Page 116 of Second Time Around
As soon as Greg moved away, Davina Gibson approached them. She looked as though she wasn’t sure she wanted to be there, but she managed to smile. “I wanted to thank you for letting Felicia cut the ribbon. She was so proud she could do it.” Davina swallowed. “Especially with her arm and all.”
“She was the right person for the job,” Will said, his smile pure charm.
Davina beamed at Will before she looked at Emily. “That nice reporter said she’d like to do a follow-up story on Felicia and Shaq and the K-9 Angelz program. I’d be happy for my daughter to be part of that, if you say it’s all right.” She nodded for emphasis.
“That means a lot,” Emily said, her pleasure shining in her eyes. “Why don’t we go talk to the reporter to see what she’s planning?”
As the three of them walked away, Will bent to murmur, “How do you feel about leaving now?”
“Now? Don’t you want to bask in the glow of accomplishment?”
“This is Greg’s accomplishment. And as he pointed out, I have better things to do with you.” His voice dropped to a seductive rumble.
Anticipation fluttered through Kyra, sending little ripples of sensation over her skin. They’d found some interesting ways to enjoy themselves in the limo.
Will caught Greg’s eye across the room and angled his head toward the door. Greg nodded and mouthed something that might have been “Lucky bastard,” but Kyra couldn’t be sure.
“Don’t you want to say good-bye to Schuyler?” Kyra asked, looking around for Will’s sister.
“She’ll understand,” Will said, seizing Kyra’s wrist and towing her toward the door.
The limo glided to a stop by the curb, but the drive had been too short to reach Will’s house. Actually, nowtheirhouse. She’d agreed to move in with him two months earlier because he had pointed out that it was selfish to deprive Gloria of potential rental income when Kyra spent almost all her nights at Will’s. That happened right after Will had convinced her to let him pay off her mother’s credit card debt. He’d made the argument that the debt wasn’t actually Kyra’s, so she shouldn’t feel obligated to handle it by herself when he could easily take care of it. She had tried to find the flaw in his logic, but he’d kissed her the moment she’d appeared to weaken and her mind had turned to mush. At least she had clung to her pride about dealing with her own college debt.
As Will held the door, Kyra realized they were in front of the Ceres where she had sat down at his table on that momentous day. As with the Ceres they’d just left, several members of the waitstaff stood outside distributing gift cards because the doors bore a sign that said “Closed for a Private Event.”
Kyra was baffled. “Is this another 3Cs opening?”
Will pulled her across the sidewalk. “No, it’s more private than that.”
She couldn’t see into the restaurant from outside. As the door swung open for them, Kyra realized why. Heavy blue curtains were hung on tall rolling frames in front of all the windows as well as the door. Will pulled one aside to usher her into the interior of the restaurant.
“Oh, my goodness!” She put her hands to her cheeks in astonished delight. All but one of the tables had been moved to the edges of the room. The last remaining table was placed in the center, surrounded by tall silver candelabras that stood on the floor. Although the table wasthe same size and shape as all the others, it was covered with a white linen tablecloth and a dazzling array of gleaming china, crystal, and silverware. The basic Ceres chairs were draped and tied with deep blue fabric that matched the curtains.
“Is it our six-month anniversary or something?” she asked, trying to recall the date.
He laughed and offered her the crook of his arm. “Such a romantic. No, you missed that by a month or so.”
“Then ... what?” A little whisper of excitement tiptoed through her.
“You’re rushing me, woman,” Will said, pulling out a chair for her.
“You can’t set all this up and expect me to patiently wait for whatever it is you brought me here for.”
Will pulled a bottle of Dom Pérignon out of the silver ice bucket set by the table. “At least, let me open this so we can celebrate. I hope.”
Kyra tried to stop herself from smiling but it was a lost cause. She tucked her hands under her thighs to keep from fidgeting as Will drew out the cork with a soft pop and filled two flutes with champagne.
“And now,” he said, dropping fluidly to one knee beside her and then looking exasperated. “May I please have your hands?” he said, his palms held out. She pulled her hands out and laid them in his, loving the feel of his strong fingers.
He took another deep breath. William Peyton Chase III was actuallynervous. Her smile widened.
“Would you stop grinning at me like a demented clown?” he said irritably. “This is a serious occasion.”
“Are you going to ask me or not?” Kyra said, trying to tame the unruly corners of her mouth. But they just kept curling upward.
“I had intended to tell you how much I care about you, what a lucky man I am to have found you again after all those years, and how sorry I am for taking so long to understand my feelings for you.”
Kyra nodded.
