Remind Me by Walker Ann Marie & Rogers Amy K

Author:Walker, Ann Marie & Rogers, Amy K. [Walker, Ann Marie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Adult
ISBN: 9780698194762
Publisher: InterMix
Published: 2015-04-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

Only Allie’s mother could convince Chicago’s A-list to drive all the way to Lake Forest on a Tuesday night, let alone get the weather to cooperate. But when Victoria Sinclair decided to throw a party at Mayflower Place, no one dared decline. Not even Mother Nature.

She’d determined a gathering was in order—“something intimate, a dinner perhaps”—when the final numbers revealed that the museum gala had far exceeded expectations. The target of a spring groundbreaking was all but guaranteed and Allie’s mother thought the board of directors at Better Start should be thanked for their efforts.

What had begun as a simple affair for the board and a few key staff members had turned into a full-blown event. Valets greeted guests as they rounded the fountain court. Tuxedo-clad waiters passed hors d’oeuvres on silver trays. And a string quartet played under the glow of tiny lights strung above the limestone terrace.

So much for an intimate dinner.

Victoria had relented at the last minute and, at Allie’s urging, extended invitations to the entire Better Start staff. They’d spent countless hours ensuring the event’s success and deserved a show of appreciation far more than someone who simply lent their name to the program. Of course Allie knew they would have never exceeded their goal without one very generous donation pledged in exchange for a dance.

Her heart sank as she pushed through one of the many French doors spanning the rear of the house, and in a moment of clarity she realized why. It wasn’t because she was dreading the customary small talk with board members or her mother’s constant attempts to work Julian and the wedding into every conversation. It was because she already knew the person most deserving of thanks, the one whose face she suddenly longed to see, would be nowhere in sight.

Allie walked to the edge of the terrace and leaned against the stone balustrade. The grounds of the estate were still in full bloom thanks to the unseasonably warm weather, and the sweet scent of jasmine hung in the air. Copper lanterns lined the stone steps, their flickering candlelight leading to an expanse of perfectly manicured grass. In the distance, Allie could make out the silvery shores of Lake Michigan just beyond the esplanade. She took a deep breath. Watching the water ebb and flow usually soothed her, especially on nights like this when her mother was in high gear. But as the small whitecaps crashed on the sand, she couldn’t help but wish she was enjoying the view of the lake from Hudson’s penthouse.

She needed to get a grip. It was only one night. But if this was how she felt spending one night without Hudson Chase, how would she ever endure a lifetime?

“I have to hand it to Vicky, she certainly knows how to throw a party.” Harper was suddenly behind her. She was wearing a tailored floral sheath dress that would have surely caught Don Draper’s eye, and from the looks of it, had just relieved a waiter of several salmon crostini.

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