~~~~~~~
"Lilly!" Clarise heard Megan call out as an adorable and cute as a button three-year-old girl walked in with her parents, Mark—Rick's older brother—and his wife Bella. With them was Bella's brother Evan.
She felt Victor tense by her side. "What's wrong, Victor?"
"That's Evan," Victor responded a little nervously. "I know him. And he certainly knows me!"
"What do you mean 'he certainly knows you'?"
"Well, I met him at this speed dating thing two weeks ago, and we've been out on a couple of dates. He's really cute, isn't he?"
"Oh, no, Victor! You're supposed to be my boyfriend tonight!"
"Don't worry, darling. I'll tell him of our little secret and ask him to go along with it. I'll just go talk to him and we'll pretend we're talking about work or something." With that, Victor sauntered to Evan, his eyes shining.
She rolled her eyes upwards and prayed that Victor—and Evan, for that matter—could keep the charade up for her, just for tonight. How highly embarrassing would it be if the others noticed that Victor was gay when they'd already assumed he was her boyfriend?
Geez, I might as well have 'loser in love' stamped on my forehead. Please Victor, you're a straight man tonight.
"I didn't know Victor knew Evan," Megan said from behind her, making her jump.
"Oh, they met at an industry function, you know, for work and I think Victor wanted to talk to Evan about an article in the latest issue of Lifestyle," she babbled.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you to bring a date tonight until you told me about him two days ago," Megan said with a grin. "It's a shame. There is a very eligible man here and Rick and I were excited to introduce him to you."
"Megan," she said with a warning in her voice.
"Yes, I know, I know. No matchmaking for me tonight," Megan said with a laugh.
"Well, that's a relief!"
"You know, we did invite this guy for the purpose of introducing him to you," Megan commented. "We'll just have to explain the situation to him."
"Are you saying there's only one of them here tonight? You certainly gave me the impression that you were going to invite all the single men you and Rick know. I'm glad you didn't, though."
Megan chuckled, "Yes, that was my original plan. But Rick and I decided that wasn't a good idea. One at a time would be better, we thought. More personal."
Megan's look became serious, her eyes narrowing. "Is there a possibility that Victor is 'The One'?"
"I couldn't be happier he's here with me tonight," she answered cryptically. It was the truth, although it wasn't an accurate answer to the question.
Megan, however, seemed satisfied with her response. Her sister patted her arm and walked off with a smile.
She said a silent 'thank you' to the heavens.
~~~~~~~
By the time dinner was served, Clarise had slipped into a carefree mode. She chatted cheerfully with Bella and Mark about their business.
The couple owned two popular restaurants that served food and beverages that were made of chocolate or had it as a main ingredient. The concept had been a huge success and they would soon be opening a third location.
Mark and Bella's story was an inspiring one and she recently had the pleasure of writing an article about their journey for Lifestyle by Design.
That was what she loved most about her job. She got paid to write about some of the best restaurants, hotels and professional services, which meant she got to sample their offerings and interview some very interesting, influential and successful people.
"Hey Mark," Bella said to her husband. "Didn't you say Will wanted to talk to Clarise about an article for his business?"
"Oh yeah, Clarise," Mark said. "My friend Will runs a boutique travel service that's very specialised. He caters to the well-to-do and his company organises high-end type trips for those whose tastes are very discerning. He'd seen the article you wrote for us and he was wondering if your magazine would consider doing one for his business."
"High-end travel? Sure, it's something we can have a look at," she responded readily.
Because of the magazine's immense popularity, they had been receiving plenty of requests from businesses and establishment owners for write-ups on their products and services. Those savvy entrepreneurs knew that exposure through Lifestyle by Design ensured a deluge of new clients.
"Great!" Mark replied. "He'd be pleased to hear that. He's actually here so I'll introduce you to him. I was meaning to do it before dinner started but he arrived a little late."
Bella pursed her lips and mused, "You know, I've been wondering why Rick invited Will to tonight's party but didn't invite his other tennis buddies."