Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) (6 page)

“Remember that slumber party we had at your house, Katy? We
must have been all of sweet sixteen at the time,” Lizzie asked as she popped a
chocolate into her mouth.

“Oh, how could I ever forget it? We snuck the boys in the
basement window and my dad caught us. I wasn’t allowed to see Bill for a month.
I thought I would die before that month was over.” Katy giggled like a
schoolgirl.

“And then there were all the sleepovers at Lizzie’s house,
our resident junk food junkie. We ate so much junk food when were there,” Angie
remembered.

“And you always knew what you were having for breakfast at
Lizzie’s house, fried bologna on toast. I have not touched bologna since then,
I don’t think.” Marianne remembered with a smile. She was actually beginning to
relax a little. She had not had another glass of wine since she had poured her
heart out to her friends earlier.
Maybe this
really is going to be a
good week, after all,
she thought as she looked at each of her friends and
smiled.

“Ah, those were the days, weren’t they, carefree and fun?”
Katy said wistfully.

They all nodded in agreement. They spent the rest of the
night and into the morning hours remembering the days of their youth in an
Indiana small town, and of course, filling up on junk food. When they finally
gave it up and fell asleep at four a.m., each one of the girls had a smile on
her face.

When they awoke on Sunday morning, they all felt refreshed
and relaxed. After taking turns in the shower, they sat down to figure out what
they would do with the rest of the day. It was decided that they would go across
the street to the Galleria mall for a while. As they leisurely read the paper
and finished their coffee, they also discussed where they would go for dinner
that evening.

“I have had enough junk food to last me for a year,” Katy
said. She was never one to eat junk food, being the petite one of the bunch.
Last night had been a rare exception.

“You can say that again,” quipped Marianne with a sidelong
glance at Lizzie.

“Now, girls, what’s a ‘Fab Four’ party without junk food?”
Lizzie laughed.

“You could eat junk food without the ‘Fab Four,’ honey,”
Angie answered with a smile.

They eventually decided on a restaurant that Marianne
suggested. It had a great reputation and she had heard that they were planning
to expand. “Supposedly they are going to be adding a party room and possibly
more restaurants,” Marianne told them. “It’s owned by two brothers, Ryan and
Shane O’Grady. All the articles I’ve read say Shane’s wife, Chloe, is an
excellent cook and Ryan is said to have the distinct reputation of being
considered one of Dallas’s most eligible bachelors.” Marianne continued to fill
them in with all she knew about the family from local talk. “He’s quite the
playboy from what I’ve seen in the society pages, never with the same woman
more than a few times.”

“Well, then we have to go there, because I want to see this
local legend in the flesh,” Lizzie laughed.

“I agree. If he’s so hot that all the women are after him, I
want to see him too. Hey, maybe Katy can have a vacation affair with this dude.
It’d be a great way to get back in the dating pool.” Angie burst into giggles.

“And why on earth would I want to do that?” Katy began
giggling as well.

“I don’t think Katy wants to get mixed up with that one,”
Marianne added.

“I can see it now. We’ll walk in there and all go into one
of our giggling fits when we see ‘Mr. Sexy Dallas.’” Lizzie was giggling too by
this point.

“And so my friends come to Dallas just to embarrass me in
public. I see how you are,” Marianne teased.

“Ok, we’ll behave. But I still think Katy should have a
fling with him,” Angie said.

“Oh, brother,” Katy rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at
Angie’s head.

The girls left for the mall shortly after that, putting an
end to the discussion of the infamous Mr. O’Grady.

It was just like old times, the four of them shopping
together. They had spent many a Sunday afternoon in the malls together over the
years. They each made a few purchases and headed back to the suite to get ready
for their big evening out.

Petite Katy chose a simple black dress. She finished it off
with pearls that Bill had given her one year for their anniversary, matching
earrings and bracelet, and a pair of strappy black sandals. With her short dark
hair cut in the latest style, she looked very chic. Lizzie had bought a
beautiful floral skirt with a peasant blouse while shopping. The bright
turquoise had always been a good color for her. She was a blonde with a classic
pageboy hairstyle, the back cut just a tiny bit shorter than the sides and
stacked. She wore southwestern-style turquoise jewelry. Angie, ever the career
girl, donned a navy pinstripe skirt with matching blazer. She dressed it up
with a feminine white blouse and gold jewelry. She had decided to wear her long
hair up for the evening. Marianne walked into the room with a cute, green
paisley dress that accentuated her figure nicely.

“Well, I think we are ready to take on the Big D in style,”
Angie laughed as they grabbed their purses and walked out the door, happily
anticipating the evening ahead.

Since Marianne knew the way to the restaurant, she offered
to drive rather than take the rental. The girls were all chatting at once the
entire ride, taking in the lights of Dallas on the way.

Marianne pulled into the parking lot of ‘Chloe’s Place’ and
quickly parked her SUV in one of the few remaining parking spots. The nearly
full parking lot was a good indication that the food would be excellent. They
piled out of the car and strolled into the restaurant, which had a pleasant
atmosphere. The dining room was tastefully decorated in shades of mauve and
gray and a fire was burning in the huge stone fireplace in one corner. Fresh
flowers served as centerpieces on each table. Everyone was bustling about doing
his or her job, but everything seemed to be running quite smoothly.

“Marianne, this is lovely. I am so glad you suggested this
place,” Angie stated in awe.

The others quickly agreed with her.

“Welcome to Chloe’s Place, would this be your first time
here?” asked the man who had just walked up to greet them.

The four women stared at the man in disbelief. He had to be
the most gorgeous hunk of manhood any of them had ever seen. He was tall and
well-groomed, with dark hair and big brown eyes that held a tiny fleck of gold
in each of them. He looked to be in his forties, very muscular and definitely
all man. Now, Michael, Jon, and Rex were all good-looking men, but there was
definitely something different about this one.

Katy could not seem to take her eyes off him. He smiled at
her and she struggled to regain her composure as she answered, “Yes, it is. We
are visiting Dallas and heard great things about ‘Chloe’s Place,’ so we thought
we’d try it out.”

“We will try to live up to the good things you have heard,
then. I am Ryan O’Grady.  I own the restaurant with my brother and
sister-in-law, Shane and Chloe. And you lovely ladies are…?”

“We are the ‘Fab Four,’” Angie laughed.

Ryan gave them a quizzical look and Lizzie laughingly
explained, “It’s a childhood nickname we gave ourselves when we were growing up
in Indiana. I am Lizzie from Ohio, this is Marianne, who actually lives near
Dallas, that’s Angie from Iowa, and you have already had the pleasure of
speaking to Katy, who hails from Chicago.”

The gold flecks in Ryan’s eyes sparkled as he answered,
“Indiana you say? I lived there once, a lifetime ago, in Indianapolis. It is a
pleasure for us to be serving the ‘Fab Four’ this evening. May I show you to a
table, ladies?” He led them to a table near the beautiful fireplace. After they
were seated, he took their drink orders and handed them menus. “Your waiter
will be with you shortly. I’ll check back with you ladies later and see how you
are doing. It has been a pleasure.” He winked at Katy as he turned to go.

“Wow, did you girls check out those eyes of his?” Angie
asked.

“Eyes, schmeyes, I was too busy checking out the rest of
him,” laughed Lizzie.

“No wonder he’s Dallas’s most eligible bachelor,” Marianne
added.

“What did you think of him, Katy?” Angie nudged her friend,
who had been very quiet. The wink had not been missed.

“I think that I have never been as attracted to a man in all
my life,” Katy quietly answered.

The other three looked at her in surprise. Katy had not so
much as shown the slightest bit of interest in a man since Bill’s death, other
than the occasional casual date. Maybe she really was ready to move on.

“Well, on that note, let’s think about ordering some food,
because, honey, I don’t think Ryan O’Grady is on the menu tonight,” Lizzie said
as they all burst into yet another fit of girlish giggles.

The waiter soon brought their drinks and they placed their
orders. Marianne ordered the filet mignon, Angie a seafood dish, Katy a shrimp
salad, and Lizzie the prime rib.

As they settled back to enjoy their drinks and each other’s
company, a woman walked toward their table. Katy noticed her first-she was
strikingly beautiful, probably in her mid-thirties, with short, blonde, bobbed
hair. 

The woman greeted them with a genuine smile as she stopped
at their table and introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Chloe O’Grady. Ryan said there
was a lively bunch of gals that I needed to meet sitting in this corner.
Welcome to our restaurant.”

“Are we being too loud? We’re sorry, we haven’t seen each
other for a long time and have a lot to catch up on,” Angie answered, slightly
embarrassed.

“Oh, no, quite the contrary, Ryan thought y’all were having
a good time, so I thought I would come over and chat a minute. What brings
y’all to Dallas?” she asked with the typical Texas drawl.

“Well, we’re childhood friends who live in different states
now. We decided to drop everything and get together for a week,” replied
Lizzie.

“I think that’s wonderful. I would love to get away like
that, but we are so busy right now.” Chloe O’Grady had a way about her that
could draw you into her world with her smile.

“Yes, we heard that you are doing some expanding. That
sounds great.” Marianne remarked. “You must be doing very well here.”

“It is great, but very time consuming to try and plan all
that and run this place, I’m afraid.” Chloe smiled as she spoke, the same sweet
smile she had on her face when greeting them.

“I hear you. I work in a resort-casino and we are planning a
huge expansion too. When I get back to work, I will certainly have my hands
full,” Angie piped in, understanding in her voice.

“We have hired an excellent architect. We’ve seen
preliminary sketches and are meeting with him on Tuesday morning. He really had
some good ideas. Now if I could just decide on a new advertising campaign and
hire a decorator, I would be halfway home.” Chloe sighed.

The girls looked at each other and laughed.

“I’m sorry, why was that funny?” Chloe asked in a surprised
manner.

“No, it wasn’t funny, but Lizzie’s husband owns an ad agency
and Katy here is thinking of starting an interior design business. I have
already offered her a job helping me with decorating our new hotel expansion,”
Angie answered, the wheels spinning in her head already.

“You have got to be kidding. It has to be fate that brought
you to us tonight. I am so excited. You don’t know how much this has been
weighing on me to get these things done. I feel like a hundred pound weight has
been lifted off my shoulders. Shane and Ryan will not believe this in a million
years.” Chloe could not believe her luck and even Marianne, the great believer
in fate, was dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events.

“What will I not believe?” Ryan had returned to the table.
He seemed to be drawn to the table with the petite Katy from Chicago and her
friends.

When Chloe related her latest findings to Ryan, he was
shocked. “Well, indeed, that is interesting. Katy, why don’t you drop by
tomorrow after the lunch rush and we’ll discuss some of the decorating ideas
with you?” he answered, not quite believing his luck in getting to see her
again so soon.

“This place is so tastefully done, who designed it?” she
replied, not giving an immediate answer to his suggestion.

“I did, but I just don’t have the time to do it this time
around, what with running this place and planning the new projects,” Chloe
answered wearily.

“Well, it certainly is beautiful. You did an excellent job
on it, Chloe.” Katy appreciated taste and Chloe certainly had shown good taste
in decorating the restaurant.

“Thank you, Katy. But seriously, would you be interested in
stopping by tomorrow or will you be too busy with your friend’s hotel to take
on a second client so soon? We would love to have your input.”

She is seriously asking me to do the job
, Katy
thought excitedly.

“We could really use your help if you are serious about
starting a design business.” Ryan was looking at Katy, smiling, and she was
captivated by it.
How could I refuse anything this man asks of me
?

“We don’t want to cut into your vacation time, though. I’m
sorry, I didn’t even think of that.” Chloe had forgotten for a minute that the
girls were on vacation, disappointed that things may not work out after all.

“No, that’s not a problem, I can drop by around two if that
works for you.” Katy decided to go for it.

“And Lizzie, why don’t you have your husband work on some ad
ideas for us?”

“Actually,” Lizzie said thoughtfully, “why don’t I come up
with some ideas of my own and come by with Katy tomorrow? Sound good to you?”
The wheels were turning in Lizzie’s head. If she could win this account, it
would be a big feather in Rex’s cap to expand his business as far as Dallas and
it would gain Rex’s confidence that she could do the job. Wouldn’t that be
something? She could kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.