Crossroad to Love (Fab Five Series)

chapter 22


The group arrived at ‘Chloe’s Place’ in high spirits, anticipating a merry evening with their new friends.

As they entered the restaurant, Ryan stood in the front foyer, ready to greet them. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And how are we all doing tonight?” he asked with a grin and a wink in Katy’s direction.

“We are doing just fine, sir.” Katy’s eyes sparkled as she answered the handsome man standing before her. She felt a slight twinge as she remembered what she had to tell him later this evening. I hope he will be able to deal with the news. In the few short days she had known him, he had become a very important new part of her life. For the next few hours, he is still mine and I intend to make the best of it. Resigned to putting the unpleasantness out of her mind, she took her place at his side as his date for the evening.

“Ryan O’Grady, I would like for you to meet my husband, Rex Hart,” Lizzie proudly introduced the two men.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Rex. You have a very talented wife here. We’re anxious to meet with the two of you tomorrow to sign the contract for the new ads.” Ryan extended his hand to Rex.

As the two men shook hands, Rex replied, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Ryan. I have heard nothing but good things about you from the ‘Fab Four.’ Oh, by the way, you’ll have to get used to these four gals. They are quite a handful.”

Ryan laughed and said, “It will be a pleasure to get to know all of you better. And I’m looking forward to the chance to do just that.” He reached for Katy’s hand, smiling down at her.

“I’m very happy to be working with you and your family on this project. I wasn’t expecting to be branching out to Texas, but am excited to be doing so.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. We’d better get inside. Chloe has been working hard all day to make this dinner special for our new friends and associates. Shall we?”

The group made their way inside the restaurant and followed Ryan to a large, round table in the private dining room. The girls had not been in this room and were all very much in awe at the beauty of it. A large stone fireplace covered the rear wall of the room, larger than the one in the main dining room. A crackling fire had been lit and it was just the thing to take the chill off the cool autumn night. The room was decorated in soft shades of clay and turquoise depicting an appropriate Southwestern atmosphere. Candlelight glowed from the center of a beautiful floral arrangement placed in the center of the large round table, which had been set perfectly. The creamy-colored tablecloth was accented with clay and turquoise napkins, and the china was an exquisite southwestern design. Crystal water goblets and intricately-designed flatware completed the picture. The artwork on the walls was perfectly matched to the color scheme, while various southwestern-style trinkets were scattered about the room for effect.

“Ryan, this room is wonderful,” Katy remarked as he seated her, drinking in the atmosphere with pure delight.

“Thank you, but I can’t take any of the credit for it. This room was all Chloe’s doing, too.”

“Did I hear my name taken in vain?” Chloe laughed as she entered the room.

“Chloe, I love what you’ve done with this room.” Katy smiled as she spoke to her new friend. Chloe certainly had a flair for design, another thing they had in common, besides an eye for the O’Grady brothers.

“Thank you. Coming from our new designer, that is quite a compliment.” Chloe blushed slightly as she returned Katy’s smile. Their eyes locked for a second, Chloe wondering if Katy would reveal her identity to Ryan tonight. Katy turned to Liz and Rex and introduced Rex to Chloe and to Shane, who had entered the room shortly after his wife.

Jon introduced himself to the O’Gradys and the group proceeded to the table.

“I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of preparing our meal tonight myself.” Chloe began as they were all seated and comfortable. “The waiter will be bringing in our appetizer soon.”

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve prepared for us, Chloe. I’m sure it will be absolutely scrumptious,” Angie spoke for the first time since arriving to the restaurant.

“I hear you’re a marvelous cook,” Marianne added. “I’ve read that’s how the restaurant came to be, because of your love for cooking.”

“Basically, yes, that is how we first came up with the idea. I always loved trying new recipes and had worked in other establishments. Shane had the business background, so we decided to combine the two and start ‘Chloe’s Place.’ We needed a partner and that is how Ryan became involved. Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would be such a success and that we would be embarking on the adventure of expanding to other cities. It’s been a whirlwind,” Chloe answered with a smile.

The waiter arrived with lobster-stuffed pasta shells and a large bread bowl with spinach dip. The guests began to eat and were not disappointed.

“This is wonderful, Chloe,” Lizzie said as she finished her first bite.

“I can’t wait to try the rest of the meal,” Marianne said.

They all agreed. They spent the next several minutes enjoying the appetizers, drinking champagne and indulging in light conversation. It was beginning as a wonderful evening. But how will it end? Katy thought again as she looked around the room at all her friends, old and new, together. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could go on like this forever?

She noticed that Michael and Angie were beginning to feel comfortable in each other’s presence again and spent a good deal of time gazing into each other’s eyes. It felt good to be out with them as a couple again. Marianne and Jon were a little less tense with each other, and Jon was noticeably making an effort to woo his wife. Marianne had lost the bitterness from the night before and seemed to be making a real effort to enjoy the evening. Rex and Lizzie were discussing the ad campaign with Shane. They had set a time to meet tomorrow afternoon to finalize the paperwork and discuss schedules. It looked like Katy’s friends were all finally getting their happy endings.

Katy sighed. Ryan was being very attentive. He had not kept his eyes off her for more than a few seconds all evening. How in the world can I break this wonderful man’s heart? But she knew she had to, just as she knew now that they were never meant to be lovers. And maybe when she told him the truth, he would see that too. I wish I never had to tell him.

The group was served salad next. The vinaigrette dressing was superb and Shane proudly admitted that his wife had perfected the recipe herself.

Rex and Jon teased Michael about coming back into the ‘Fab Four’ fold. They also proceeded to give Ryan pointers on being one of the ‘Fab Four’ men. The girls laughed as the men carried on their hilarious conversation. Katy silently wished he really could be one of them.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Katy said, “we may have to change our name from the ‘Fab Four’ to the ‘Fab Five.’ We may just have to vote Chloe in as an honorary member.” Katy touched her new friend’s hand.

“What an excellent idea, Katy,” Angie agreed instantly.

“Yes, let’s take a vote right now,” Lizzie said very seriously, then collapsed into giggles.

“All in favor raise your right hand.” Marianne said in her most serious tone.

As four right hands instantly went into the air, Chloe was speechless. “I don’t know what to say. Y’all have been together for so long. It is quite an honor to be included in your group. Thank you so much.” Chloe wiped away a tear as she smiled at her new friends.

“It’s official, now, buddy, get used to it,” Michael warned Shane as he slapped him on the back. “You are now a ‘Fab Five’ man, just like the rest of us.”

“Oh, boy, not quite sure what that means, but I’m in if y’all have this much fun every time you get together.” Shane laughed.

The group of friends were all still laughing together as the main course of prime rib was brought to the table. The meal was delicious. The meat tender and succulent, accompanied by tiny red potatoes cooked to perfection with just a hint of seasoning, and the vegetables were steamed perfectly. They all agreed that Chloe was the most fabulous chef they knew. They topped off the meal with her famous cheesecake for dessert. As they sat around the table enjoying dessert and coffee, they were all very content.

Their week would soon come to an end, but there would be many more ‘Fab Four’ get-togethers, and now there would be a fifth member to the group. How lucky they had been to have met such a wonderful person as Chloe O’Grady. The trip to Dallas had certainly been a fateful one in more ways than one. Katy thought sadly, I wish Ryan could really be one of us forever.

“Ryan, could we go someplace quiet after dinner? There are some things I need to discuss with you,” Katy said quietly so the others would not hear.

“You read my mind, Sweetie. I need to discuss some things with you too. When we’re finished here, I’ll take you to my place and we can talk undisturbed there. And I will be on my best behavior. If you want me to be, that is.” He winked at her and his eyes glowed as she blushed. “I know you said you wanted to take things slowly, and I understand that. And you know, many people would not believe those words just came out of Ryan O’Grady, former playboy’s mouth,” he teased as the gold flecks in his brown eyes twinkled.

Katy gently reached up to touch his cheek. If only. If only things could be different.

They lingered a while longer before the group reluctantly began to think about heading back to the hotel. As they stood to go, the Harts agreed on a time to meet the O’Grady family back at the restaurant tomorrow.

Jon was going back home after driving the group to the hotel. He had a full schedule tomorrow. He leaned over to kiss Marianne on the forehead as he helped her out of her chair.

“Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this evening. I enjoyed meeting all of you.” He shook the hands of the two O’Grady men and turned to Chloe, “Chloe, welcome to the group.”

“Thank you. We’re so glad you could make it, Jon.” Chloe smiled in reply. “It was nice to meet the ‘Fab Four’ men after meeting the wives.”

“‘Fab Five’ men, now don’t forget about Shane,” he returned the smile.

Katy noticed Angie and Michael were holding hands as they walked out of the restaurant with the others. They had been quieter than the others this evening, reveling in their newfound reunion and just enjoying the company of each other and their friends. They look so happy. The way Ryan and I should be.

They all said goodbye to Katy and Ryan in the parking lot. The women were sad, knowing what Katy was facing. The men were thinking what a lucky man Ryan was. Katy was a good woman and he would be lucky to have her heart. She had not shown any interest in a man for a long time. As Angie, Michael, Lizzie, Rex, Marianne, and Jon headed back to the hotel, they were each quiet with their own thoughts about their friend, Katy.

When they arrived at the hotel, Lizzie said goodnight to Rex, agreeing to meet him in the morning to go over last minute details before their meeting with the O’Gradys.

Jon kissed his wife goodnight and told her he would see her at home on Saturday. She smiled and told him she would be there after she saw the others off.

Angie and Michael lingered in the hallway outside his suite saying goodnight. Neither wanted the evening to end, but Angie finally pulled herself away and headed back to the elevator to go to her own suite. There would be plenty of nights with Michael when they got back to Iowa. The rest of the week was for her friends. And it was slowly coming to an end. What an eventful week it has been for all of us. We’ve all gotten our happy endings, but what about Katy? Will she get her happy ending too? It’s not fair if she doesn’t.