James shook his head. “Please stay and have dinner with us, Lauren. After all, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.”
Lauren smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Plenty of time for all that, Uncle James. I’d say you have far more important things to attend to tonight.”
James chuckled. “You are every bit as outrageous Ian warned me you would be. And I look forward to getting to know you much better, my dear. After your aunt and I renew our own acquaintance,” he added with a wink.
Lauren laughed as she bent down to kiss her aunt on the cheek. “I’d expect nothing less. As for you, Ms. Benoit, I’ll see you the next time I’m in town, hmm? I fly out to Calgary in the morning.”
Maddy gave her a puzzled look. “But surely I’ll see you after dinner, darling. Or in the morning.”
“Nope.” Lauren shook her head. “I went ahead and packed a bag for you and delivered it to James’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria this afternoon. I also called your PA and told her you’d be in very late tomorrow, and that she ought to cancel all of your morning appointments. After all, what could be more important than an appointment with destiny?”
Maddy laughed softly, shaking her head in exasperation. “What am I going to do with you, young lady? Except to thank you from the bottom of my heart. What you’ve done, Lauren – well, no words can express, darling.”
Lauren gave the happy couple a cheeky grin. “I think at a moment like this that words are definitely overrated. The looks on both of your faces speak volumes. Now, you kids have fun, okay? Love you, Aunt Maddy. And Uncle James – I expect you to make that title official sooner than later.”
As James laughed, Maddy squeezed Lauren’s hand, gazing at her tenderly. “It will be your turn next, you know. Your turn to get a happily ever after. You only have to ask for it, darling.”
“Maybe.” Lauren gave Maddy and James a wistful little smile before waving good-by and walking out of the restaurant, forcing herself not to think about Ben or Elle or Spain – and definitely not about engagement rings.
Chapter Twenty-One
Early September – New York
“Can you hold the elevator please?” Ben called out, breaking into a jog.
He smiled gratefully at the man who held the door open for him, and then blinked in surprise as he saw Lauren’s sister Julia inside the elevator car. Belatedly he realized that the dark haired man standing next to her was her new husband, Nathan Atwood.
“Ben,” greeted Julia happily. “I was hoping we’d run into you during our visit. This is my husband, Nathan. Baby, this is Lauren’s boss, Ben Rafferty.”
Ben shook Nathan’s hand. “A pleasure. And belated congratulations to both of you. I, ah, managed to sneak a peek at some of your wedding photos.” He smiled to note the look of surprise on Julia’s face. “No, Lauren didn’t voluntarily share them with me. One of her crew members was looking at her Facebook page and I just happened to be walking by.”
“Ah, that would explain it,” said Nathan, chuckling. “After all the hassle she gave Julia about that damned bridesmaid dress, she actually seemed pretty happy with how it all turned out on the big day.”
Ben noticed that the dark-haired Nathan was right around the same height as he was, though Julia’s husband seemed far more at ease wearing the pressed khaki slacks and fitted polo shirt – very similar to Ben’s attire today – than Ben had ever felt.
“So, what brings the two of you to New York?” he asked politely as the elevator began to rise steadily towards his floor.
The newlyweds looked at each other with a knowing smile, and Julia actually giggled.
“It’s an anniversary of sorts for us,” explained Nathan. “Julia and I met for the first time in New York two years ago. We’re just here for an extended weekend to celebrate.”
Ben smiled as the couple continued to gaze at each other lovingly. “Well, I’m sure that Lauren is happy to have you here, as well as your aunt.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you? But between getting ready for New York Fashion Week, and becoming re-acquainted with her old boyfriend, my aunt has barely had a minute to spare for us. As for Lauren – well, she’s been a little, um, let’s just say - ”
“Cranky,” inserted Nathan. “Pissy. In one of the worst moods I’ve ever seen her in, and there have been a whole lot of those in the scant year I’ve known her. I have no idea how long it’s been since that girl got - ”
“Nathan,” admonished Julia, placing a hand over his mouth. “Knock it off.” To Ben she hastily explained, “My sister takes particular joy in antagonizing Nathan, probably because he’s such an easy target for her. That being said, we’re both a little worried about her these days.”
Ben frowned. “Why is that?”
Nathan grinned evilly. “You got a few hours to spare?”
“Shush,” his wife scolded, giving him a little shove. “If Lauren learns you’ve been talking about her, she’ll drop you on your ass. Again.”
Ben suppressed a chuckle, and asked instead, “Are you here to meet her for lunch then?”
Julia nodded as the elevator stopped and they all exited. “She’s dragging us to some deli she keeps raving about. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a pastrami on rye fan, though she did let me choose where to have dinner tonight in return.”
“Hey, you should join us, Ben,” offered Nathan. “Uh, I mean, if you don’t have plans already.”
Julia nudged her husband. “Nathan, I’m pretty sure that Ben has a girlfriend. Maybe both of them would like to join us.”
Ben wondered briefly what if anything Lauren might have told her sister about Elle. “I do have a girlfriend, yes. But Elle happens to be out of town for a couple of days doing an interview for her latest article. And thanks for the invitation, Nathan, but I’ll probably be working late tonight.”
Nathan shrugged. “Sure, no problem, Ben. But if you change your mind we’ll be at Puerto 56 around seven tonight.”
“Mmm.” Julia practically smacked her full, glossy lips. “They make the best pisco sours I’ve ever had. Great tapas, too.”
“Are you still yapping about that Peruvian place you’re dragging me to tonight?” complained Lauren as she strode into the elevator lobby. “And you guys are ten minutes late. What – oh.”
She halted her tirade abruptly as she saw Ben, and gave him a ferocious scowl.
“Sorry.” Julia apologized sheepishly. “We, um, got a bit of a late start leaving our hotel, and then we ran into Ben here.”
Lauren gave her sister a knowing smirk. “Yeah, I think we can all figure out why you two were running late. But, never mind, let’s just go. I’m so hungry my stomach is having an entire conversation with itself.”
Ben couldn’t help grinning broadly, just like he could seldom resist the urge to smile at Lauren’s quick wit and often unintentional humor. “I find it hard to believe you’re that hungry,” he told her good-naturedly. “After everything I saw you put away during this morning’s meeting, I’m amazed you can even think of eating. What was it – two donuts, a package of trail mix, and at least six Red Vines. And that was just when I was in the room. There’s no telling what you’ve put away since I left.”
Lauren glared at him. “I didn’t realize you were paying such close attention to my food intake.”
His smile softened. “I pay attention to a lot of things,” he told her quietly. “You’re the one who isn’t always aware of what’s going on around you.”
He didn’t miss the curious way both Julia and Nathan were observing this interchange between him and Lauren, and once again he couldn’t help wondering what, if anything, her family really knew about him.