Page 15 of Second Time Around
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a bright, beautiful woman.” Emily got that soft expression again. “You know, billionaires are human beings just like us.”
“Seriously, it’s not like that. I’m from blue-collar Pennsylvania and, to compound the problem of all his money, he’s Connecticut aristocracy.” Kyra stood and picked up the dresses, not sure if she was trying to convince Emily or herself. His text had fanned a tiny flicker of ridiculous hope. She shook her head and held up the first dress. “Option number one.”
It was a ruffled floral in soft pinks and greens. Emily tilted her head and considered it. “Maybe.”
“Number two.” She held up a print sheath that swirled with brilliantly colored flowers.
Emily shaded her eyes. “It’s ... lively.”
Kyra laid it aside. “Not really my style either, but I figured Will’s mother probably has a closet full of Lily Pulitzers and it kind of looks like one.”
The third dress was a crocheted lace sheath in peach, cut away at the shoulders. The underlayer stopped just above the knee, while the lace continued down a few more inches.
Emily’s face lit up. “Ooh, I like that one.”
Kyra frowned at it. “You don’t think the shoulder cutouts are too ... I don’t know, revealing?” Truth was she’d bought it because she felt beautiful and a little sexy in it, but that was also why she didn’t think it was appropriate.
“If there was cleavage on display, it might look too overt. But this just shows off your pretty shoulders,” Emily said. “Let’s see how it looks on you.”
Kyra took it into the walk-in pantry and closed the door, shimmying out of her jeans and into the dress. She smoothed it over her hips and returned to the dining room to stand awkwardly in front of Emily.
Emily made a circular motion with her hand, and Kyra turned around slowly.
“It’s perfect,” Emily said when Kyra was facing her again. “The crocheted lace makes it not too formal, and the little bit of peekaboo at the bottom adds a subtle sexiness. I wouldn’t wear it with clogs, though.”
“You think?” Kyra glanced down at the black rubber clogs she wore for cooking. “Will said to wear flats because the party is on the lawn. Shoes are my next project, now that I have the dress.” She winced inwardly at the added cost.This shindig had better be worth it.
“And I think dangly earrings and some bangle bracelets. Want to raid my jewelry box after work this evening?” A blush crept up Emily’s cheeks. “Max goes a little overboard on the gifts sometimes.”
“That would be the best!” Kyra’s mother had never wanted fine jewelry, preferring to buy faddy costume pieces that went out of style in a year. And those Connecticut ladies would know if she was wearing anything less than fourteen karat.
Emily stood and scooped up her coffee mug. “We’ll make sure Will has a crush onyouby the end of the party.”
“Good job catching the zoning issue with the new location,” Will said as he rose to signal the meeting was over. “Let me know when you’ve resolved it.”
His five top executives filed out, but Greg Ebersole, his chief operating officer, remained in his chair. As the door closed, Greg pushed back from the table and swiveled toward Will. His gray eyes were sharp with interest. “You were smiling when you walked into the meeting. What’s going on?”
“Was I?” Will flipped the cover closed on his tablet and took a step toward the door.
“A real smile, not the fake one you use these days.”
Greg had come up with the basic idea for Ceres years ago, sharing his pie-in-the-sky dream with a teenage Will one lazy summer afternoon as they drank beer on Will’s mother’s sailboat. Back then Greg was a young chef without the capital to start something big. But Will hadn’t forgotten the man’s vision or passion. When Will had refused to go to law school, his father had challenged him to find a better career. Will had tracked down Greg and persuaded him that they could turn the chef’s dream into reality.
Maybe that’s why Will was so dissatisfied now. He’d borrowed someone else’s dream.
Except that he’d enjoyed the early days of building Ceres, when he and Greg had worked and worried and sweated side by side, sometimes even unloading trucks of produce or baked goods themselves to get the ingredients into a café before it opened for business.
As a result, Greg wasn’t at all intimidated by Will. In fact, Greg wasn’t intimidated by many people.
As he thought of Kyra’s texts, Will’s lips twitched. “I was just shooting the shit via text with an old college friend.”
Greg rolled his eyes. “Frat boy humor.”
“It was scatological but not a boy.” Back at Brunell, something about Kyra had allowed him to relax and let his sense of humor roam free. It seemed she still had that effect on him.
“Really?” Greg sat forward. “And she’s only a ‘friend’?”
“Tell me you’re not one of those people who believes men and women can’t be friends.”
“It can happen, but there’s always an undercurrent of the potential for more.” Greg stood up and collected his own tablet. “Especially when she makes you smile.”
