Page 52 of Be My Valentine

“Allie brought you these.” Her mother handed her a box, and Kate recognized it instantly.

“The Louboutins! I can’t afford these!”

“She said it was a gift from the owner of the store, looks like she’ll be there.”

A gift! Kate was over the moon! They fit her perfectly!

“You should have accepted the invitation, Mom.”

“It’s your night! You really like this man, don’t you?”

“You’ll like him, too.” She affirmed confidently. She hadn’t told her many details, only that she was starting to date Attorney Arrow. After being surprised, Sarah had shaken her head, snapping a kiss on her cheek.

They heard the sound of the car and the door closing, before long Mark would be knocking on their door for the first time.

“You go!” Kate ran to get her coat or to hide she couldn’t have said for sure. Her heart was pounding in her chest furiously.

Sarah opened the door and couldn’t help but notice that her daughter had good taste: truly a handsome, blue-eyed, broad-shouldered man. Yes, a man. Kate was no longer a child, but a young woman; this lawyer, however, was certainly not a man of her age. She hoped with all her might that her daughter would not be knocked off her feet.

Mark Arrow smiled at her and handed her a bouquet of flowers.

“For you, Mrs. Donovan, I’m sorry you can’t be here tonight.”

Kate popped up at that moment, squeezed into her long coat.

“Here I am!” She hid her nervousness under a smile that lit up the night sky.

Emma phoned four times while they were in the car.

“It’ll drive you crazy!” Mark laughed.

“She just wants to make sure everything is perfect.”

They entered the Plaza well ahead of schedule: they needed to be ready to greet the guests.

Emma came to meet them. Kate admired that innate elegance, with her baby bump peeking through the folds of a light blue dress, she gave off a full, fulfilled beauty. Emma was loved, and everything about her screamed it.

Kate handed her coat to an efficient staff member and felt Mark’s eyes on her.

“You look gorgeous.” He said brushing a kiss against her cheek.

Emma broke the spell.

“Yes, she’s a real stunner. Now leave her to me though, at least until the guests arrive, in fact, you stay planted here, smile, say hello and send them into the ballroom.”

“I thought they’d take care of that.” Mark pointed to the uniformed men and women in the lobby.

“You. You have to. Obey.”

The last thing Kate saw was Mark raising his hands in surrender.

Then it all began.

The room filled up quickly. Smiles, compliments, handshakes. Kate had memorized names and faces, she walked confidently on the heels of her Louboutins, handing out an approval, a brief nod, pointing to the free tables, making sure nothing was missing from the refreshment tables. She’d carefully studied the best location for Emma to sit she didn’t want her to get tired.

Every time she searched for him with her eyes, Mark would be there, piercing her with a gaze that turned her knees to jelly.

She was happy to introduce Professor Ross to Phil Cannon and Mark’s parents. His father was excited just thinking about it, having discovered he had a few books bearing the famous scholar’s foreword.