The Billionaire's Best Friend (The Sherbrookes of Newport) (2 page)

“
They’re perfect. Thank you.”

“
That’s not all I have. I brought a red velvet cake from Rosie’s bakery, and this is also for you.” Callie handed her the larger box she’d been holding.

“
Red velvet from Rosie’s. That will be gone tonight.” Lauren eyed the bakery box as she accepted the other gift her friend held out. Unlike the first gift, which had been wrapped in paper decorated with balloons, this one was wrapped in silver paper and an intricately tied bow adorned the top. Callie hadn’t wrapped this box. The only time she put a bow on a box was when it had a self-adhesive back attached to it.

“
You didn’t need to get me anything.” Lauren played with the bow, not wanting to disturb the beautifully wrapped gift.

Callie shrugged.
“I know, but I wanted to. Now open it. I’ve been dying to give this to you since I bought it last week.”

Lauren rolled her eyes.
“You’ve gotten bossy since getting married, chickie. You know that, don’t you? More impatient, too. I think your husband is rubbing off on you.” Slowly, just to annoy her friend, Lauren untied the bow and carefully tore off the paper. “How is he?” Lauren folded the paper after she unwrapped the present.

Callie grabbed the paper from her hands and balled it up then tossed it on the end table.
“He’s great. Now will you open it already before I do it for you?”

Lauren pulled open the box and her jaw dropped. Inside the box was perhaps the most gorgeous gown she
’d ever seen. Just looking at it she knew it wasn’t something you could pick up at the nearby mall.

“
I saw it in Saks and thought of you.” For the most part, Callie hadn’t changed her style or shopping preferences despite her change in financial status. Yet every once in a while she popped into stores like Saks and Gucci. “You need to open the envelope, too.” She elbowed Lauren in the side when Lauren didn’t move.

So overwhelmed by the gown, she
’d missed the envelope sitting on top of it. Gingerly, she picked it up and pulled out two tickets to the ballet
Giselle
being performed in New York City and a printout for hotel reservations at a nearby Sherbrooke Hotel.

“
I thought you’d like a new gown for the show. I knew you liked the gown I wore to the New Year’s Eve party. This one reminded me of it when I saw it on display.”

For a moment Lauren couldn
’t speak around the lump in her throat. She loved that ballet and had always wanted to see it performed in New York City, but she had considered the endeavor too expensive. Instead she opted for local shows. At one time, Callie would’ve thought the same way. This extravagant gift only reminded her of how different their lives had become. Lauren looked down at the gown again, a twinge of sadness dampening the happiness she’d felt when Callie had arrived. Sometimes it would be nice to turn back time for a day or two. Make things the way they’d been before Callie had learned her father was Warren Sherbrooke and she’d married billionaire Dylan Talbot.

“
I . . . you, shouldn’t have. I can’t accept all this. It’s too much.”

Callie waved a hand in her direction dismissing her comment.
“I thought you and Kevin could go.”

After sticking the tickets back in the envelope, Lauren reached over and gave Callie a hug.
“Thank you. If he can’t go, I’ll ask Kelly or maybe my mom. Kelly may not be up for it. She looks like she might pop any day now,” Lauren said, referring to her older sister. “I’d ask you, but I know how you feel about the ballet.”

Callie wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead.
“Now that I know I’m safe, how about some of that cake?”

Lauren grabbed the box off the table and headed for the kitchen.
“You read my mind, girlfriend. Be right back.”

“
Are these flowers from Kevin?” Callie asked, referring to the floral arrangement on the table.

“
They came yesterday, and this morning he called to wish me a happy birthday.” Lauren sliced into the dense cake and cut two large pieces. “You want some coffee, too?”

“
All set thanks.”

Lauren paused, a slice of cake hovering over the dish.
“Did you just say no to coffee?”

“
I had three cups on my way here. Do you have any of the herbal tea I had the last time I visited?”

“
Sure. I bought a new kind, too, if you want that instead. It’s orange spice.”

“
Nah, just give me the same one from before. I liked that one a lot. Actually, I bought some when I got home. So how are things going with Kevin?”

Lauren switched her thoughts over to Callie
’s question as she prepared the tea. Since she’d started seeing Kevin, she hadn’t really discussed the budding relationship with anyone. “Okay. We’re still getting to know each other.” Lauren reentered the living room and handed Callie a plate and her tea.

Callie rolled her eyes.
“Which means what exactly? Are you dating other people? Has he met your family? Come on, Lauren, I want details here.”

Lauren swallowed the tiny bit of heaven in her mouth.
“He’ll meet them this weekend. He was supposed to come to Jenny’s birthday party with me but didn’t make it. Some emergency at work.” It still bothered her a little that he had to work during her niece’s birthday party after promising he’d come. “And I haven’t been out with anyone else since our first date back in January.”

Callie took a forkful of cake and then put her plate down.
“I still cannot believe Jenny’s three.”

“
Tell me about it.” Lauren reached for her steaming mug of coffee. “It seems like she was just born yesterday.”

“
So, will Kevin be at your mom’s retirement party tomorrow?”

“
He promised he’d be there.”

“
I’m still surprised she’s retiring. I thought she’d be there forever.”

“
It surprised everyone. She’s worked in the school library for more than twenty years. The principal tried to change her mind, but Mom refused. She wants to be around when Kelly has the baby next month. When Kelly’s maternity leave ends, Mom is going to watch the baby during the day.” Lauren dug her fork into the cake again. “So, do you still love it at the academy?” After her marriage, Callie had decided to remain a teacher. A decision that had shocked the media and much of the country.

Callie raised another forkful of cake toward her mouth.
“Most days. You know how it is. But I’m tossing around the idea of leaving at the end of the school year. Maybe taking on some charitable work instead. It’ll be something different, and when Dylan travels I can go with him.”

“
How is he really? Has he been traveling a lot again?” Lauren had never met a worse workaholic than Callie’s husband. While Callie said he was not as bad as when they’d first met, he still put in an obscene number of hours.

Callie rolled her eyes.
“Busy as usual. You know him, but most weekends he leaves work at the office. He hasn’t traveled since the end of January, but he’ll be away for five days in April. I’m not looking forward to it.”

“
Yeah, but just think how happy he’ll be to see you when he gets home,” Lauren said in a suggestive tone.

Callie laughed and nodded.
“He always is, but enough about him. What do you want to do tonight? It’s your birthday; we should do something special. Something we haven’t done together in a while.”

The next several minutes they tossed around ideas before deciding on a movie followed by a late dinner. For a moment it felt like old times. That whole part of her life seemed like ages ago. While she loved seeing how happy Callie was with Dylan, she missed having her best friend just fifteen minutes away. Since freshman year in high school they
’d been friends. They’d even taught at the same elementary school after college. Now she saw Callie perhaps once every six weeks or so. They talked on the phone frequently, but even their conversations had changed. They were not only in different places in their lives, but now their lives were rooted in different worlds. Even with all the differences between them, she still thought of Callie as a sister. And she knew Callie felt the same way. Sometimes, though, she wished they could go back to the way life was before Callie met Dylan, not that she would ever tell Callie that. Some things were best kept to oneself.

***

“Looks like Dylan has a new best friend,” Lauren said dryly. She and Callie sat together at a corner table in the banquet room of The Davenport on Saturday night. Callie’s husband  had arrived late that afternoon to accompany Callie to Mrs. McDonald’s retirement party.

“
I don’t think Kevin has left him alone all night.” Across the room, the two gentlemen in question stood at the bar getting drinks. Even from this distance she could see that Kevin was still talking while Dylan nodded in agreement.

“
It does look that way. They’re probably talking about debt to income ratios or some other business topic.” Callie took a sip of her water. “Sometimes men like Kevin and Dylan need a little reminder that work is over.”

“
I guess. But I still can’t believe Kevin got here so late tonight.” She’d been prepared to drive herself to the party and leave a note for him on the door, when he finally pulled into her driveway. He’d lost track of time working on a project and then hit heavy traffic on the drive up from Rhode Island.

Callie leaned closer to her.
“Then you just have to make sure he forgets about work sometimes. That’s what I do.” Callie gave her a devious smile.

Lauren burst out laughing.
“You’re evil, you do know that, girlfriend.”

“
But you love me anyway.”

Lauren smiled and shook her head.

“How long is Kevin staying?”

“
He leaves in the morning for Atlanta.” She’d hoped he’ would stay longer. They hadn’t seen each other in almost two weeks.

“
That stinks. He’s staying with you tonight though, right?”

Lauren shook her head.
“I invited him, but he said it’d be better if he stayed in the city tonight. His flight leaves early.” His reasoning made perfect sense, and she hadn’t tried to convince him otherwise. That didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed.

“
You weren’t kidding when you said you two weren’t serious yet.”

This thing with Kevin was far from a serious committed relationship. Granted she hadn
’t dated anyone else since they’d met at the fundraiser, but she didn’t know if the same was true for him. Neither had ever come right out and said seeing others wasn’t allowed.

“
You really need to start believing me, chickie.” Lauren glanced down at her watch. “Mom should be here any minute.”

“
Does she suspect the party is for her?”

Lauren couldn
’t help but roll her eyes. “She knows. Kelly let it slip, but Mom’s been playing along. I don’t think anyone else knows that the surprise has been blown.”

Scanning the room, Lauren made a mental list. It looked like everyone had made it. That didn
’t surprise her. Anyone who spent even five minutes with Virginia McDonald became her friend. Her kind and outgoing personality drew people to her and she was like a mother to every student who ever walked into the school library over the past twenty years. The room was filled to capacity with Virginia’s friends and coworkers, as well as past and present students who wanted to wish her well in her retirement.

The main doors of the room opened as Lauren paused her scan; the guest of honor was about to enter. Grabbing her camera, Lauren stood—only to immediately collapse back down into her chair when her knees gave out at the sight of Nathaniel Callahan standing in the doorway.

“Oh my God.” Her stomach hit the floor.

“
What’s the matter? Are you okay?” Callie’s concerned voice sounded as if it were traveling a great distance to reach her.

Lauren glanced over at Callie and then toward the door again. Perhaps she
’d imagined him. After all, why would he be here? The last time she’d heard anything about him, he was doing his third tour in the Middle East. Despite her hope that she’d started to hallucinate, when she looked again, he was still there, dressed in a black suit rather than his Marine uniform, his brown hair cut military short and looking much the same as he did the summer he’d broken her heart. She latched her hand onto Callie’s arm. “Nate Callahan. He’s here.”

She kept her eyes on him. Since that awful day the summer after senior year, she
’d only seen him once. She’d been home visiting her parents during holiday break her freshman year of college. She’d spotted him in his parents’ driveway from her bedroom window. They’d received more than two feet of snow the night before and he was helping his father shovel. That morning she’d stood and watched until the entire driveway was cleared. When he and his dad finished, he went back inside his house without so much as a glance toward her home.