Page 12 of Until You (Forgive Me)

Christian shook himself off as they headed towards the dining room. He needed to get his head in the game. He didn’t need to be distracted by sexy, red-headed yoga instructors and a friend of his sister.

Chapter Seven

Isabella

Isabella stared at her open wardrobe and sighed. Sliding items of clothing backwards and forwards, she frowned before discarding yet another outfit onto her single bed. Why did she say yes to dinner? She knew why... Henri and Patrice’s invitation had taken her by surprise. Not that her heart had been beating a hundred miles an hour since bumping into Christian at Reception.

Isabella growled at herself. Congratulations... Not so cool, calm, and collected? She couldn’t deny it...she was a hot mess, worsened by her lengthy dry spell.

Isabella smiled. She had to admit, Christian Dupree was not someone you could easily shut out, and he had lost none of his earlier sex appeal. As soon as Christian had reached maturity, he’d turned heads at every social event he attended, and had women of all ages hanging off his every word. The day his father announced his engagement, mothers throughout society had gone into a decline, sobbing into their china teacups. He was the bachelor every mother wanted to snare for their daughter. Not only for his family name, but for the natural air of power he exuded. Even his playboy ways hadn’t deterred them.

Isabella huffed and wiped her brow. Of all days for her air conditioning unit to pack up, it had to be the day she was having dinner with a seriously gorgeous man. Her ceiling fan was usually ample, but today it was doing little to move the stifling air, or stem the tingling in her ovaries at the mere thought of him. How on earth was she going to survive dinner and drinks in his company when her brain had sunk below her waistline? Wasn’t that supposed to be a male problem?

A knock sounded, and her door opened.

“Wow, what happened?”

Isabella turned to find May standing in the doorway, taking in the carnage that littered the wooden floor and bed.

Isabella let out a huff, throwing another item of clothing over her shoulder.

“Hey, what on earth did your wardrobe do to deserve this level of abuse?”

May carefully navigated her way through the mess to sit on theclearside of the bed.

“I give up,” Isabella said, throwing her hands in the air. “Why on earth did I agree to go tonight? I have nothing to wear.”

“Stop... Back up... Where are you going?”

“I bumped into an old friend from London. He invited me to join him... no scrap that. His business partner and his wife invited me to join them for dinner this evening. I have absolutely nothing suitable to wear to a business dinner.”

Isabella turned to face her friend and scowled at the mess she’d created.

“Where are you eating?” May asked.

“The hotel. I bumped into him after the sunrise class, and we went for coffee. His colleague turned up. One thing led to another, and now I’m supposed to meet them for dinner.” Isabella ran a hand over her face. “I’ll just cancel. It’s not like Christian invited me. He’ll probably be more than happy for me to cancel. It was all very embarrassing.”

“I don’t blame you. Who wants to have dinner with some stuffy old businessman?” May said.

“Oh, believe me, he’s far from stuffy or old,” Isabella answered before realising what she’d said. She turned to face May, who was sitting grinning on the bed.

“Not stuffy? How not stuffy? Are we talking not stuffy, or smoking hot, not stuffy?” May asked, her eyes alight with mischief.

“He’s my best friend’s brother. He’s off-limits.But in terms offull disclosure. I’d go with ‘smoking hot, not stuffy’... But, if you repeat that... I will deny ever saying it.”

Isabella fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t need to see May’s face to know her friend’s brain was working overtime.

“Scarlett’s brother, who is smoking hot, is your dinner date for the evening... well, we definitely need to find you something super sexy to wear.” May pushed herself awkwardly off the bed. “Your fairy godmother has arrived. You can thank me later,” May said, picking her way cautiously towards the door. “Be at my place in twenty minutes. I maybe three inches shorter than you, but I’ve more than enough clothing. We will definitely be able to find you something to wear.”

With that, May left, leaving Isabella to stare at the destruction she’d caused. Bending down, she began picking up her clothes, rehanging them in the wardrobe. Isabella knew May wasn’t joking. She often attended events with her parents, and as a result, her wardrobe was vast. The old Isabella loved fancy clothes and had a wardrobe filled with designer labels, such as Prada, Versace, and Balenciaga. This new Isabella had abandoned those trappings when she had turned her back on that life. But somewhere deep inside, that old Isabella, the one she’d suppressed for so long, was waking up.

Twenty minutes later, Isabella entered May’s townhouse to find a rack of dresses waiting for her, and May waving a feather duster.

“Your fairy godmother to the rescue.”

Isabella laughed, unsure how she’d got herself into this situation. Over the past twenty minutes, however, her anticipation had turned to excitement. The past was not something she thought about anymore, but the idea of catching up, having a night out, and reminiscing... Isabella wanted to dress up, to look nice.

“We need to make you classy and desirable.”

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