Chapter 211

William had gone to a lot of trouble to invite me to the prom. His invitation included many of my favorite things. It showed me how well he knew me.

It was a sweet, romantic gesture that should have thrilled me. A short time ago, it would have. But all I could think of was how I was going to tell Victor I couldn’t go to the prom with him.

The look in William’s eyes was filled with hope. I couldn’t say no, especially with everyone watching us from the crowded doorways.

“Yes, William,” I said loud enough for all to hear. “I will be your prom date.”

William grinned from across the table. “Thank you for making me the happiest guy in the world.”

“You’re welcome,” I said as I tried to smile back.

“Have a taco,” William said. “I got them from the place you like.”

I managed a slight smile and took a taco from the platter. It had a D made of tomato on it from the word date. The taco smelled delicious, but I doubted I could eat it.

Yet, I managed a few bites after word spread that I said yes to William’s promposal, and the crowd wandered away to find their own lunches.

“I’m glad you said yes.” William reached for another taco and put one on my plate too.

“Yeah, thanks for asking in such a great way,” I said. “But I really have to leave school early today. Joe is waiting in the car for me by now.”

“Tell him to go home.” William waved a hand toward the front of the building. “I’ll take you to your office when we finish eating.”

I stood with a taco in each hand. “No. I can’t stay. I’ve got a million things to do at the office. Thanks for the tacos and the invitation. See you later.”

I felt like a rat for leaving him in the middle of his special meal. Fortunately, I ran into Amy on my way to sign out at the office.

I handed her the taco I hadn’t started eating.

“I heard about the big promposal in the gym.” She took the taco and bit into it.

“Yeah. Everybody did.” I rolled my eyes and realized I was being a jerk. William went to a lot of trouble. The invitation was a sweet gesture. William was thoughtful like that.

Amy looked me over between bites. “What’s the matter?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t get excited about the prom.”

“It probably seems like another ball to you,” Amy teased. “You want to go with William, don’t you?”

While I searched my mind for an answer, I spotted Joe pulling the limo in front of the school.

“I gotta run,” I told Amy. “I’ll call you later.” I gave her a wave and hurried out the front entrance.

The peaceful silence of the limousine’s back seat gave my mind a chance to wonder.

Did I do the right thing by accepting William’s invitation? Would he assume I had chosen him for my mate?

I was leaning in that direction. There was no denying the vision of him saving me from dying alongside the road was the sign I asked the Goddess to give me.

Maybe the elaborate promposal filled with my favorite things was another sign that she wanted me to be with William.

Even though I felt a strong connection with Victor, I couldn’t deny the Goddess’s wisdom.

Joe pulled up in front of the office building, and I climbed out of the car. After I gave him a cheerful wave, I hurried inside to the elevator that would take me upstairs to my office.

Riding the elevator, I remembered the last time I was on it. It was the day of Lana’s accident, and I was helping Victor through the ordeal of almost losing his mother.

It was the same day he discovered love was real. That discovery changed him. He was able to admit he had tender feelings.

The entire floor was silent when I stepped off the elevator. That quickly changed when all the office employees jumped out of their hiding places and yelled, “Surprise!”

I jumped and then began laughing as they came forward one by one to welcome me back. Their smiling faces made me feel like I had truly come home.

After eating a slice of a delicious cake, I made a quick speech, thanking them for the warm welcome, and we got to work.

Eagerly, I entered my office and groaned at the full inbox on my desk and the dozens of messages marked important in my email. I began sifting through the emails first.

I spotted one from the manager of my new project and decided the first thing I wanted to do was order him to get started.

But his email told me he had given the proper departments the green light as soon as he heard I was returning today.

There were several possible building locations, and all the information on each was in a folder on my desk.

After accepting another piece of cake and a cup of coffee from a receptionist, I began looking over potential building sites.

Two looked perfect for our needs. They were both located on the edge of the Beta community, which meant they wouldn’t need to travel through a half hour or more of traffic in an emergency.

But one had ample room for its own parking garage with a helicopter landing pad on its roof. It was more expensive, but it was worth it.

I sent an email with my suggested offer for the property and was congratulating myself when Victor walked into the room. I instantly felt that warm glow in my center begin to burn brighter.

“What’s new?” he asked.

I began to tell him all about the properties that I was interested in for the new hospital.

“Either property will suit your purposes, but I think you’re right about bidding on the Stanton Street property first,” Victor said. “You’ll have enough room to put an ambulance access for the Emergency Room behind the parking garage.”

“That’s a great idea.” I made a note and sent it to the architects who would be drawing up the blueprints.

Victor and I made an excellent team. We thought of things the other missed and never suggested changes in an insulting way.

“It’s nice to see you behind that desk again,” he said. “I checked in twice a week to make sure everything was running smoothly in your absence, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend much time here without you.”

“It feels great to be back.” I grinned. “There’s cake and coffee in the conference room. You missed my welcome back party.”

“What kind of cake?” Victor asked.

“Chocolate with fudge icing,” I replied. I had to smile. He loved chocolate as much as I did.

“I’ll be right back,” he said and went into the hallway. I heard him greeting several employees before returning with an enormous chunk of cake.

“Are you going to eat all that?” I chuckled. It was nice to banter with him and not be serious for a while.

He pulled a chair beside me and put the cake on my desk. “I was going to share it with you.”

He sat down and shoved a huge bite into his mouth. I laughed at a bit of the fudge icing that he accidentally smeared on his chin.

“Hold still.” I laughed before taking a napkin and wiping the chocolate from his face.

Our eyes met and held for a long moment as the spark between us grew hotter. I wanted to kiss him and feel his body against mine.

But then I remembered William, his prom invitation, and that I said yes.

Why did everything have to be this complicated?

I had strong feelings for both William and Victor. But the feelings were different, and I didn’t understand them.

But there wasn’t enough time to figure it out. William’s invitation to the prom and my saying yes would likely cause trouble.

I can’t have two dates for the prom! I had to choose, and I must do it now.