Page 16 of Knight's Desire

“Hi,” she greeted the hostess. “I’m meeting someone, and I believe he’s already here.”

Another voice cut through the din of conversation and clanking dishes to get her attention. “Hope?”

She looked over to the entrance of the dining room until her eyes rested on a familiar face. Her lips curled in a friendly smile as she walked over to Parker’s boss at his real estate firm, David Leonard. Tall and slender with deep laugh lines around his blue eyes and prominent dimples, Mr. Leonard had been the first person she’d spoken with at the realty, though Parker ultimately helped her select the site for her Bridal Shoppe. Mr. Leonard was friendly enough, and she knew how instrumental he’d been in giving Parker the opportunity to build his reputation and clientele.

She’d been glad when her account had been reassigned to Parker, not just because they started dating, but because something about Mr. Leonard struck her as being plastic, as if he hid his life behind an artificial façade. Even now as he returned her smile, she was struck by how overdone his appearance was, from his perfectly styled hair to his too-white teeth.

“Mr. Leonard, what a surprise. Are you coming or going?”

“I told you, call me David. And I’m heading home. I left our client in Parker’s capable hands, and they are waiting to order until you arrived. You’ll love Mr. White and his wife. They are a sweet couple, but very old fashioned. I think seeing you and Parker together will go a long way to showing them he’s someone they can trust.”

Hope frowned. “I don’t understand. Who are Mr. White and his wife?”

“As I said, Mr. White is a client. We’ve been trying to seal the deal on a piece of property for him to open a new branch of his architectural firm, but he’s been hard to pin down. When he showed up unexpectedly to tour the town and take a closer look at the property, we jumped on the opportunity. It was Parker’s idea to wine and dine them while they were in town, and when he said you would be the best choice to entertain his wife while they talked business, I had to agree.”

“I, uh…” Her mind stuttered, and she struggled to find the right words. “Parker didn’t say…I mean, I didn’t realize…”

“Are you alright? If you’d rather not stay, I can stick around. I was only hanging around until you arrived.”

“Oh. Um, no, no, it’s fine, Mr. Leonard — I mean, David. I just wish I’d had time to run home and freshen up.” She stepped to the side to peer around him into the dining room until she saw Parker at a table for four, talking with a couple whose backs faced her.

“You have no need to worry. You’re lovely as always.”

She barely registered his words, but she did manage a small smile of acknowledgment. “I suppose I should join them. Good to see you, Mr. — David. Enjoy your evening.”

Not bothering to wait for his goodbye, she moved into the dining area. She caught Parker’s eye before the Whites noticed her arrival. She hoped he could read the displeasure in her face because she would have to wait to voice her anger until after they said goodnight to his clients. She wouldn’t cause a scene, but she would make sure Parker understood never to ambush her with an unexpected change in their plans again.

“Here she is.” Parker stood as he announced her to the Whites. Hope plastered a wide smile on her face, hoping the couple wouldn’t notice it was forced. “Mr. and Mrs. White, allow me to introduce Hope Robertson. Hope owns a boutique here in town. Hope, this is Bill and Janice White. Bill is a client of ours, and we’re hoping to close a deal on some property very soon.”

Mr. White chortled. “Getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Bexley? I haven’t seen the property yet.”

Hope allowed Parker to pull out her chair for her to sit down. “I thought you came in today specifically to look at the property.”

“Janice wanted to see the town first, so she would know what she could do tomorrow to stay busy while we talk business,” Mr. White explained. Short and stocky, Bill White sported a receding hairline, double chins and a hawk-like nose. His tone seemed light and boisterous, but something about his narrow eyes indicated a steel underneath his easygoing manner.

“Parker said you operate an adorable boutique in town. I will simply have to stop by tomorrow. Maybe we can do lunch,” Janice gushed, her heavily made-up eyes blinking so rapidly, Hope wondered if her fake lashes would fly off her face. Her white-blonde hair was styled in a motionless beauty shop coiffe, and she was as slender as her husband was stocky.

Her eyes shifted from Parker to Janice. “Oh, um, Parker didn’t tell you? I own a bridal shoppe. I sell wedding and bridesmaid dresses. I have a few special occasion dresses if that would be something of interest to you.”

“If you have a red dress that would fit me, you would be saving me a shopping trip when we return home. We have a fire and ice gala coming up, and I’ve decided to wear red this year.”

“I do, and I have an open appointment at eleven tomorrow morning if that works with your schedule.”

“Thank you, dear. You’re so sweet.” She faced her husband and batted those insanely long lashes. “Billy, sweetheart, I’m going to freshen up. If the waitress comes by, go ahead and order for me. You know what I like.”

Janice swept up to her feet without waiting for a response. She walked toward the ladies’ room with all the grace and carriage of a queen. At that moment, her husband’s phone rang, startling Hope with the loud volume and drawing annoying glances from nearby diners.

“Oh, damn. I need to take this. You’ll give me a few minutes, won’t you, Bexley?”

“Of course,” Parker responded automatically, but Mr. White was already stepping away from the table. His voice carried through the restaurant as he moved to the back. They couldn’t quite make out his words, but his quick gestures communicated his anger well enough.

Hope could empathize because right now because her anger at Parker was surging. While they had a couple of moments alone, she whirled on him.

“I know,” he said before she could start in on him. “I should have called, but honestly there wasn’t time. White’s arrival was completely unexpected. I thought you would understand.”

“I thought tonight was about us. We’ve both been so busy, and there’s so much going on. I wanted to…never mind. It doesn’t matter. A heads up would have been nice. Better yet, time spent alone with my boyfriend would have been nice, but I’ll be the dutiful plus-one. I’ll charm the wife and convince her to convince her husband that he should work with you. Just promise me this won’t be a long evening.”

“Give me a break. Have you forgotten that one of the reasons we work so well together is we understand how important our careers are to us? You didn’t exactly make me a priority when you were opening the boutique. How many dates did you cancel back then? I lost track.”

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