Page 36 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)

She smiled, and his chest tightened. He’d called her every day during her outings, just to hear her voice and see her face.

“Hey,” he began, “I’ve got an invitation for you. There’s a big dinner here tonight—the end of the conference. There’ll be dancing. I’d like you to come.”

The light in her face dimmed. “With all the people you work with?”

“Yes. But there’ll be spouses too. It wouldn’t be just you surrounded by my coworkers.” He was trying to convince her, but from her grimace, she wasn’t sold on the idea. “They’re good people. You’ll like them. I promise you’ll have a good time.”

For a woman who laughed and smiled so easily, she wasn’t doing either now. “I don’t want to interrupt your business.”

“You wouldn’t be. This isn’t business. We’ve finished all that.” He hoped she was wavering, so he pressed on. “I’d really like you to come. I’d love to dance with you.”

She smiled, though it was faint. “I love dancing.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“I don’t know.” She hesitated, her gaze not on him but on something far away. “They’re going to think I’m so much older than you.”

“No one will care. You’re amazing. That’s what they’ll see.” How could he explain to her how gorgeous she was?

“Thank you.” He heard the but even before she said, “But I’ll still feel strange. I’m old enough to be your kids’ grandmother.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” His tone sounded too sharp, and he softened it.

“If I was twelve years older than you, no one would question it. It doesn’t have to be any different for us.

I can’t imagine having a more beautiful woman on my arm.

I would be proud to escort you.” He couldn’t help begging.

“Please, do me the honor of coming with me.”

She let out a long sigh that made him wonder what was running through her mind. Then, to his relief, she said, “All right. Thank you.” After a beat, she added softly, “I’d love to.”

She couldn’t have a clue how much he would love it too.

Jared told her he’d meet her at the elevators on the mezzanine level by the conference rooms. Taking her hand, he stood back to survey her. “You’re beautiful.”

Since Piper had packed before the wedding, she’d included a couple of dresses for fancy dinners and evenings out.

“Thank you.” She felt jittery inside, questioning why she’d agreed to this.

All his colleagues would be here, and he’d have to introduce her.

They’d sit with them. The situation held too much potential for judgment.

They’d look at him—handsome and fit in his suit—and then at her.

Yes, she looked good in her dress, with her hair done and makeup carefully applied.

But no one would ever say she looked ten years younger than her actual age. They’d wonder why he was with her.

Get a grip , she told herself. She was a confident, well-adjusted career woman. This was just a dinner.

Her hand felt warm in his firm grip, and her pulse quickened just being around him, thinking of the night to come—not the dinner or the dancing, but later, when they were alone. That was all that counted. Their last night together.

Handsomely dressed businesspeople crowded the mezzanine. Though some couples were in attendance, this was definitely a business conference, with most people appearing to be associates, clients, or customers.

Jared led her to his group of colleagues. And his boss. He introduced her, and though she was usually good with names, now they all seemed to swirl around her head and fly away.

Except two. “This is our CEO, Conrad James, and his wife, Olivia,” Jared said.

Piper shook hands with both. “Nice to meet you.”

“Piper and I met the day we arrived,” Jared said, as if he needed to explain. “We were on the same flight.”

“And I lost my phone. Jared found it at Tower Bridge.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. She tried not to feel idiotic.

“What a wonderful man.” Olivia was a lovely woman in her mid-sixties, her hair a mix of frosted blond and silver. In her royal blue cocktail dress, she was a perfect match for her rotund husband, whose shirt was the exact shade of blue as her dress.

There were two other couples in the group, as well as two men, and two women who were possibly in their mid-thirties.

Piper was glad she’d worn the black cocktail dress, its sequins adding just enough glam for the occasion.

These people had come dressed to impress, just short of wearing tuxes and floor-length gowns.

The conference room doors opened, and the waiting crowd shuffled inside. Three panel dividers opened to make a ballroom, now filled with tables. Conrad James led them to one in the middle, labeled with a tall lacquered sign bearing the company’s name.

She wondered why each corporation had its own table when this was a sales conference. Shouldn’t they spread out to sit with customers? Then it hit her. A corporation probably had to purchase its own table, which wasn’t included in the conference fee.

She’d expected there to be speeches, but the band was already riffing on a standard ballad. As soon as people took their seats at the table, servers began setting out salads.

Piper found herself seated next to one of Jared’s male colleagues. “I’m sorry, I forgot your name,” she had to admit.

“Kyle,” he supplied. He was younger than Jared—about thirty, with dark hair.

Though Jared caressed Piper’s knee beneath the tablecloth, he was engaged in conversation with the young woman next to him, whose name she couldn’t remember, only the fact that she worked in his department.

Piper made obligatory small talk with Kyle. “What do you do at the company?”

“Marketing. And what do you do?” he asked, pouring dressing over his salad before handing her the small bowl.

Piper wondered what he would say if she told him she was a runaway bride who’d dumped her groom the day before the wedding. And this was her honeymoon. “I have a bookkeeping and tax accounting practice.”

“That sounds interesting,” Kyle said politely.

Piper laughed. “No, it doesn’t. Everyone thinks accountants are terribly boring people, especially if they do taxes.”

Kyle laughed with her, making her feel at ease. “I’ve met some very interesting accountants.”

“Liar,” she mocked.

“I’m serious,” he said with a chuckle. “My girlfriend is an accountant, and she made me go to some accounting association meeting with her.”

“The National Association of Accountants. I’m a member.”

He shot her a finger gun. “That’s it! Let me tell you, they were a crazy bunch. Some of them had the most incredible stories. Especially the old geezers in their fifties.” He stopped short, as if suddenly realizing that she was probably in her fifties.

But Piper smiled, reminding herself that Jared’s hand was on her leg, not that of the young woman sitting next to him. “We certainly have some stories about what people try to get away with.”

Kyle’s brown eyes glowed with enthusiasm. “What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen someone try to deduct on their taxes?”

She could have told him about the woman who wanted to deduct the cost of her breast implants because she was an exotic dancer, but that seemed a tad inappropriate.

“It has to be the guy who wanted to deduct his horse, plus its care and feeding, as a medical expense, because his doctor told him to get more exercise.”

Kyle guffawed. “See? Accountants are a lot more interesting than marketing reps.”

Once they were done with their salads, the servers whisked away their plates, reappearing with huge trays, handing out salmon, chicken, or steak.

“So, kids and grandkids?” Kyle asked, continuing the polite conversation.

Piper stiffened, even though she was sure Kyle meant nothing by assuming she was a grandmother. He probably wasn’t even wondering why Jared would be with this old geezer lady . But it still struck a sour note in her stomach. She answered nicely despite that. “No. I’m a career woman.”

The man next to Kyle said something to him, taking his attention away, and Piper was glad.

The problem was her . She was overly sensitive. And this was a new feeling. She was healthy, in good shape, and some might even say she was a good-looking older woman. But these feelings had crept up. And it all started when she slept with a man twelve years her junior.

She suddenly felt as if she were in one of those surrealistic movie reels where the camera whirls in a circle, showing all the faces, moving faster and faster.

She heard the laughter, the gaiety, the voices, and of course none of it was about her.

Her head knew that, and yet she couldn’t help feeling they were all staring at her, laughing at her.

Even with Jared seated next to her, his hand on her knee, they were all thinking she was old enough to be his children’s grandmother.