I decided I didn’t want a chaperone to come with me to see Hugo the next morning. It took me a deep breath to enter the lobby, and my own disappointment when I didn’t find Brandon made me feel utterly stupid. Whatever. Hugo had left my full name at the front desk, so the receptionists let me in right away, no questions asked. Waiting for the elevator was another tough test on my nerves. No Brandon there, either. Well, not like lightning strikes twice, right?Hugo welcomed me with a quick hug and kisses on both cheeks, inviting me into his suite with his placid smile. Like the day before, he had tea ready for us, so we sat on the rug at the table to have it.Don’t ask me how he did it, but not five minutes later we were talking about Brandon, and within ten minutes, I was crying and voicing all my doubts and regrets. He brought a box of Kleenex and kept refilling my tea bowl, helping me bring all that messy knot of mixed emotions out with brief questio

Needless to say poor Hugo had to put up with another round of my tears and hiccups and half-words, and waste another full box of Kleenex on me. When I was in shape to shut up, he patted my hand, his smile nailed to his face.“Do you love him, dear?”I nodded with a serious frown, blowing my nose.“That in the hallway was him too. You love that part of him as well?”“Yeah. We’re all rough around the edges. But he cannot come telling me he loves me with another woman in his bed!”“Why not? Sex has nothing to do with love.”“Oh, c’mon!” I tried to breathe deep. “I don’t feel he’s cheating on me, okay? I just think he needs to be a little humble once in his life, and don’t lose it if things don’t go exactly the way he wants them to.”“Why not? Look around you. It’s people like him who always get what they want, because t

Just like Trisha had anticipated, she and Amy were among the first to access the venue. They wowed and congratulated me on my looks and went on straight to the buffet, like the rest of the early guests. The audience turned out to be mostly small groups and people alone, only a few couples. Harry welcomed everyone with his poised smile, shaking hands with whoever reached out to him. I had to shake a lot of hands too, a little nice smile nailed to my face, thanking God for my square heels that felt almost comfortable.I singled out Harry’s ex right away. Tall and fit like the prince, but blond, pale and with striking blue eyes. Harry didn’t even flinch, and shook his hand with a quick nod.“Stan,” he said, like he said the name of everyone he recognized.“Harry,” the ex replied, and took a moment longer than necessary to turn to me to force a smile.“I’m Fran, welcome,” I said, surprised to hear my own c

The next morning, Amy had to kick Trisha out of bed to check out in time. We were in no hurry to catch our plane, so we went shopping before heading to Hugo’s hotel. I let them go straight to his suite while I went to the front desk. I’d bought a nice envelope, and glued it closed with my letter to Brandon, in such a way that it would be evident if anybody opened it before him.I waited patiently a couple of steps away from the guests, until one of the receptionists had a spare minute for me. I hadn’t seen him before. Surely they had a different staff on weekends. He greeted me with a polite smile as to frame it and hang it on the wall behind him.“I’d need to leave this for Mr. Price, please?” I said, handing him the closed envelope.“Sure. Room number?”Oops. “I’m sorry, I don’t know it. The full name is Brandon Price.”The man pretended to check one of the computers. “

Saturday morning felt like forty hours long in my impatience to see Brandon. When I told Susan we needed vegan supplies for three or four meals, she put up a list in a minute and sent Mike to town to get them. I think my dreamy good mood had her intrigued, but she would rather chop her right hand off than ask about it. She helped me tidy up my room and the study, and I decided it was enough fraternizing and I got off her hair to let her go on with her routine.I called dear Mrs. Arbosky to let her know I might need her expertise on Monday or Tuesday. Lucky me, she assured me she would be available whenever I needed her, be it in person or over the phone. Considering Ann’s warning, I anticipated her it would most likely be a meeting like back in October, to have her take a look at documents I needed to sign before Wednesday. She told me to just go see her as soon as I had the papers, or call her if I needed her to come to the Manor.Okay, I’d invested about