Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) (22 page)

“We are doing just fine, sir.” Katy’s eyes sparkled as she
answered the handsome man standing before her. She felt a slight twinge as she
remembered what she had to tell him later this evening.
I hope he will be
able to deal with the news
. In the few short days she had known him, he had
become a very important new part of her life.
For the next few hours, he is
still
mine and I
intend to make the best of it
. Resigned to
putting the unpleasantness out of her mind, she took her place at his side as
his date for the evening.

“Ryan O’Grady, I would like for you to meet my husband, Rex
Hart,” Lizzie proudly introduced the two men.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Rex. You have a very talented
wife here. We’re anxious to meet with the two of you tomorrow to sign the
contract for the new ads.” Ryan extended his hand to Rex.

As the two men shook hands, Rex replied, “It’s nice to
finally meet you, Ryan. I have heard nothing but good things about you from the
‘Fab Four.’ Oh, by the way, you’ll have to get used to these four gals. They
are quite a handful.”

Ryan laughed and said, “It will be a pleasure to get to know
all of you better. And I’m looking forward to the chance to do just that.” He
reached for Katy’s hand, smiling down at her.

“I’m very happy to be working with you and your family on
this project. I wasn’t expecting to be branching out to Texas, but am excited
to be doing so.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. We’d better get inside. Chloe
has been working hard all day to make this dinner special for our new friends
and associates. Shall we?”

The group made their way inside the restaurant and followed
Ryan to a large, round table in the private dining room. The girls had not been
in this room and were all very much in awe at the beauty of it. A large stone
fireplace covered the rear wall of the room, larger than the one in the main
dining room. A crackling fire had been lit and it was just the thing to take
the chill off the cool autumn night. The room was decorated in soft shades of
clay and turquoise depicting an appropriate Southwestern atmosphere.
Candlelight glowed from the center of a beautiful floral arrangement placed in
the center of the large round table, which had been set perfectly. The
creamy-colored tablecloth was accented with clay and turquoise napkins, and the
china was an exquisite southwestern design. Crystal water goblets and
intricately-designed flatware completed the picture. The artwork on the walls
was perfectly matched to the color scheme, while various southwestern-style
trinkets were scattered about the room for effect.

“Ryan, this room is wonderful,” Katy remarked as he seated
her, drinking in the atmosphere with pure delight.

“Thank you, but I can’t take any of the credit for it. This
room was all Chloe’s doing, too.”

“Did I hear my name taken in vain?” Chloe laughed as she
entered the room.

“Chloe, I love what you’ve done with this room.” Katy smiled
as she spoke to her new friend. Chloe certainly had a flair for design, another
thing they had in common, besides an eye for the O’Grady brothers.

“Thank you. Coming from our new designer, that is quite a
compliment.” Chloe blushed slightly as she returned Katy’s smile. Their eyes
locked for a second, Chloe wondering if Katy would reveal her identity to Ryan
tonight. Katy turned to Liz and Rex and introduced Rex to Chloe and to Shane,
who had entered the room shortly after his wife.

Jon introduced himself to the O’Gradys and the group
proceeded to the table.

“I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of preparing our
meal tonight myself.” Chloe began as they were all seated and comfortable. “The
waiter will be bringing in our appetizer soon.”

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve prepared for us, Chloe. I’m
sure it will be absolutely scrumptious,” Angie spoke for the first time since
arriving to the restaurant.

“I hear you’re a marvelous cook,” Marianne added. “I’ve read
that’s how the restaurant came to be, because of your love for cooking.”

“Basically, yes, that is how we first came up with the idea.
I always loved trying new recipes and had worked in other establishments. Shane
had the business background, so we decided to combine the two and start
‘Chloe’s Place.’ We needed a partner and that is how Ryan became involved.
Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would be such a success and
that we would be embarking on the adventure of expanding to other cities. It’s
been a whirlwind,” Chloe answered with a smile.

The waiter arrived with lobster-stuffed pasta shells and a
large bread bowl with spinach dip. The guests began to eat and were not
disappointed.          

“This is wonderful, Chloe,” Lizzie said as she finished her
first bite.      

“I can’t wait to try the rest of the meal,” Marianne said.

They all agreed. They spent the next several minutes
enjoying the appetizers, drinking champagne and indulging in light
conversation. It was beginning as a wonderful evening.
But how will it end
?
Katy thought again as she looked around the room at all her friends, old and
new, together.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go on like this forever
?

She noticed that Michael and Angie were beginning to feel
comfortable in each other’s presence again and spent a good deal of time gazing
into each other’s eyes. It felt good to be out with them as a couple again.
Marianne and Jon were a little less tense with each other, and Jon was
noticeably making an effort to woo his wife. Marianne had lost the bitterness
from the night before and seemed to be making a real effort to enjoy the
evening. Rex and Lizzie were discussing the ad campaign with Shane. They had
set a time to meet tomorrow afternoon to finalize the paperwork and discuss schedules.
It looked like Katy’s friends were all finally getting their happy endings.

Katy sighed. Ryan was being very attentive. He had not kept
his eyes off her for more than a few seconds all evening.
How in the world
can I break this wonderful man’s heart
? But she knew she had to, just as
she knew now that they were never meant to be lovers. And maybe when she told
him the truth, he would see that too.
I wish I never had to tell him
.

The group was served salad next. The vinaigrette dressing
was superb and Shane proudly admitted that his wife had perfected the recipe
herself.

Rex and Jon teased Michael about coming back into the ‘Fab
Four’ fold. They also proceeded to give Ryan pointers on being one of the ‘Fab
Four’ men. The girls laughed as the men carried on their hilarious
conversation. Katy silently wished he really could be one of them.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Katy said, “we may have to
change our name from the ‘Fab Four’ to the ‘Fab Five.’ We may just have to vote
Chloe in as an honorary member.” Katy touched her new friend’s hand.

“What an excellent idea, Katy,” Angie agreed instantly.

“Yes, let’s take a vote right now,” Lizzie said very
seriously, then collapsed into giggles.

“All in favor raise your right hand.” Marianne said in her
most serious tone.

As four right hands instantly went into the air, Chloe was
speechless. “I don’t know what to say. Y’all have been together for so long. It
is quite an honor to be included in your group. Thank you so much.” Chloe wiped
away a tear as she smiled at her new friends.

“It’s official, now, buddy, get used to it,” Michael warned
Shane as he slapped him on the back. “You are now a ‘Fab Five’ man, just like
the rest of us.”

“Oh, boy, not quite sure what that means, but I’m in if y’all
have this much fun every time you get together.” Shane laughed.

The group of friends were all still laughing together as the
main course of prime rib was brought to the table. The meal was delicious. The
meat tender and succulent, accompanied by tiny red potatoes cooked to
perfection with just a hint of seasoning, and the vegetables were steamed
perfectly. They all agreed that Chloe was the most fabulous chef they knew.
They topped off the meal with her famous cheesecake for dessert. As they sat
around the table enjoying dessert and coffee, they were all very content.

Their week would soon come to an end, but there would be
many more ‘Fab Four’ get-togethers, and now there would be a fifth member to
the group. How lucky they had been to have met such a wonderful person as Chloe
O’Grady. The trip to Dallas had certainly been a fateful one in more ways than
one. Katy thought sadly,
I wish Ryan could really be one of us forever
.

“Ryan, could we go someplace quiet after dinner? There are
some things I need to discuss with you,” Katy said quietly so the others would
not hear.

“You read my mind, Sweetie. I need to discuss some things
with you too. When we’re finished here, I’ll take you to my place and we can
talk undisturbed there. And I will be on my best behavior. If you want me to
be, that is.” He winked at her and his eyes glowed as she blushed. “I know you
said you wanted to take things slowly, and I understand that. And you know,
many people would not believe those words just came out of Ryan O’Grady, former
playboy’s mouth,” he teased as the gold flecks in his brown eyes twinkled.

Katy gently reached up to touch his cheek.
If only. If
only things could be
different.

They lingered a while longer before the group reluctantly
began to think about heading back to the hotel. As they stood to go, the Harts
agreed on a time to meet the O’Grady family back at the restaurant tomorrow.

Jon was going back home after driving the group to the
hotel. He had a full schedule tomorrow. He leaned over to kiss Marianne on the
forehead as he helped her out of her chair.

“Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this evening. I
enjoyed meeting all of you.” He shook the hands of the two O’Grady men and
turned to Chloe, “Chloe, welcome to the group.”

“Thank you. We’re so glad you could make it, Jon.” Chloe
smiled in reply. “It was nice to meet the ‘Fab Four’ men after meeting the
wives.”

“‘Fab Five’ men, now don’t forget about Shane,” he returned
the smile.

Katy noticed Angie and Michael were holding hands as they
walked out of the restaurant with the others. They had been quieter than the
others this evening, reveling in their newfound reunion and just enjoying the
company of each other and their friends.
They look so happy. The way
Ryan
and I should be
.

They all said goodbye to Katy and Ryan in the parking lot.
The women were sad, knowing what Katy was facing. The men were thinking what a
lucky man Ryan was. Katy was a good woman and he would be lucky to have her
heart. She had not shown any interest in a man for a long time. As Angie,
Michael, Lizzie, Rex, Marianne, and Jon headed back to the hotel, they were
each quiet with their own thoughts about their friend, Katy.

When they arrived at the hotel, Lizzie said goodnight to
Rex, agreeing to meet him in the morning to go over last minute details before
their meeting with the O’Gradys.

Jon kissed his wife goodnight and told her he would see her
at home on Saturday. She smiled and told him she would be there after she saw
the others off.

Angie and Michael lingered in the hallway outside his suite
saying goodnight. Neither wanted the evening to end, but Angie finally pulled
herself away and headed back to the elevator to go to her own suite. There
would be plenty of nights with Michael when they got back to Iowa. The rest of
the week was for her friends. And it was slowly coming to an end.
What an
eventful week it has been for all of us
.
We’ve all gotten our happy
endings,
but what about Katy
?
Will she get her happy ending too? It’s not fair if
she doesn’t
.

Back at the bachelor pad, Ryan helped Katy out of the car
and escorted her to the entrance of his condo, nodding to the doorman as they
walked past him. The doorman watched the couple as they entered the building. Mr.
O’Grady had brought many women to his place in the past, but certainly none as
attractive and classy as the one on his arm tonight.

As Ryan unlocked the door and ushered her in, he flipped the
light switch by the front door. “Welcome to my humble abode,” he said as he led
her to the couch.

“This is very nice, Ryan, a real bachelor pad.” Katy laughed
as she looked around. He certainly had good taste. The leather furniture suited
him well. He had a southwestern décor, which fit into his Texas lifestyle. He
had done a good job with the condo.
Or had someone else decorated it for
him
? She really did not want to know.

“Thank you. Have a seat. Would you like a drink?” he asked
politely.

“After that scrumptious meal, I don’t need a thing, thank
you.” She sat down on the oversized leather sofa and smiled up at him
nervously.   

 “Now, what did you want to talk to me about, my sweet?” he
asked as he plopped down beside her. “Maybe we don’t need to talk, after all.
You look very fetching sitting on my sofa.” He pulled her to him and kissed
her, a long, lingering kiss that begged to be taken further.

She gave herself to the kiss, returning his passion with her
own.
Oh, Ryan
…All lucid thoughts were gone as she lost herself in Ryan’s
kisses. He laid her back on the couch, tracing her face with his finger. He
looked into her eyes, kissed her again and sat up, pulling her up beside him.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I promised you I would behave, and I will.”

“It’s ok, Ryan. I didn’t exactly fight you, now did I?” Katy
laughed.
I only wish we could
have finished what we began on this
couch. This is all so confusing. One minute I think we are not meant to be
lovers and then he kisses me and I wonder if maybe we are. I have to tell him
now before we go to a place we may not be supposed to go.