Page 17 of Waiting for Devon
During the next two hours, Devon and Blair tried on every gown imaginable from the simplest creation to the gaudiest. They laughed with each other, bore with patience Helen’s constant poking and prodding, and enjoyed themselves.
Blair decided on her gown first. As she admired it in the triple mirrors, two young women joined them. A lovely redhead with sparkling green eyes gushed with false gaiety, “Why, Blair,darling, imagine meeting you here.” She took Blair’s hands in hers and air-kissed both sides of her face. “We’re very upset with you,” the redhead continued as she sported a pretty pout. “You haven’t bothered to acceptanysocial invitations in the last year.”
“I’ve been busy,” Blair excused herself with veiled disdain. “I suppose you’re here shopping for a gown to Shane’s engagement party.” She glanced at Devon.
“Who’s your friend?” the redhead asked.
Blair drew Devon forward and spoke in a low tone. “I trust you’ll keep quiet, for we would like to finish our shopping without being noticed. Lara, Gigi,” she nodded at the other woman with blonde hair and pale blue eyes, “I’d like you to meet my brother’s fiancée, Dr. Devon Brooks. Devon, this is Lara Hampton and her cousin, Gigi.”
While Devon smiled politely, Lara and Gigi raised their proud little noses and dismissed her in an instant.
“I don’t understand what compelled your brother to look for a wife outside his own social circle,” Lara declared, a horrified expression on her face. “Your father must be shocked and disgraced with Shane’s choice. She clearly isn’t one of us. And sheworks.” She shuddered.
Devon wanted to laugh. Instead, she interjected, “Excuse me, but you are the most ill-mannered young woman I’ve ever met. Hasn’t your mother taught you it’s rude to refer to someone in the third person when he or she is standing right next to you?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Frankly, I don’t blame Shane for looking elsewhere for a wife. He needs someone who will be an asset to him, not a spoiled little rich girl who doesn’t begin to understand what it means to be an adult.”
Lara blanched. “We’ll come back when it’s lesscrowded.”
“Suit yourself,” Blair returned with a nonchalant shrug. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
When Lara and Gigi were out of earshot, Devon turned to Blair and apologized. “I’m sorry. But Miss Lara Hampton needed to be put in her place.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m not an admirer of her crowd.” Blair paused a moment as she examined the sapphire, Grecian-styled gown she wore. “I should warn you, though. By tomorrow evening every woman between twenty and eighty-something will have heard about your encounter with Lara. She’ll rip your reputation to shreds, and you’ll be snubbed at your own engagement party.”
Devon lifted her eyebrows in mock outrage. “How perfectly horrible. Honestly, Blair, I outgrew these childish high school games a long time ago. I don’t need anyone’s approval.”
Blair grinned. “I can’t wait for tomorrow night. It should be a spectacular affair.”
Shortly after Lara and Gigi’s hasty departure, Helen presented Devon with the perfect evening gown and helped the women purchase the necessary accessories. As soon as they were finished, Blair notified Lincoln, who drove them to Cajun Jack’s, a popular seafood restaurant, for a late lunch.
When they were seated, a waiter asked if they would like a cocktail. Blair started to order a glass of white wine, but when her eyes caught Devon’s, she requested iced tea instead.
“Aren’t you happy, Doctor?” Blair asked. “It’s a beginning at least.”
“I’ll be happier when you give up the cigarettes as well,” Devon countered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Blair had smoked two cigarettes outside Beaumont’s.
“You’re too perfect. Don’t you have any faults?”
“One,” Devon confessed. “Chocolate. I could eat chocolate all day long if given the opportunity.”
“With your figure? How do you stay so slim?”
“I’m so busy running from one end of the hospital to the other I don’t have time to eat. Once in a while I’ll buy the biggest chocolate bar I can find and indulge myself by eating the whole thing. Nowthat’sheaven to me.”
After enjoying delicious baked fillet of sole, steamed vegetables, and rice, Devon and Blair strolled through one of Dallas’ public parks. They returned to the ranch late in the afternoon and went for a swim before dressing for dinner.
Reed seemed less inclined to aggravate Devon that night, especially when he noted his sister’s cheerful demeanor. Blair drank one glass of wine with her meal and laughingly told Devon she was having her own “chocolate bar.”
When Blair warned her father that Devon had words with Lara Hampton, Reed looked at Devon with renewed interest. “I swear Lara has the grand notion of becoming a Barrington bride herself now that Shane is taken. Be on your guard, Reed. She’s coming after you.”
Reed scowled. “She’s been a constant thorn in my side since she turned sixteen.”
Oblivious to the conversation flowing around him, Shane remained quiet and deep in thought. After dessert, he suggested he and Devon take an evening stroll around the grounds.
“Are you ready to talk about your conversation with Alana?” Devon asked as they wandered toward the stables.
“I haven’t been able to think about anything else. Although I prepared Alana for the possibility of this ploy, the reality devastated her. I thought I could soften the blow, but I was wrong. I’ve hurt her so badly I’m not even sure she’ll be willing to wait. Or forgive me, for that matter. I’m beginning to think I’ve made a mistake, Devon. I don’t want to choose between Alana and Barrington Industries, but I may have to, after all.”
“It’s not too late to put an end to this. Go talk to your father right now. Tell him you love Alana and you want to marry her. If he doesn’t approve, take Alana and leave Texas. With your background and family name, you could find a position with any major corporation in America or overseas, if you prefer. Perhaps you just need to prove to Jasper you’re serious enough about Alana to give up the one thing you love the most.”
