Albert cut into another piece of his steak. “I know Sam would be really proud of you. For moving on with your life and living again.”
Her smile dropped and her voice thinned. “What do you mean ‘moving on with my life’?”
His head snapped up. “I just meant—”
“I don’t know what you think. But I have no intentions of moving on—” she added a slight snap of the head as she emphasized her words—“with my life with you, if that is what you were insinuating.”
“I wasn’t insinuating anything, Winnie. I was . . .”
She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth, then slapped the napkin beside her plate and scooted her chair back with one quick motion. “Tamyra, my side. You and Tamyra were in cahoots with this entire dinner. It was probably as much your idea as it was hers to take advantage of a grieving widow.” She stood up abruptly, her words breaking through the soft Muzak and offering entertainment of another sort to those in the room. “You will not take advantage of this grieving widow. And you should be ashamed of yourself. Your wife would roll over in her grave thinking you were taking vacations just to hit on women like me.”
She snatched her purse from the edge of the chair. It caught hold of the side and wouldn’t release with her tug. She jerked back slightly and tugged it again. This time the chair flew over on its back and her purse fell right underneath the weight of it. This wasn’t quite the exit she wanted. Albert was up and out of his seat, trying desperately to help her. She pushed away his hands and snatched the edge of the chair, finally unhooking the strap of her purse. As she rose, her eyes caught Tamyra’s, which were as wide as a hoot owl’s, from her table across the room. Winnie furrowed her brow at her, gathered her Southern dignity, and stood. Her scarf had slid around to the back of her neck, all but choking her. She jerked it around quickly and headed for the door. By the time she made it into the hallway, she was running with more gusto than her thighs and calves had seen or felt in the last twenty years. They’d all be hating each other by morning. Just like she hated this entire trip.
* * *
“Hungry?” Christian asked as they walked out of the meeting room in the Atlantis Conference Center, a one-billion-dollar expansion that had added two hundred thousand square feet of meeting space for everything from trade shows to board meetings.
“Haven’t met a French fry that wasn’t my friend,” Riley said as she walked through the large main hall.
He laughed. “My kind of girl.”
“Hey, you two, where you headed?” Mia asked as she came up beside them.
Riley breathed in hard. She was not ready to say she was about to go on a date.
Christian saved her. “Just going to grab a quick bite.”
“Oh, I’m starved,” she said, throwing her head back in her animated way. “Mind if I join you?”
Riley saw a possible moment of salvation. “That would be—”
Christian jumped in. “You know, I’ve been trying to steal this woman away for dinner for almost a week now. So if you don’t mind, maybe we can all hang out another night.”
Riley glanced at Mia. Her eyes flickered momentarily. Riley was sure it wasn’t anger. Momentary surprise, she assured herself. But just as quickly as the look came, it was gone. Mia patted Christian’s arm and nodded at Riley. “You take care of this special lady; she’s had a difficult couple of days. She deserves a night out on the town.”
Riley smiled. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, thanks, Mia. That’s exactly what I’m going to give her.”
Riley couldn’t help it. “Everything good for tomorrow night? All the rooms ready to go?”
“Absolutely. I took care of everything. They will be treated like royalty.”
“Let’s meet in the morning at eight and go over everything just to make sure we’re on the same page and to make sure all the guests that are heading out are taken care of.”
Mia placed a hand on her hip and smiled coyly. “You don’t trust me, Riley.”
Riley smiled. “I absolutely trust you. Just can’t risk anything for my own sake.”
Mia swatted her hand. “I’ll see you at eight. Now, no more thinking about work. Christian, make her not talk about work. It’s all she does.”
Christian grabbed Riley by the arm and pulled her toward the exit. “Rest assured, we will not talk about work.”
Riley’s stomach fluttered at his touch. And in that moment she was very grateful that Mia was not joining them for dinner.
* * *
“Get up!” Tamyra yelled, yanking Laine from her chair.
Laine’s knife and fork, which had just cut into a perfect piece of medium-rare filet mignon, were still sticking in the meat when she flew out of her chair. “My dinner!” she said as she reached for her purse before Tamyra caused her to lose that too.
“You eat enough! We’ve got to get Winnie.”
Laine was almost out the door in less than four strides. How women like Tamyra ran in stilettos was still beyond her. Poor Albert followed right behind, and by the time they all made it to the hallway, Winnie was nowhere in sight.
Tamyra stopped by the door for a brief second. “Let’s head to her room.” Before Laine could speak, Tamyra was a blur.
Laine turned to Albert. “Don’t worry about Winnie. We’ll take it from here. She’s an ornery old cuss. Sorry if it messed up your dinner. Better go. Those long legs are no match for mine.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to be so careful.”
The worry in his eyes touched Laine. She patted his arm. “It’s okay. She’s just having trouble letting go. It’s not you.”
He patted her hand. “Go. Go. I’m fine.”
She let his approval release her to hightail it down the hall. Fortunately she was wearing wedges, so she made
