I’ve exceeded my limit for idiotic behavior for one night. I’m going to leave now. Thanks for not punching my lights out,” he said ruefully.
“Hey, you may as well wait until the ladies come back. You know how they are when they make that trip. What in the world do you suppose they do in the so-called powder room anyway?”
Donnie gave a short, harsh laugh. “They talk about us, what do you think they do?”
Angelique and Lisette both washed their hands slowly, looking at each other’s reflections in the ornate mirrors over the sinks. That they liked what they saw was obvious, as they both smiled at the same time. Angelique was drying her hands on a paper towel when she asked the question that would make her and Lisette friends for life.
“You really care about Warren, don’t you?” she asked quietly.
Not even the faintest hint of blush touched Lisette’s almond-toned cheeks. She nodded her head slowly and admitted it was true. “I’m in love with him. I’ve been in love with him since the first time I laid eyes on him and he has no idea. Just none.”
It was Angelique’s turn to nod. “I saw you watching him at the gallery. I just met him a few days ago. He’s a friend of that gloomy man who’s sitting at the table with us.”
Lisette smiled gently. “The one that you have feelings for?” Seeing Angelique’s face turn red she grabbed her hand. “Ahh, don’t tell me you don’t care for him! As he does you, I wasn’t the only one staring tonight,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, no, you’re wrong about this. We can’t stand each other, really we can’t!” Angelique protested.
Lisette raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. Angelique took a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh. “Oh, it’s complicated. Really complicated,” she said glumly. “Listen, I’ve only lived here about six months and I don’t know that many pe ople other than my cousin Paris. W ould you like to go out for lunch or brunch t his weekend? You’ll like Paris too, she’s a lot of fun.”
Lisette’s eyes grew warm with appreciation. “I would love to! And maybe between the two of us we can make some things less complicated with these men, hmmm?”
Chapter Seven
The next couple of weeks brought a lot of changes into several lives, especially Angelique’s. She and Paris and Lisette all hit it off beautifully, and spent time together eating out, going to movies and just talking. Angelique was convinced that Lisette and Warren belonged together and was taking a page from Paris’s book of matchmaking hints to make it happen. Lisette wasn’t as easily convinced.
One frigid Saturday afternoon found the three women at Angelique and Paris’s house doing one of their favorite things. A huge bowl of popcorn was in the middle of the table, flanked by a box of tissues and a pitcher of Crystal Light peach tea, all the needed accompaniments for a chick-flick marathon. After watching a classic black and white in which the heroine sacrificed her love to save the hero pain, Angelique turned to Lisette and told her she had to do something about Warren.
“Okay, Lisette, enough is enough. You’ve got to let Warren know how you feel. You’ve just got to. Look at that woman, how miserable she was! And he was miserable, too. All she had to do was speak up and let him know she loved him and she could have saved them both a lot of grief,” she said sternly.
Lisette laughed bitterly. “If only it were that easy.” She sighed. “I can’t ever tell Warren how I feel about him because ...” Her voice trailed off and she lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. When she looked up, Angelique was alarmed to see tears gathering in her long eyelashes. Lisette wiped them away with her forefinger and rallied on. “Because I was the one who caused his engagement to be called off,” she said quietly.
Paris almost dropped her glass of tea. With huge, rounded eyes, she stared at Lisette,
“Hey, you may as well wait until the ladies come back. You know how they are when they make that trip. What in the world do you suppose they do in the so-called powder room anyway?”
Donnie gave a short, harsh laugh. “They talk about us, what do you think they do?”
Angelique and Lisette both washed their hands slowly, looking at each other’s reflections in the ornate mirrors over the sinks. That they liked what they saw was obvious, as they both smiled at the same time. Angelique was drying her hands on a paper towel when she asked the question that would make her and Lisette friends for life.
“You really care about Warren, don’t you?” she asked quietly.
Not even the faintest hint of blush touched Lisette’s almond-toned cheeks. She nodded her head slowly and admitted it was true. “I’m in love with him. I’ve been in love with him since the first time I laid eyes on him and he has no idea. Just none.”
It was Angelique’s turn to nod. “I saw you watching him at the gallery. I just met him a few days ago. He’s a friend of that gloomy man who’s sitting at the table with us.”
Lisette smiled gently. “The one that you have feelings for?” Seeing Angelique’s face turn red she grabbed her hand. “Ahh, don’t tell me you don’t care for him! As he does you, I wasn’t the only one staring tonight,” she said with a smile.
“Oh, no, you’re wrong about this. We can’t stand each other, really we can’t!” Angelique protested.
Lisette raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. Angelique took a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh. “Oh, it’s complicated. Really complicated,” she said glumly. “Listen, I’ve only lived here about six months and I don’t know that many pe ople other than my cousin Paris. W ould you like to go out for lunch or brunch t his weekend? You’ll like Paris too, she’s a lot of fun.”
Lisette’s eyes grew warm with appreciation. “I would love to! And maybe between the two of us we can make some things less complicated with these men, hmmm?”
Chapter Seven
The next couple of weeks brought a lot of changes into several lives, especially Angelique’s. She and Paris and Lisette all hit it off beautifully, and spent time together eating out, going to movies and just talking. Angelique was convinced that Lisette and Warren belonged together and was taking a page from Paris’s book of matchmaking hints to make it happen. Lisette wasn’t as easily convinced.
One frigid Saturday afternoon found the three women at Angelique and Paris’s house doing one of their favorite things. A huge bowl of popcorn was in the middle of the table, flanked by a box of tissues and a pitcher of Crystal Light peach tea, all the needed accompaniments for a chick-flick marathon. After watching a classic black and white in which the heroine sacrificed her love to save the hero pain, Angelique turned to Lisette and told her she had to do something about Warren.
“Okay, Lisette, enough is enough. You’ve got to let Warren know how you feel. You’ve just got to. Look at that woman, how miserable she was! And he was miserable, too. All she had to do was speak up and let him know she loved him and she could have saved them both a lot of grief,” she said sternly.
Lisette laughed bitterly. “If only it were that easy.” She sighed. “I can’t ever tell Warren how I feel about him because ...” Her voice trailed off and she lowered her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. When she looked up, Angelique was alarmed to see tears gathering in her long eyelashes. Lisette wiped them away with her forefinger and rallied on. “Because I was the one who caused his engagement to be called off,” she said quietly.
Paris almost dropped her glass of tea. With huge, rounded eyes, she stared at Lisette,
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