The Billionaire's Best Friend (The Sherbrookes of Newport) by Christina Tetreault Page B
Authors: Christina Tetreault
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squeeze. Next to him, she continued her debate with his sister as to which ballet was better, Giselle or Swan Lake, but her hand slipped under the table and rested on his. Her action spoke volumes. Sometimes he found it difficult to gauge Lauren’s feelings and just how invested she was in their relationship. Tonight though, her words and actions told him a lot. Inwardly he smiled, interlaced his fingers with hers, and turned his complete attention to the conversation he’d started with his father and Barry Clarkson. Any remaining reservations he’d entertained since her mother’s retirement party disappeared.
***
“So what else do you know about her?” Clinton Walsh asked.
With dinner over, Kevin and his father had retreated to his father ’s office for a private conversation while the rest of the guests socialized over after-dinner drinks. Kevin rested his ankle on his knee and made himself comfortable in the armchair. On the other side of the wide desk, his father sat with a brandy in his hand.
“ Her mother just retired, and her father teaches at Adams Hall. Lauren graduated from there.”
“ What about the rest of her family? Brothers, sisters? What do you know about them?”
Kevin lifted his own brandy toward his mouth. “Don’t you think I would’ve checked into all this beforehand? There are no black sheep in her family.”
Clinton ’s fingers drummed on the desk. “I’m still not convinced. She is only a schoolteacher.”
Don ’t let him get to you. Kevin took a minute before answering. “Lauren is a well-educated woman, and I enjoy spending time with her. We share enough of the same interests and values to make a relationship work. I’m confident she’ll agree.” The one thing he knew better than business was women, and he could read Lauren like an open book. She missed her best friend, Callie Talbot. She went to visit Callie and her new world, but she didn’t really belong. He could help with that. While he may not be quite as wealthy as Callie’s husband, his wealth allowed him to travel in many of the same social circles. His wealth would also allow Lauren to pursue her dreams in earnest. She had told him how much she wanted to travel and how she wanted to open her own dance studio rather than simply teach part-time at a school owned by someone else. He could give her all those things and much more.
“ When will you ask her?”
Kevin swallowed the last of his brandy. “I haven’t decided, but soon.” Since the retirement party and Lauren’s run-in with her former neighbor, he’d felt an urgency to keep their relationship moving forward. Even though she’d tried to play it cool, something about her mannerisms that night gave her away. She might want everyone to think she had no feelings for the guy, but Kevin suspected the two of them had a deep history. A history that remained unresolved, and it wasn’t only that night. Since the party, their phone conversations had changed, too.
“ Good luck, then.” Clinton came to his feet. “Let me know how it goes.”
Once again, Lauren glanced over Olivia’s shoulder toward the doorway. Since Kevin’s sister continued speaking without so much as a pause, Lauren assumed she had not noticed. Although she found Olivia’s description of the fashions she’d seen at a recent Hollywood party interesting, Lauren wanted Kevin to walk through the doorway now. Being in a room full of strangers had never bothered her, yet tonight she wished she owned an invisibility cloak.
“ And to say the designs by Marcella Horton were beautiful is an understatement. Photos just don’t do them justice,” Olivia said, referring to the newest designer to hit it big with the A-list celebrities in Hollywood.
Lauren nodded because it seemed like the thing to do. “I saw a picture of the gown she designed for Mia Troy. It was amazing.”
At the mention of the popular film actress, Olivia launched into details of the conversation she ’d
***
“So what else do you know about her?” Clinton Walsh asked.
With dinner over, Kevin and his father had retreated to his father ’s office for a private conversation while the rest of the guests socialized over after-dinner drinks. Kevin rested his ankle on his knee and made himself comfortable in the armchair. On the other side of the wide desk, his father sat with a brandy in his hand.
“ Her mother just retired, and her father teaches at Adams Hall. Lauren graduated from there.”
“ What about the rest of her family? Brothers, sisters? What do you know about them?”
Kevin lifted his own brandy toward his mouth. “Don’t you think I would’ve checked into all this beforehand? There are no black sheep in her family.”
Clinton ’s fingers drummed on the desk. “I’m still not convinced. She is only a schoolteacher.”
Don ’t let him get to you. Kevin took a minute before answering. “Lauren is a well-educated woman, and I enjoy spending time with her. We share enough of the same interests and values to make a relationship work. I’m confident she’ll agree.” The one thing he knew better than business was women, and he could read Lauren like an open book. She missed her best friend, Callie Talbot. She went to visit Callie and her new world, but she didn’t really belong. He could help with that. While he may not be quite as wealthy as Callie’s husband, his wealth allowed him to travel in many of the same social circles. His wealth would also allow Lauren to pursue her dreams in earnest. She had told him how much she wanted to travel and how she wanted to open her own dance studio rather than simply teach part-time at a school owned by someone else. He could give her all those things and much more.
“ When will you ask her?”
Kevin swallowed the last of his brandy. “I haven’t decided, but soon.” Since the retirement party and Lauren’s run-in with her former neighbor, he’d felt an urgency to keep their relationship moving forward. Even though she’d tried to play it cool, something about her mannerisms that night gave her away. She might want everyone to think she had no feelings for the guy, but Kevin suspected the two of them had a deep history. A history that remained unresolved, and it wasn’t only that night. Since the party, their phone conversations had changed, too.
“ Good luck, then.” Clinton came to his feet. “Let me know how it goes.”
Once again, Lauren glanced over Olivia’s shoulder toward the doorway. Since Kevin’s sister continued speaking without so much as a pause, Lauren assumed she had not noticed. Although she found Olivia’s description of the fashions she’d seen at a recent Hollywood party interesting, Lauren wanted Kevin to walk through the doorway now. Being in a room full of strangers had never bothered her, yet tonight she wished she owned an invisibility cloak.
“ And to say the designs by Marcella Horton were beautiful is an understatement. Photos just don’t do them justice,” Olivia said, referring to the newest designer to hit it big with the A-list celebrities in Hollywood.
Lauren nodded because it seemed like the thing to do. “I saw a picture of the gown she designed for Mia Troy. It was amazing.”
At the mention of the popular film actress, Olivia launched into details of the conversation she ’d
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