Chapter 3

APOV

With the speeches over and all the introductions made we can now enjoy the party. Elliot's sister Mia is very bubbly and sweet. She is going to be the other bridesmaid and I'm excited; I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Kate comes up to me and hands me a glass of Moscato. "I loved your speech. Thank you." We give each other big hugs. "You know, I swear I saw Christian looking at you a few times tonight."

"Oh please. He's probably just wondering how someone like me is here. He and I are from opposite worlds. We have nothing in common." Before anything else can be said, Ethan comes up to me. "Hey, Steele, how about a dance?"

"You got it, Ethan." As Ethan and I are dancing, I spot Christian sitting at a table speaking with Kate's dad. Suddenly he looks right at me and our eyes lock. It takes my breath away and I shiver.

"You OK, Ana? Are you cold?" Ethan asks.

"Oh, yeah. No, I'm fine. So, how are you?" I try and shake off the feeling attributing it to emotions of the day.

"Well, I have been accepted into the graduate program for psychology at the University of Washington."

"Ethan! That's wonderful. So does that mean you're no longer going to be the world traveler and stick around Seattle?"

"It does." He smiles at me. Ethan and I have always had a connection with each other I can't quite explain. On one hand, he feels like an older brother and on the other, there is a sort of attraction there. It's probably because he's the only guy I really know and talk to often. Because I am quite shy and tend to be more introverted, I never really dated. I never had the courage to talk to guys and I think I always held them up to the likes of Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff, which college boys do not hold up to.

CPOV

I'm sitting at a table having an incredibly boring conversation with Eamon Kavanagh who wants to partner with my telecommunications division of GEH. I look up and see Ana dancing with Kate's brother. There's something about her that I can't ignore. I don't know what it is. Just then she looks over at me and we lock eyes. I feel drawn to her and it bothers me. I excuse myself to go to the bar and order a bourbon. "I'll have a Woodford Reserve 1838 on ice, please."

"Hey bro, I'm surprised you're still here," Elliot orders a beer from the bartender.

"To be honest, if I knew Mia and Mom wouldn't kill me I would have snuck out a while ago," I reply making Elliot laugh.

"Ana looks pretty tonight, huh?" Goddamn, he's a nosy bastard.

"I guess. She's not my type - far from it actually." It always surprises me how well Elliot can read me.

"Yeah, she does have her own will." I give him a dirty look. "I don't know what you're looking for in a woman but she's pretty, smart, and nice. She's the type of girl you could introduce to Mom."

"Except I have no intention of ever introducing a girl to our mother. Why are you pushing this so hard?" Elliot just shrugs and before anything else can be said he is called over to a table by Kate. But it makes me wonder what it would be like to have her ankles up by my ears and her arms restrained above her head.

APOV

The engagement party was a success. It's a couple of weeks after the party. Kate just finished meeting with her mom to discuss her dress. She is going to look like a princess, I can't wait. We're stopping at FareStart for lunch and then we're going to look at bridesmaid dresses. Kate wants us to wear rose gold so I don't know how difficult that will be to find.

The three of us order the farestart fries to share. They are really good and very hard to resist. Mia and I both get the house salad with grilled chicken breast and Kate has the cobb salad, which looks delicious. I don't want to eat anything too heavy right before we try on dresses.

After trying on what seems like a million dresses, we finally decide on Anthropologie BHLDN's Sophia in rose gold. It's a beautiful dress that is simple but has a little bit of sparkle for Kate and Mia. They liked these sparkly sequined dresses but they were a bit too much for me. After dress shopping, we head home, Kate and me to our apartment and Mia to her house.

I'm in my bedroom folding laundry when my phone rings. It's my mom. I haven't seen her in a while. I was pretty much raised by my stepfather, Ray. He's the only father I've ever known and I love him dearly. When I was younger, my mom remarried and moved with my stepfather. His job takes him all over the globe so he and my mom have moved a lot. Right now, they are living in the United Arab Emirates. They have a 12-hour time difference so it's 5 am for my mom.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Hey, honey. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well. We just went bridesmaid dress shopping for Kate's wedding."

"How exciting! What color are you wearing?"

"Rose gold. It's going to be very pretty. Her mom is making her gown."

"That sounds like it will be wonderful. Tell Kate I said hello. So, how is work?"

"It's going well. They fired my first boss, Jack, after only about a week or so after I started. Apparently, he tried to blackmail the head of HR or something. At least that's what the gossip says. My new boss is pretty cool. She's teaching me a lot in publishing."

"That sounds wonderful, darling, although, your old boss sounds creepy. I'm glad nothing happened to you. When is Kate's wedding?"

"It's the first weekend in April. It's going to be a beautiful springtime wedding."

"Has she picked the venue yet?"

"No, not yet. Apparently, Elliot, her fiance, isn't into all that stuff of the wedding. He told her he just needs to know what to wear and when to be there."

My mom laughs. "He sounds like Ray did when we got married. How is he doing? Is he still seeing Rita?"

"He's doing well. Yeah, he's still seeing Rita; she's really very sweet."

"Oh, good. I worry about him being all alone." Even though my mom and Ray divorced they still remain friendly with each other. My mom cheated on him and it really broke his heart so I'm glad they don't hate each other. "Listen, honey, I have to go. I'm sorry it's such a short call. I'll call you again. Take care of yourself and please think about coming for a visit. Bob and I will take care of the flight and everything. You can even bring a friend. I love you, Anastasia."

"I'll think about it. I love you too, Mom. Take care of yourself and give my love to Bob."

"Bye, darling."

"Bye, Mom."