The Billionaire's Best Friend

***

“Looks like Dylan has a new best friend,” Lauren said dryly. She and Callie sat together at a corner table in the banquet room of The Davenport on Saturday night. Callie’s husband had arrived late that afternoon to accompany Callie to Mrs. McDonald’s retirement party.

“I don’t think Kevin has left him alone all night.” Across the room, the two gentlemen in question stood at the bar getting drinks. Even from this distance she could see that Kevin was still talking while Dylan nodded in agreement.

“It does look that way. They’re probably talking about debt to income ratios or some other business topic.” Callie took a sip of her water. “Sometimes men like Kevin and Dylan need a little reminder that work is over.”

“I guess. But I still can’t believe Kevin got here so late tonight.” She’d been prepared to drive herself to the party and leave a note for him on the door, when he finally pulled into her driveway. He’d lost track of time working on a project and then hit heavy traffic on the drive up from Rhode Island.

Callie leaned closer to her. “Then you just have to make sure he forgets about work sometimes. That’s what I do.” Callie gave her a devious smile.

Lauren burst out laughing. “You’re evil, you do know that, girlfriend.”

“But you love me anyway.”

Lauren smiled and shook her head.

“How long is Kevin staying?”

“He leaves in the morning for Atlanta.” She’d hoped he’ would stay longer. They hadn’t seen each other in almost two weeks.

“That stinks. He’s staying with you tonight though, right?”

Lauren shook her head. “I invited him, but he said it’d be better if he stayed in the city tonight. His flight leaves early.” His reasoning made perfect sense, and she hadn’t tried to convince him otherwise. That didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you two weren’t serious yet.”

This thing with Kevin was far from a serious committed relationship. Granted she hadn’t dated anyone else since they’d met at the fundraiser, but she didn’t know if the same was true for him. Neither had ever come right out and said seeing others wasn’t allowed.

“You really need to start believing me, chickie.” Lauren glanced down at her watch. “Mom should be here any minute.”

“Does she suspect the party is for her?”

Lauren couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “She knows. Kelly let it slip, but Mom’s been playing along. I don’t think anyone else knows that the surprise has been blown.”

Scanning the room, Lauren made a mental list. It looked like everyone had made it. That didn’t surprise her. Anyone who spent even five minutes with Virginia McDonald became her friend. Her kind and outgoing personality drew people to her and she was like a mother to every student who ever walked into the school library over the past twenty years. The room was filled to capacity with Virginia’s friends and coworkers, as well as past and present students who wanted to wish her well in her retirement.

The main doors of the room opened as Lauren paused her scan; the guest of honor was about to enter. Grabbing her camera, Lauren stood—only to immediately collapse back down into her chair when her knees gave out at the sight of Nathaniel Callahan standing in the doorway.

“Oh my God.” Her stomach hit the floor.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” Callie’s concerned voice sounded as if it were traveling a great distance to reach her.

Lauren glanced over at Callie and then toward the door again. Perhaps she’d imagined him. After all, why would he be here? The last time she’d heard anything about him, he was doing his third tour in the Middle East. Despite her hope that she’d started to hallucinate, when she looked again, he was still there, dressed in a black suit rather than his Marine uniform, his brown hair cut military short and looking much the same as he did the summer he’d broken her heart. She latched her hand onto Callie’s arm. “Nate Callahan. He’s here.”

She kept her eyes on him. Since that awful day the summer after senior year, she’d only seen him once. She’d been home visiting her parents during holiday break her freshman year of college. She’d spotted him in his parents’ driveway from her bedroom window. They’d received more than two feet of snow the night before and he was helping his father shovel. That morning she’d stood and watched until the entire driveway was cleared. When he and his dad finished, he went back inside his house without so much as a glance toward her home.

“What?” Callie asked, her voice louder than necessary.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kevin and Dylan headed back to the table. “Nate just walked in,” Lauren hissed.

“Lauren that . . .” Callie’s voice trailed off and she sat up straighter. Her head moved to keep him in sight as he walked toward his parents. “What’s he doing here?” she asked, her voice lower now.

Leaning closer, Lauren whispered, “I don’t know. We don’t exactly speak.”

“They didn’t have what you asked for, so I got this instead.” Dylan sat down on the other side of Callie and placed a glass on the table.

“That’s fine. Thanks.” Callie wrenched her arm free from Lauren’s vice-like grip. The movement pulled Lauren’s attention away from Nate and back to her companions.

“Didn’t you say the party started at five o’clock?” Kevin asked from her other side. “I’m surprised your mom isn’t here yet.”

Was that annoyance in his voice or had she imagined it? She couldn’t tell for sure; her system was still in shock. Perhaps her emotions were making her hear things. “Guests were supposed to be here between five and six. My father planned to have my mom here around six.” Determined not to focus on the party’s unexpected guest, she turned her full attention toward Kevin. “They should be here any minute.”

No sooner had she said the words than the lights flickered on and off in an attempt to get everyone’s attention.

“They are on their way down the hall now,” Kelly called out, standing near the front of the banquet room.

Practically as one, everyone not already standing came to their feet and turned toward the main doors. For the moment, Lauren pushed aside all of the swarming thoughts in her head. Tonight was a big night for her mom, and she wanted to enjoy it.

Again the door opened, this time Virginia and Thomas McDonald walked in. Immediately, the room erupted with a chorus of “Surprise!” followed by applause. Much to her credit, Virginia McDonald gave the best performance of her life. For a minute, even Lauren believed that her mom was surprised.

Wiping tears from her face, Virginia accepted the microphone the DJ held out to her. “I . . . I don’t know what to say. Thank you all so much.” Virginia handed the microphone back to the DJ, and then both she and her husband followed Kelly to the table of honor that had been set up near the front of the room.

Throughout dinner, Lauren tried to stay focused on the various conversations at the table, but nothing captured her attention. She remained fixated on the party’s unexpected guest across the room while next to her, Callie and Kelly discussed Kelly’s baby preparations, and across the table her older brother Matthew and Kelly’s husband, Jared, discussed basketball. On her other side Kevin remained relatively quiet now.

“Lauren, it looks as if your mom will be missed. How long did she work at the school?” Dylan’s mildly accented voice pulled her thoughts back to the table.

“If you count the five years she worked as a teacher before Matt was born, twenty-five years.” Once again, Lauren glanced around the room. The last time she’d seen him, Nate had been walking toward the bar. Immediately she had looked down, afraid he’d spot her and guess she had been looking for him. But that had been at the beginning of dinner. Now only her aunt stood at the bar, most likely ordering her favorite drink, a nonalcoholic piña colada.

“I think she’s going to miss it.” She scanned the right side of the banquet room and spotted him. As if guided by radar her eyes locked on his profile. He was seated with his parents, and judging from the smiles on their faces, she guessed he was telling them some humorous story. He’d always been an excellent storyteller, even in elementary school. And when the two families would have campfires in the backyard during the summer or go camping together, he came up with the most imaginative tales.

A hand settled over hers and the sudden contact made her jump. “He wants to know if you’re done eating,” Kevin said, nodding toward the waiter standing at the table.

Had he asked her the same question already and she missed it?

“Yes. Thank you.” Lauren handed the nearly full plate to the young waiter and reached for her drink

“You’ve been distracted tonight. Are you okay? Something you want to talk about?” Kevin released her hand.