Page 17 of Dreaming of You

She grabbed her tote bag, threw in some work to take home, and then headed down the stairs. As she passed Barrett's office door, she was reminded of not only him but also the beautiful blonde at his side. Was she a girlfriend? Probably. She seemed to be exactly the kind of woman Barrett Fox would date: sophisticated, stylish, and a little snobby.

The woman certainly hadn't expressed any concern after she'd tumbled down the stairs. Instead, she'd been impatient and clearly irritated that Barrett was taking any time at all with a crazy woman in a hoop skirt.

She could only imagine the picture she'd made. At least she'd had on pants underneath the hoop. Her fall could have been even more humiliating.

She definitely didn't seem able to put her best foot forward when it came to Barrett. And she'd just given him something else to mock about her wedding business. Not that she made a habit of trying on her bride's dresses and parading down the stairs. On the other hand, she was willing to do whatever it took to make her clients happy, and Jennifer had needed to see her go down the stairs. Maybe the end result hadn't been what she'd planned on, but the incident had made Jennifer realize she needed to confront her father's expectations.

That was a positive step, and one that might not have happened without her help.

Taking solace in that thought, she locked the front door and walked down the street. Her apartment was about a mile away and up a few rather steep streets, which tonight seemed even more wearying than normal. Her hand was aching and worries about what she might not be able to get done with a real injury were stressing her out.

When she finally arrived at her small one-bedroom apartment, she immediately headed for the kitchen. She poured ice into a pitcher and then sat down on the couch and put her hand in the ice.

Pain shot all the way up her arm. She winced but hoped that the throbbing would go away as soon as the swelling went down.

Her phone buzzed, and she reached for her bag with her good hand and pulled it out. It was Liz, one of her college friends. "Hi, Liz, are you here already?"

"No, I'm actually at the hospital."

"What?" she asked in alarm. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine but Michael broke his ankle."

"What happened?"

"He was riding his bike after work, and he hit a bump or something, and he went flying. He said it was a total klutz move, and he's furious with himself. Luckily, he had his helmet on, but he broke a bone in his foot, and he's getting a cast, so I'm not coming tonight."

"Of course not. I'm so sorry."

"He'll be fine. But I might have my hands full for a few days with the two males in my life. Josh is getting a tooth, so I'm pretty sure he and Michael will be cranky together."

She smiled to herself. "Do you want some help? Although, I might not be able to hold the baby right now—I hurt my hand at work. Michael is apparently not the only klutz."

"How bad is it?"

"Not sure yet. It's encased in ice at the moment. But I can still babysit if you need me."

"Michael's sister is watching Josh, so he's fine. At least we still have some time to get the favors done."

"Don't worry. It will all get done."

"You are the miracle maker, so I have no choice but to believe you," Liz said. "But I hope your hand isn't going to need a cast. Because you're not just planning Maggie and Jessica's wedding, you're going to be in it."

"I don't think anything is broken," she said, really hoping that was true. "I'll talk to you later. Take care of Michael."

"I will."

She set down her phone and pulled out her hand. Her fingers were still puffy, but the pain had diminished a little. She stuck her hand back in the ice and rested her head on the back of the couch, thinking this night wasn't going at all as she'd planned.

She wondered if Barrett was having a better time in his fancy tux with his fancy girlfriend…

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