"Not
for us," Morgan said. "Sarducci's—piece of cake. And
Caden can get a table at Moskva any time he wants."
"Or
there's the curry place on Third," Caden said.
"Not
in a curry mood. Um, Szechuan on Seventeenth?"
"Tanya,
preference?" Morgan thought to ask.
"None.
I couldn't get a table for a year, at any of those places."
"Call
Erica."
Caden
dutifully did as Morgan suggested.
"Mongolian
grill," she stated. "I made reservations for six o'clock,
so get it in gear."
"Why
so early?" Caden asked her.
"There's
a concert in the park. We're going."
"Really?
Why? I hate those things."
"You
won't hate this one. Trust me. Hurry up!"
Tanya
changed into brown, brushed denim jeans, her boots and a warm
sweater. On Morgan's advice, she brought her jacket, scarf and gloves
along. He dug around and found jeans and a sweater. Caden changed
when they got back to his townhouse. Morgan and Tanya waited in the
car. A few minutes later, Caden came out of the building with a
beautiful blonde.
Smiling,
she hopped in the front seat. "Hi, I'm Erica. You must be
Tanya."
They
shook hands.
"The
men have been closed mouthed," Erica continued as Caden started
the car. "Haven't told me a thing about you."
"Same
applies," Tanya replied. "I'm a doctor at the same hospital
as Morgan and Hal."
Erica
grinned. "Caden teases that I specialize in spa days and having
my hair done. I'm a professional shopper, and style consultant for
several Hollywood stars."
"No
kidding? Can you say who?"
Erica
dropped the names of several big stars.
"They
always dress so beautifully. Do you do that?"
"Yup!"
"They
don't hit the red carpet without consulting my baby," Caden
said, kissing Erica's hand.
"You
do an impressive job. I have enough trouble getting dressed in the
morning. Do you find yourself analyzing people you meet?"
"I
do. I look at some women and think, Oh, honey. No. You look
great, by the way. Brown is a good color on you. I'd look like
whipped topping on a mud puddle. Brown is so
not my color."
"Did
you ever meet Vanessa?" Tanya asked, wishing she hadn't when the
men got very quiet.
"Once,"
Erica replied. "It wasn't pretty. Talk about needing an entire
Style Mulligan. That girl—wow! There have been clothes and
hairstyles created since 1985."
Erica
continued to trash talk Vanessa for a couple more minutes, but soon
tired of it. Instead, she complimented Tanya on her taste, and
offered to take her shopping for winter clothing.
"The
weather closes in quickly. I doubt that your clothing will be warm
enough. Have you ever spent a winter here?"
"No.
I usually came in the spring or summer."
"You'll
decidedly need some things. We'll go shopping."
"I
don't know if my budget can handle high end buying," Tanya
admitted. "I'm still paying school loans."
"Shopping?"
Morgan perked up. "You don't have to worry. Any wife of mine
will have the budget of a queen."
"We're
not married yet," Tanya pointed out.
"Details."
Morgan waved the protest away. "Erica, take her shopping, and
charge it to me. The stores have my account information."
"Morgan,
are you sure?" Tanya mentally calculated the outfit Erica was
wearing. It was nearly a thousand dollars worth of clothing, not
including jewelry, purse or shoes.
He
leaned over, kissing her. "I'm positive. Erica's right, you need
warmer clothing, and she has the in at all the shops. She can get you
sweet discounts, as well as find you clothing you like."
"I
paid about half of the retail cost for this outfit," she
bragged. "The stores know me, and I swing a lot of business
their way. To have a future Mrs. Fellowes shopping with them—they'd
be so flattered, they couldn't see straight. They'd practically throw
clothing at you."
"Wow,
be nice if they'd done that when I was poor, and needed a new pair of
shoes, and a suit for my interview here." Tanya shook her head,
finding it hard to believe that stores would shower a rich person
with gifts, while gouging a poor one for every cent. "I have a
lot to learn about being rich," she sighed.
"I'll
teach you," Erica said, winking. "The guys don't know how
to spend money, but I do."
They
had a pleasant dinner and headed to the park. Erica had packed lawn
chairs in the trunk of Caden's car the day before, without telling
him. They each took a chair and headed into the park. It was starting
to fill up, but there was a space marked Reserved. Erica
walked right to it.
"Being
the fiancee of a high powered lawyer has its perks," Tanya said.
"Somewhat,
but more the fact that his family, and Morgan's, donated the land and
funds to build this complex. I can pull a few strings. My step-dad
sits on the board, my mother organizes everything and the guys have
prestigious last names."
©
2020 Dellani Oakes
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