Trinity inserted the phone into her robe pocket and supervised the placement of packages all around the living room — it was already filling up so fast there was barely space left. Some areas were already stacked with multiple boxes.
Celia wandered into the pandemonium and Trinity quickly explained what was happening.
"I told you he couldn't deny you a thing," the older woman crowed as a relaxed smile took hold of her face. Trinity was thankful at that moment for not being able to blush.
"I didn't ask." She hated that her voice was suddenly small.
"Even better," Celia replied and turned to go back to her domain.
"Wait, will you... I mean can you babysit Miranda for me?"
"I love the little gal, of course," she replied with ease and Trinity sighed in relief.
"Thank you.”
"Are you having dinner with Michael then?" It was more of a statement than a question really, but she answered anyway.
"Yes," she admitted, somewhat shy. She caught the knowing look Celia gave her but she refused to acknowledge it.
Instead, she turned to the hive activity of the never ending procession of delivery men. Already, the living room was looking like a warehouse.
Trinity clutched her hands around herself, overwhelmed at the gesture and giddy at the promise of a date. She was only a little dizzy, well, more than a little dizzy. She bit her lip and the discomfort cleared her head…barely.
?MICHAEL?
He was a grown man, and he held the livelihood of millions in the palm of his hand. He was an Ivy League educated man who was at present, if rumor was to be believed, handsome and eligible.
Those were facts, but his body refused to believe him. It had started with the plan to buy out a shop to make her realize her dream, then asking her out to dinner when he had a five-star chef waiting at his convenience at home.
But the most recent in a long line of inconveniences was her. Since he had asked her to dinner, his senses had melted into a soup of anticipation and he was entirely unproductive for the whole day.
Recently, he caught himself with a wistful smile — it had to stop.
He needed his senses working perfectly. But then he caught sight of her.
The golden gown hugged her breasts and left her shoulders bare before flowing down a cascade of silk. A discreet slit teased him with a winning view of her calf. Long legs were accentuated by strappy heels as her hand fiddled with a matching small purse.
He got to his feet without conscious thought…
Mine,he thought, drinking in the vision that was walking towards him.But only for the next eleven months.
The thought twisted something in him, but he shoved the emotion to the back of his mind. He caught her hand and kissed her wrist before guiding her to her chair.
Dinner was silent at first, with Trinity fiddling with her bracelet as she took in the plush surroundings of the restaurant. He put his hand over hers and he saw her body relax and she let out a long breath.
She had smiled at him and his hands ached with need to touch her face. She was doing things to him and she didn’t even seem to notice it. He was riveted by her, totally ensnared by her aura. He noticed her eyes stray to the menu, and they widened. He held in a chuckle, he had to admit, she was refreshing, a breath of fresh air in this stifled world he lived in.
He remembered when he had proposed, she was flustered at the fact that she didn’t belong in his world.
“At least there’s no shrimp fork here,” he teased her and he was rewarded by the spark of fire that came up in her eyes. She smiled, abashed as she pretended to mean mug him yet the curve of her lips betrayed her.
She looked around, “Oh please, I’m sure there’s a shrimp fork here somewhere. I’ll just have to ask.” He laughed, a hearty sound. He had been doing that lately, laughing – deep, belly laughter. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so happy.
They ordered and he noticed she asked for the cheapest things on the menu, he leaned back and smiled, waiting for the waiter to leave before addressing her. “You do know that I can afford to get my wife anything on this menu that her heart desires?”
She shrugged, seemingly embarrassed to be caught.What did she think, that he wouldn’t notice?
He decided to let her off the hook, “How are the preparations coming for the Winter Goodwill program?”
