Summer of Love Marie Ferrarella (easy books to read in english TXT) 📖

without supervision, or having anything happen to her, but she let it go. She didn’t want to ruin the evening. Everett was being protective and there was something to be said for that, she told herself. Besides, being this close to him was practically setting her on fire, which she could not afford.

So she unlocked her door under his watchful eye and then went in, closing the door behind her.

“Now lock it,” he told her after a beat, raising his voice to be heard.

“Yes, sir,” Lila called back, humoring him. She turned the lock. “It’s locked,” she announced.

“Good night, Lila.”

“Good night, Everett.”

And then, after a couple of beats, she heard Everett’s car starting up. He was leaving.

Why did that have such a mournful sound to her, she asked herself. After all, she wanted him to leave. Everett might be confident about their future together, but she wasn’t.

He’d also been confident about their future when they were younger. Very confident. And look how that had ultimately turned out, she reminded herself. That big, wonderful future he had been so sure stretched out before them had shriveled up and died before it had ever had a chance to actually take root and thrive.

And history, she reminded herself as she went into her bedroom to change out of her dress, had a terrible habit of repeating itself.

Lila closed her eyes and shivered. She couldn’t bear to go though that kind of heartbreak a second time.

She wasn’t strong enough.

Chapter Fourteen

Lila had vacillated about whether or not to invite Everett to the Fortune Foundation fund-raiser for the better part of a week. And now the event was tonight. That meant it was too late for her to change her mind again and invite him.

Just as well, Lila told herself. She’d attend the black-tie gala solo, just as she had initially planned when she’d first gotten the invitation.

Before Everett had popped up back in her life.

The only problem was, she felt conflicted.

Ever since Everett had gone out of his way and nursed her through that bout with the flu, she’d been sorely tempted to invite him—just as a show of gratitude, of course. However, she felt that if they attended the function together, that would be like practically announcing to the world at large that they were a couple—again.

And it was much too premature for that sort of speculation to make the rounds.

Because they weren’t a couple anymore and they might never be a couple.

So, as she wavered back and forth, Lila fell back on her old stand-by: Why borrow trouble?

Consequently, she was going alone.

It wouldn’t be the first time, she thought. And given what her life was like, it undoubtedly wouldn’t be the last.

The way she felt at the moment, Lila had a premonition that she was destined to be alone for the rest of her life. Her dreams about Everett had been just that: dreams. And sooner or later, people were destined to wake up from dreams.

To boost her spirits, Lila bought herself a brand-new dress. It was a gown really, she thought, looking herself over from all angles in her wardrobe mirror as she prepared to leave.

The floor-length baby-blue silk gown swirled around softly as she moved and made her feel like she was a princess.

A princess without a kingdom—or a prince, Lila added ruefully—but a princess nonetheless.

“At least for one night,” Lila whispered to her reflection.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered up her wrap and her purse. She checked her purse one last time to make sure she had her invitation. It was right where it had been the last four times she’d checked, tucked against her wallet.

She was ready.

“Nothing left to do but drive Cinderella over to the ball,” Lila murmured to her reflection.

She smiled to herself as she locked the door and got into her car.

Where are the singing mice when you need them? she wondered wryly, starting up her vehicle.

The Fortune Foundation’s fund-raiser was being held on the ground floor ballroom of Austin’s finest hotel. Everything about the evening promised to be of the highest, most expensive quality.

After slipping into her purse the ticket that the valet who’d taken her car had given her, Lila went into the hotel.

She didn’t need to look at the signs to know which ballroom the fund-raiser was being held in. All she had to do was follow the sound of music and laughter. It was evident that the crowd was having a good time.

The sound quadrupled in volume the second she opened one of the doors to the Golden Room.

She stood there just inside the doors, acclimating herself and looking around what seemed like a cavernous ballroom. There were people absolutely everywhere.

“You made it!”

Surprised, Lila turned to her right and found herself looking at Lucie. Her friend easily hooked her arm through hers.

“I was beginning to think you’d decided to take a pass on this,” Lucie said as she began to gently steer Lila in what seemed to be a predetermined direction.

“I didn’t think the Foundation allowed us to take a pass,” Lila answered honestly. Not that she would have. Her sense of duty and loyalty was just too strong.

“Well, I don’t know about ‘allowed,’” Lucie replied, considering the matter, “but I do think that there would have been a lot of disappointed people here if you hadn’t shown up.”

Lila laughed. “I really doubt that,” she told Lucie.

“I don’t,” Lucie retorted. Her eyes were sparkling with humor as she added, “Especially one someone in particular.”

Lila stared at her. Lucie had managed to completely lose her. Her brow furrowed as Lila asked, “What are you talking about?”

“Come.” The woman tugged a little more insistently on Lila’s arm. “I’ll show you. By the way, I like the gown. Light blue’s a good color for you. It brings out your eyes,” she added with approval.

“It’s new,” Lila confessed, having second thoughts and thinking that maybe she shouldn’t have indulged herself like this.

Glancing at the gown one more time, Lucie nodded. “I had a