Bloodstone Heart (30 page)

Would you honor me with a date?

But alas, there was no response.
 
The papers from her office came with the wire of money for the statuette along with the contract and paperwork, but no personal notes whatsoever. That, however, did not deter his attempts. He wasn't quite sure why he was so bent on having a date with her, maybe some of the appeal was the chase itself.
 
Sure she was beautiful, he had dated beautiful women before, of course, but there was something about Jules that intrigued him.
 
Something he sensed or maybe saw in her eyes told him that she, like him, had been hurt maybe beyond repair, but most certainly, despite how strong they both were on the outside, they were both very lonely and sad on the inside.

He continued to send cards, and flowers and notes to no avail.
 
When Dominic said that he was going to put together an engagement party for Devon and Darby, he thought this would be his opportunity.
 
The party was to be black tie and Dominic was sparing no expense.
 
The party would not be huge, mostly just family, and a few close friends. He shopped for a gown for Jules along with shoes and jewelry and had it all packaged and arranged for delivery.
 

To ensure her attendance, however, he felt that he would have to show up himself and ask.
 
It would be too easy for her to say ‘No’ to an invitation without someone there to convince her she must come and once she said yes, he would have everything delivered. Again he got blood red roses, but he handpicked them out this time along with the delphinium.
 

With a hand engraved invitation in hand, flowers, and dressed to kill in a black Armani tuxedo, he went to her office and proceeded to woo her into a 'Yes.' The women all peeked out of their offices and over their cubicles and even some of the men had to see what the girls were all cooing about.
 

Anton found Jules in her office working at her computer and completely oblivious to anything else going on around her.
 
He saw remnants of the gifts and flowers he had sent previously placed randomly around her office. He stood at the doorway looking very dashing and knocked softly on the open door.
 
She casually looked up, perhaps expecting to see a co-worker, but when she saw Anton's stunning blue eyes and boyish smile behind at least three-dozen red roses and delphinium she couldn't help but smile. It was then that she noticed what a commotion he had made sauntering through her office looking like Prince Charming, and she quickly got up from her desk, led him into the office, and shut the door behind them.
 

She turned back towards the divinely dressed Anton and said, "Well, you certainly don't give up easily do you?"

"Sorry, no. These are for you. I hand picked them to make sure I got the freshest and most perfect ones, and the delphinium had to be the darkest blue I could find to match your eyes."

"I see. Well they are certainly beautiful, and I thank you, but..."

Before she could end the sentence, Anton interrupted her. "I've come to invite you to a small family party - Black Tie, hence the tux, thought I'd give you a hint of what would be on your arm." He smiled and bowed. Jules raised the flowers to cover part of her face to hide a smile.

"Mmm.
 
I must say, you clean up very nicely, but..."

"Wait, before you decide, here is the hand engraved invitation to the party.
 
My father is hosting it. It is an engagement party for my cousin and his fiancée. My other cousin from California will be flying out with his girlfriend along with a few close friends.
 
It will be very intimate, I assure you." Again she smiled and looked down at the beautiful invitation on black paper; in gold engraved lettering she saw her name printed in beautiful calligraphy: Juliana D'Angelo. She was very impressed with his persistence.
 

"Anton, this is very flattering, but it sounds a little too intimate for a first date, especially with the fact that your wife..."

"Please, would you stop bringing her up?" He turned to make sure that the door was closed. "Look, my wife and I had been estranged for years before she suddenly died, and she made no attempt to hide from me that she slept with many, many men. Whenever I attempted to move on with my life and find someone else, she would send the woman away with bribes and threats - of course, I didn't know this at the time. So yes, it is sad that she is dead, but there's not a lot to mourn. My family knows all the dark secrets of the marriage so they would like to see me get on with something healthier too, so it is not an issue of protocol.

"Jules, look.
 
I've not pursued anyone like this, EVER, not even my wife. I think there could be something between us, if only you would give it a chance.
 
I can sense that you are wary of relationships as I have been in the past, maybe one day we will both want to share that pain with each other, but for now, won't you please just say yes to coming to a little party as my date.
 
I think it could be good for both of us. I would just like to get to know you better and maybe have some fun on the way." He took her hand in his and kissed it. He then made his version of sad puppy dog eyes as an added incentive, and she had to admit to herself he looked adorable.

She looked back down at the lovely invitation on her desk and the flowers in her other hand. "Oh, all right. Are you sure you've never done this before, because you seem bloody good at it."

"Well, forty years of marriage will teach you a thing or two about women," he joked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and pushed a couple of buttons as she said, "There is a problem though."

"There is? What's that?"

"Well, I don't have anything to wear on such short notice."

"Aw, well, that is not a problem anymore," he said as a knock came at the door and he opened it, displaying a man almost completely hidden behind the several boxes wrapped in a wide red bow that he was holding.

Anton took the packages from him, said thanks, and closed the door again. He set the packages down on the chair in front of the desk, and then he turned to Jules and said, "Problem solved."

"Wow. You've thought of everything, haven't you?"

"I tried."

"And you've succeeded. So what might I find in these boxes?"

"Oh the usual; a gown to compliment your eyes, shoes to match the gown, and some jewelry to accentuate it all."

"Really? May I?" she said gesturing to the packages.

"Of course, they are for you, after all."

She tried not to show how impressed she was or just how flattered she was by his doting, but when she opened the box with the gown, her breath was taken away. It was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. She pulled it completely out of the box and held it in front of her.
 

"It's perfect for you. I knew it would be," Anton said with pride.

Unable to speak, she opened the other packages revealing gorgeous silk pumps that looked like they had been designed specifically to go with the dress, and the jewelry to match, which was stunning.
 
It was a simple velvet ribbon choker with a drop of sapphires and what looked like diamonds. There was a dainty bracelet to match along with earrings. He could tell she was pleased by her expressions.

Finally she spoke. "Oh Anton. Everything is so beautiful, but don't you think you've gone a little overboard?"

"Not at all. It suits you. Besides, someone once told me that you never get to redo a first date, so make it special, like the opening line of a book.
 
It has to keep you wanting more, or else why would you read any more of the book? I just hope this might be the beginning of something very special."

"I don't know what to say...thank you, Anton."

"And thank you for saying yes. I am sorry that I can't pick you up personally. I have some things to do to help out in getting ready for the party, but I will send a car for you at your home at 5:00 P.M. that will take you to the house."

"I look forward to it."

"As do I," he said as he kissed her hand again. He smiled as he looked into her eyes and he thought he saw the tiniest blush come over her cheeks. " I'll see you tomorrow evening."

She nodded as he turned and exited, looking very confident as he strode through the cloud of whispers and wondering looks.
 
Jules watched him as he walked away. A flush of warmth flooded over her skin - a feeling she had not felt for at least four centuries A chill to ran through her as her mind caught up with her heart and a long forgotten sensation came over her. Had someone finally touched her icy heart and warmed the very cockles of her soul? She was both excited and terrified at the same time.

Chapter 24

After Melanie ran the credit card in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the afternoon, she headed back down through Alabama and onto Macon, Georgia. She had made good time today and found a diner close to the hotel she was staying in for dinner. Like the diner in which she had met Danny, Ellen, and Debbie in Mobile, it was fairly empty. In a booth, two tables from her, she could hear what she thought was a couple arguing. After several minutes trying to focus on her menu and not listen to their conversation, she surmised that the two were brother and sister (Sandy and Travis). Sandy had been nearly in tears, which is why Melanie was having a tough time tuning them out.

"But Aunt Betsy said things are really bad, Travis.
 
We have to go and see her.
 
What if she dies and we weren't there to be with her?"

"I know, I know, but what can we do? You don't have a car, mine is about to die, and I don't have enough money to fix it, let alone go to Pueblo."

"Can you ask your boss for an advance?"

"No - can you?"

"No."

"Have you asked Ray if he could loan you the money or maybe his car?" he asked.

"Ray left a few weeks back.
 
He says he's moving to New York to become an actor."

Travis snorted loudly. "Ray thinks he can act? When did he decide he was an actor?"

"Don't get me started, Travis, you haven't exactly been lucky in love either."

"Point taken. So what can we do?"

"Maybe I can sell Grandma Nona's ring?"

"You can't do that, Sandy Irene Robbins - you just can't. That's the only thing either of us has from Dad's side of the family.
 
You just can't."

"Then what?" she asked.
 

"Can you get any extra hours at work?"

"No, they're downsizing as it is."

"Then I just don't know what we can possibly do, Sandy.”

"But Aunt Betsy says she's dying."

"I know. I just don't know what else we can do! We'll call and explain. She'll understand."

"I know she'll understand, but will WE be able to live with ourselves if this was our last chance to see her?"

"I don't know!” Travis said. “I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want you to tell me this will all work out and that we will see Momma before she passes."

"I can't make promises like that, but I can promise I will do everything in my power to try, okay? Momma knows we’re strapped and just barely making ends meet. She knows we'll try. I'll ask again at the cannery if I can get a few more hours and at the very least I can send you on a bus. At least one of us will be there.”

"I can't go without you."

"You will if that's all we can afford, besides one of us will have to pick up the slack or you'll be moving in with me again."

Sandy stared out the window as streams of tears ran down her face much like the raindrops trailing down the window outside of the diner. Travis put his hand on his sister's and patted it gently. "Don't cry, Sandy. We'll get through this."

"We should have never left her there all by herself."

"Come on now, we thought it would be an opportunity we couldn't pass up.
 
Momma knew that.
 
We couldn't have known it wouldn't work out. We thought we'd both be sending back money for her to join us here."

"But now we are stuck here, no better than we were and so far away from home."

"We will make it through this, Sandy. When we get a little money together, we'll head home, if you still want to.
 
Everything will be fine - you'll see."

Trying to make her brother feel better, she smiled and nodded.
 
He had always done his best to be the big brother and he was a good one at that. "Come on now.
 
Dry up those tears and finish your Coke. My shift starts in an hour and I've got to get back to the house and take a shower."

Sandy did as her brother said and had the last sip of Coke as she wiped the tears away. Travis put a tip on the table and he walked behind her to the door of the diner, opening it for her and patting her shoulder as he did.