She was halfway across the lawn when she saw him and her whole body froze. She hadn’t invited Gus Attracelli! Why in the world had he shown up?
She watched in astonishment as her father crossed the lawn and shook Gus’s hand. Had her father invited him without her knowledge? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d invited someone without telling her about it. It was his party, after all, so if he wanted to invite last minute guests, that was his prerogative. Alana always ordered extra food for just this type of situation.
It didn’t help when Gus caught her eye and raised his glass in a toast to her. Several of the other guests noticed his action and smiled in her direction. Alana didn’t think she could have gotten any angrier. She was wrong.
Why had her father befriended this man? Why now? Her father knew how much this man upset her. He’d seen her reaction last week on the patio when she’d caught her picture in the newspaper gossip column. Then she remembered how he had laughed last Sunday when she’d seen the picture. Had he invited Gus just to rile her?
No, her father wasn’t that mean-spirited. Alana wasn’t sure what was going on, but she intended to get to the bottom of this situation quickly. She would corner her father immediately after the party and find out why he had invited Gus to the garden party.
She stole a glance at Gus from across the lawn. He definitely looked good, she thought. He was wearing khaki slacks with a crisply pressed, white dress shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders. His stomach was flat and she could see the muscles in his legs since one hand was in his pocket and pulled the fabric of his slacks tight against his leg.
Alana gasped when he turned suddenly. He’d caught her staring and he had the audacity to wink at her. She turned away quickly, hoping he was too far away to see her cheeks turn read.
Her temper was at a boiling point and she was fighting to control it. She forced a smile to her face and listened with only half an ear to what someone was telling her. She wasn’t even aware of who she was talking to.
After two more hours, the party was starting to wind down. Alana looked over at the table at which her father and Gus were talking. It looked like a very serious conversation which meant that her father probably had some business connections with Gus. That surprised her. She usually knew most of his business acquaintances, knowing that her father would want them invited to the various functions he hosted.
Alana slipped around the edge of the party, intending to move closer to the house so she could avoid any meeting with the man. She didn’t have to look to know which table he was sitting at or who he was talking to. She’d known exactly where he’d been ever since he’d arrived. Her senses were completely in tune with his every movement. And if she’d ever been able to forget, every person she’d spoken to had deemed it necessary to point out his current location at the party to her.
She wanted to scream. Alana never screamed, but this was a perfect situation to lose her temper.
There were never any press invited to her parties so she didn’t have any fear that her picture would end up in the gossip columns again. But people in her social circle talked. And she did not want to be the latest gossip topic.
Finally, there were only a few more guests that were making their way towards the exit. Alana said goodbye to the last ones and was walking over to speak to the caterer about clean up when her father waived her over to where he was talking with Gus.
She ignored his summons and waived back, going in the opposite direction.
As she turned her back, she heard them laughing and she almost stopped to demand what was so funny but she refused to give in to the urge. She knew that if she went over there, she would make a fool of herself and she was not going to let that happen.
The caterer was already packing up their supplies and the rental company was parking the truck to load up the rental tables and chairs. There wasn’t much for her to do which was why she worked with these companies whenever she planned a party.
“How long are you going to avoid me?” a deep voice said from behind her.
She was on the pool side of the lawn, intending to stay as far away from her father and Gus Attracelli as possible.
“Forever,” she said without turning to look at him. She immediately started walking again.
He fell into step beside her. “The Caps won.”
Alana stopped walking and glanced up at him, confused. “Excuse me?”
“The Caps? Hockey? They won last Saturday night. I know you were curious so I just thought I’d let you know.”
Alana turned back and started walking towards the stables again. “Oh.”
“Four to one.”
She stopped again to look at him, confused. “Four to one, what?” she asked, knowing she should just ignore him but her curiosity and confusion got the better of her.
“The score. I knew that would be your next question but you’re obviously too shy and embarrassed about missing the game.”
Alana bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. She turned and started walking towards the house, wanting to make a quick exit. She didn’t want to like him but he was acting so charming, she was having a hard time not smiling at his silly comments.
“No hat trick though.”
Alana stopped again. She told herself not to ask; not to care. But she was too curious. “Hat trick?”
“Yep.” He was nodding his head seriously.
Alana waited but he didn’t offer more information. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to explain a hat trick. I thought hockey was played on ice with a puck and sticks.”
“You’re correct.”
She was exasperated with him. Was he going to explain or not? “Did you go see a magic show or something afterwards?”
He smiled and Alana’s eyes were surprised by his dimples. “No. A hat trick is when one player scores five points in one game. It’s extremely difficult to do so they call it a hat trick.”
Alana nodded her head as she watched him. Then turned on her heel and started walking again. She shouldn’t have asked. It only encouraged him. Hat trick, indeed! What a ridiculous thing to call a sport issue – or whatever it was.
He fell right into step beside her. “Did you know your phone is broken?”
She kept on walking, knowing he was referring to the four phone messages he’d left her over the past week. She was embarrassed to be caught being so rude. “I received your messages. I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls. I’ve been pretty busy lately,” she finished lamely.