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Party Prep
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Collide An Unexpected Visit
Zane rocked in his office chair staring out the window. He was supposed to be holed up working on his speech for the gala, but his thoughts wouldn’t deviate from Maggie. He thought back to their picnic last weekend, the way her lips felt on his, the way her body fit into his so perfectly. He couldn’t wait to see her all dressed up for the gala. She was so spectacular in just jeans, he couldn’t even wrap his head around how her curves were going to look in a ball gown, or out of one. A soft knock on the doorframe dragged his attention back to the present. “How’s it coming?” Carol asked, raising one eyebrow. He was abashed to be caught not working on his speech, yet again, by his eagle-eyed office manager.“Slow but steady,” Zane assured her.“Uh, huh,” Carol said, obviously unconvinced. “Anyway, I forgot to tell you. A woman came in asking after you yesterday afternoon. I told her you didn’t have office hours until Thursday but she didn’t want to make an appointment. It was weird. She
Collide The Other Woman
“Hello there, handsome.” Zane’s head jerked up at the familiar voice from his office doorway. Shawna. It had been over a year since he’d had the misfortune to bump into Shawna again. He was afraid that his friends were right and he’d had a type, and Shawna had been it. She still had the big Dallas blonde hair and was showing off her long, tanned legs in a skirt that barely covered her ass, as usual. He had enjoyed that at one time, but now that he had Maggie’s effortless beauty to compare her to, he couldn’t understand what had attracted him to her. He noticed her dark roots starting to show at her crown and a hint of orange on her skin with the over-the-top spray tan.As he took her in, he couldn’t believe he’d ever found her attractive or worth his time. They’d only gone out a few times, but he had thought he was never going to get rid of her. She kept popping up in the most unlikely places and trying to hang all over him for months after he had told her they needed to go their sep
Collide Anxiety
Maggie paced next to Pearl, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest trying to hold herself together. All her longstanding doubts and fears swirled throughout her head. She knew he’d been too good to be true. She shouldn’t have let herself even hope that Zane could have been different; that he actually thought she was something special. She should have known when Dani told her about the type of women he dated that she could never measure up to that. She was so stupid to let herself believe that this attractive, accomplished man could be seriously interested in her. It was really her fault for letting herself hope. What red-blooded man could pass up a stunning blonde like that; especially when offered right up in front of him? She was just a little, brown bird from a tiny town. Nothing special. So stupid!She was torn from her self-castigation by two strong hands gripping her shoulders and a pair of intense green eyes staring at her. “Maggie! Listen to me.”Maggie drug her focus to Da
Collide Cinderella to the Ball
The next week was a blur of activity. Thanks to Maggie and Sofia’s work on advertising to local businesses, they had several business breakfasts and lunches held at Common Grounds that week. She and JT also put in long evening hours planning out a couple of event catering projects they had taken on as they were wanting to expand their catering work. Farm to table wedding rehearsal dinners and engagement parties were getting more and more popular and Maggie had seized on the events, on and off site, as a way to grow their little cafe. With her mother in semi-retirement, she didn’t need her catering and equipment and tableware very often so Maggie and JT could save a lot of money by using them. Tricia Wade believed in her children being self-sufficient so there was a small rental fee involved but, even with the fees, Maggie knew they’d never have been able to afford to buy all the equipment outright by themselves and was grateful, though somewhat grudgingly, for the help. Before she kn
Collide At the Ball
Maggie peeked out the tinted windows of the town car nervously as they pulled up in front of the event. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to meet Zane inside and felt her anxiety levels spike. She was just about to pull the phone out of her purse and call him when she saw his familiar tousled, blonde hair coming down the steps. She breathed a sigh of relief as he made it down the steps just as the driver opened the back door for her. Zane reached down for her hand and a smile lit his face. “You made it!” His eyes raked her up and down, the gold flecks in his eyes seeming to sparkle as he took her in. She could feel the heat filling her cheeks at his perusal. His intense gaze made her feel like he didn’t see anyone else but her.Maggie took his hand tightly and grinned as he helped her out of the car. “I did. Thank you for the nice ride.”“I’m only sorry I couldn’t make it to pick you up myself. I feel really bad about that.” He tucked her arm through his and started to lead her up
Collide Little Mouse
The ladies’ room was just as impressive as the rest of the hotel. It was all marble and crystal and even had a seating area where you could sit and rest feet that had been crammed into pretty, but deadly, high heels too long. Maggie was grateful that even the stalls were generously sized so she didn’t have difficulty managing her long dress. Seconds after she closed the door behind her, she heard voices and clicking heels coming across the marble.“I know! I couldn’t believe it!” said the first woman, obviously continuing a conversation they had started in the hall. “I tried to get him to invite me to this gala last year and he said he always comes stag so he can get out quickly. Apparently, that’s not true.” She heard the woman make a disgusted sound. “And did you see the little mouse he brought? It's that same little nothing from Gladewater he got all up in arms over last week when I went to see him at the office. Ridiculous.”Maggie was careful to not make a sound. She heard purse
Collide A Matter of Trust
Zane’s jaw was so tight he was sure his teeth were going to crack. Shawna and one of her idiot friends had cornered him. She’d latched onto his arm like a leech and he had yet to figure out how to get rid of her without making a scene in the middle of the event. He’d like to peel her off and spray himself down with Clorox but that was not going to be possible. If Maggie would just get back, he could extricate himself and leave. All he’d been able to think about all evening was getting her back to his place and convincing her to stay the night with him; have her face be the first thing he saw in the morning. He glanced at his watch again trying, without success, to extricate his arm from Shawna’s vice-like grip. He hoped Maggie was okay. She’d looked a little pale when she’d left the table. Suddenly, he saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision heading for the front doors at a rapid pace. Maggie? Where was she going? “Excuse me, Tom, I see my date. I need to go make sure she’s okay
Collide Mistakes
Maggie stood silently and slowly followed him, her heart breaking a little with every step, as he started walking back through the garden to the front of the building. They stood in silence, not touching, as the valet retrieved Zane’s car and helped Maggie into the passenger seat. The ride back to Zane’s place took a million years, neither of them daring to speak or touch each other. They got out and just as silently got into the elevator in his building, standing next to each other, but miles apart. Now that she’d had a little time in quiet to mull it over, she could see she’d made a huge mistake. She’d let her insecurities and emotions take over and had accused Zane of terrible things without any real evidence. It was obvious she’d jumped to conclusions about what she’d seen and now she’d hurt this man who’d been nothing but loving and kind to her. She was sorely afraid she had permanently broken the relationship they had been building. All because she couldn’t believe that she was
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