others. No wonder he didn’t want her to come to the dinner last night. How in the world would he explain her presence at an intimate family gathering to Macks? Or maybe he’d invited her to the dinner. He’d said he’d talked to her last night. Maybe he was taking her home to meet the family? But his father was out of town. It seemed like he might wait...unless Miles had already met her. She was a prospective client of Fortune Investments, after all.
Felicity sighed. Her heart felt heavy as she made her way down the silent hallway to the ladies room. Since it was creeping up on 6:30, most of the employees had already gone home. She and Austin were two of the only people in the office.
She studied her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed—probably from the lingering embarrassment caused by Austin catching her staring. She smoothed her cream-colored top down over her black pants. It wasn’t what she would’ve chosen to wear if she’d had advance notice of a date, but it was good enough for tonight.
She pulled her cosmetics bag out of her purse. Before the makeover Maia had given her, she hadn’t worried about touching up her makeup and hadn’t carried a cosmetics bag in her purse. But since Austin had noticed her haircut, and of course, since Macks had waltzed onto the scene, it had become her armor.
Now she was glad she’d taken Maia up on the offer to find her a dress to wear for the ball. Maia did hair and makeup for beauty pageant contestants, and she was certain one of her pageant girls would be willing to lend a dress. Maia was like a dog with a tug toy when she set her mind to something like this. There would be no putting her off, no talking her out of it. Frankly, Felicity wasn’t about to ask her to stand down. She wanted the brightest, shiniest, most pageant-y gown Maia could find. She wanted Austin to look at her and think, there she is, Miss Fricking America.
Or at least in theory that’s what she wanted. She wanted him, despite the fact that she was too paralyzed to let herself take steps to make that a reality. Or maybe she fancied herself in love with him because he was unavailable—or at least not available to her.
She owed her love-related post-traumatic stress to her parents and their nasty divorce, a debacle that had left her mother alone and broken after the love of her life had walked out and left her high and dry for a woman fifteen years his junior.
Watching her mother suffer had left such a scar on Felicity that she would rather pine over a guy who was unattainable than give herself a chance with a guy like Kevin, who was interested enough in her that he was willing to look past her tepid reception of his attention and keep pursuing her.
The thing was, Felicity believed in love. She believed in love in a big way. She felt it every day, every time she looked at or thought of Austin. The problem was, she also knew that love that intense never lasted. It was like a match. In its purest, unused form, it held all the possibility in the world. However, once struck and ignited, it was only a matter of time until it burned itself out to a worthless nothing.
As she powdered her nose, touched up her bronzer and reapplied her lipstick, she made a promise to herself that she was going to give Kevin a chance tonight. She would force herself to give him her attention and not let her mind wander to Austin. She wouldn’t ponder the coincidental timing of Austin’s interest in Macks—after the flowers from Kevin had arrived for Felicity. She wouldn’t let herself sit there with Kevin and wonder if it been a huge mistake to let Austin know she was playing the dating game. That would assume Austin had feelings for her, too, because why else would he get jealous? She wouldn’t ponder what might happen if she went for broke and confessed her feelings to Austin since she was leaving Fortune Investments after graduation. No. Dinner the other night would’ve been the perfect time to do that.
It seemed pretty clear that ship had sailed.
As Felicity was putting away her makeup, her phone sounded a text message. It was from Kevin saying he’d be there in five minutes and asking if he could come in and visit the restroom. He’d tacked on a comment that it would be a good chance to see where she spent so much of her time.
I want to see if it matches the mental picture I have when I think of you at work.
Since Austin was still here, Felicity hesitated. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to let Kevin come up, but it wouldn’t be very nice to deny him the restroom.
* * *
Austin caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. When he looked up, he saw a guy who looked vaguely familiar standing at Felicity’s desk. All of a sudden, everything snapped into place.
Kevin Clooney.
That’s why the guy’s name sounded so familiar. He’d met Kevin Clooney before. About a year ago, one of the New Orleans television stations had sponsored a hometown version of the show
Shark Tank to match up local entrepreneurs with possible venture capitalists. Austin had been one of the financiers. He had been flattered to be invited to be part of a panel that would hear pitches and possibly strike deals with the budding business creatives. He was jazzed at the thought of possibly having a hand in making someone’s dreams come true.
Of course, it had to be the right project.
He’d heard Kevin Clooney’s pitch. Sadly, it hadn’t been a very good one. He might have thought his idea for the Skin to Win burlesque food truck had sounded titillating, but it wasn’t viable for many reasons. The biggest reason was, even in New Orleans, the type of show Kevin wanted to produce alongside his food truck didn’t comply with city ordinances.
When Austin had questioned him on what elements of burlesque he was thinking of—the exaggerated comedic angle or the striptease version—Kevin had indicated “all of the above.” When Austin told him it wouldn’t fly, the guy proceeded to argue with Austin, saying that it would be in the same vein as the antics that happen during Mardi Gras, to which Austin replied, that despite its bawdy reputation, the city was trying tried very hard to keep Mardi Gras as clean as possible.
Austin finally shut him down by saying he wasn’t interested in investing. It wasn’t the type of business the Fortunes wanted associated with their name. Period. Kevin Clooney had called Austin a prude. As if insulting him was going to make him reconsider and fund the guy’s unworthy project.
Did Felicity know about Kevin’s striptease food truck idea?
Of course, a lot could change in a year. Maybe the guy had learned some manners, even though Austin didn’t believe it.
When Kevin Clooney saw Austin watching him, he waved. If Austin hadn’t been pissed off before, he was now. But this was his moment to let the guy know he remembered him and he still wasn’t impressed with what he saw.
A Fortunate Arrangement Page 9