Billionaire Bachelors 7 ; The Billionaire's Final Stand(3)

"I know. I don't remember the dresses being this short or low cut when we tried them on. I think she had them modified," Kinsey said with a laugh.

"How about you? Any offers to see the historic hotel? Come on, does a pickup line get any cheesier than that?"

"Oh yes, yes it does. One guy came up and asked me if I was going to be in line to catch the wedding bouquet? I thought he was doing a count or something, so I told him I would. You know Cassie would kill me if I wasn't there. Worse than that, she'd stop the proceedings and have me paged over the loudspeaker. So then he says, Is it just me, or are we destined to be married, as he holds up a garter belt. I don't know where he got it because Max hasn't even thrown Kinsey's yet. I just walked away. Really! What else was I supposed to do?" Kinsey said as she started laughing.

"Oh my gosh. Okay, you win. That's freaking fantastic," Shelby said between fits of laughter.

They shared more lines they'd received at various weddings through the years. Kinsey didn't understand how men ever got dates with some of the things they said.

"Excuse me, but I noticed you looked thirsty," a man said, interrupting the two women.

Kinsey looked up, her body vibrating as she recognized Austin Anderson. He was gorgeous, melt-in-your-mouth good looking.

And he knew it.

She also knew from Cassie that he liked to date  –  a lot. There was no way Kinsey was getting involved with a guy like him.

She shared a knowing look with Shelby before giving him a cool glance.

"How nice of you, but no thanks," she said, then turned and walked away. She was grateful she didn't fall on her face as weak as her knees were feeling.

She made it across the dance floor in one piece, then quickly downed the first drink handed to her. She had a few hours to go and a bit of liquid courage wouldn't hurt.

The rest of the men she'd turned down that night had been quite easy to walk away from. For some reason, Austin Anderson was like a magnet, trying to pull her in.

Kinsey realized her stomach was growling. She'd been so busy trying to ensure the day was perfect in every single way for Cassie that she'd forgotten to eat.

She found an empty table, suddenly too tired to visit with strangers, and sat down.

"How are you doing tonight?" one of the waiters asked as he showed up almost instantly. Kinsey smiled at the young boy, thinking again about how Joseph went over the top.

She'd been to some spectacular weddings, but none of them compared to her best friend's.

"I'm great, thank you."

"Go ahead and look at the menu in front of you to make your selection. While you're doing that, I can get your drink and appetizers," he offered.

"That would be wonderful. I'll have a Manhattan, please."




 

 

"I'll be right back."

She looked at her choices, smiling at the five-star menu. She knew most of the people attending wouldn't bother to eat, not when there was an open bar.

"Here you are," the waiter said, quickly returning. He placed her drink and a plate with a variety of appetizers, the smells causing her mouth to water. There was no way she was passing up such a delicious meal. She wanted to try something she'd never had before.

"I'll have the Shorthorn Beef Carpaccio with crispy fried quail's egg for my dinner and the caramelized bread pudding with amaretto poached pear, vanilla clotted cream and spiced almonds for desert," she said after narrowing down her options. She wanted to try a little of it all, just because some of the names were so unique.

"Very good choices. Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Kinsey didn't want to order items she knew she couldn't eat, so she shook her head.

"I'll have the yellow fin tuna with vierge sauce and vegetables. Also, we'll have the Karat Pure Gold Ossetra Caviar and a plate of oysters on the half shell to share," Austin said as he took the seat next to her.

Kinsey looked at him, at a loss for words. She knew he was overconfident, but she hadn't expected him to be rude. She hadn't invited him to sit.

"Great choices, Mr. Anderson," the young waiter said, his face beaming to be serving one of the family members. Geese, Kinsey thought, people acted like the Anderson's were royalty.

"Thanks, Tommy. Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Austin asked, surprising Kinsey. He knows the kid?

"Yes, Mr. Anderson. I really appreciate the job. The guests have all been so nice," he quickly responded.

"That's good. How are your studies?"

"Great. I got an A on my science project because of you," he answered. Kinsey looked back and forth between them. The kid obviously idolized Austin, but she couldn't figure out the connection.

"You did it all on your own, Tommy. Be proud of that. Once you understood the basic concept, there was no holding you back."