Free Fated to be Yours by Jodie Larson

this foundation. Charles is so cute in a grandfather type way. He’s a balding man, a little round in the belly, but still seems so worldly. And Priscilla is very proper with her blonde hair cut in a very elegant bob. She reminds me of Mary Poppins a little with her mannerisms and gestures. I silently giggle to myself as I picture her standing on a roof, singing with Dick Van Dyke covered in soot and two small children running around jumping from chimney to chimney. She’s almost what I anticipated a typical British woman would be.
    “Well I think that was an extremely productive meeting, don’t you?” Charles says.
    When I look down at my watch, I’m amazed that an hour and a half has flown by. All I did was sit and listen while taking a few notes for Kara regarding the foundations needs and what they expect from us. Kara did everything to ease their minds and assure that we have a plan in place to make everything happen.
    “I agree. I believe with all the information from today’s meeting we’ll be able to type up our formal proposal,” Kara exhales with a smile.
    “Shall we continue on to dinner? I’m eager to get out of this office for the night,” Charles says as he stands from the table.
    “Those exact same words echo through my brain every day,” Kara says. The entire table laughs as the rest of us stand to exit.
    “There’s a restaurant not far from here that we’ve made reservations at. A local place that I think you’ll both enjoy,” Priscilla says.
    “Sounds great.” I inwardly roll my eyes at the minimal contribution to the meeting. Kara bumps my shoulder, flashing me a smile. I’m sure she can hear my thoughts and knows that I need a little encouragement.
    We meet up with Charles and Priscilla at the entrance of an alleyway after being dropped off by our driver. Kara and I look at each other, shrug our shoulders and follow them down the narrow corridor, unsure of what to expect. Generally I would expect a dive bar or tavern if I’m heading down an alley but since it’s London I’m trying to keep an open mind.
    Charles stops at a set of wooden doors, holding them open for us as we all walk inside. Thank heavens I didn’t pass judgment too soon because I would have been sorely mistaken. The restaurant is beautiful. It’s tastefully designed with a flare of elegance in a partially finished industrial space. The vast open space has more tables than I would have guessed judging by the outside appearance of the building. Each one is draped with a neatly pressed white linen tablecloth and surrounded by polished black wooden chairs. The contrast between the black and white makes it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Beautiful drop lights hang from the ceiling and fresh calla lilies in crystal vases adorn each of the side tables around the room.
    Charles gives his name to the hostess, who informs us that our other party is already seated and waiting our arrival. She escorts us to the back of the busy room where we see a large table that is occupied by a single male facing away from us. My steps falter as we come closer to the table. There’s a change in the air that has my skin erupting in goose bumps and my heart beating slightly faster. I don’t know what’s happening or why I’m reacting like this until I see Charles walk up to the man and firmly clasp his shoulder.
    “Ah, Parker. I see you made it.”
    The mysterious Mr. Parker stands from his chair and turns to greet the rest of us. But when his beautiful face comes into my view my heart stops beating as I stare into the crystal blue eyes of someone whom I didn’t think I’d ever see again.
    Holy shit. It’s him.

H E’S REALLY HERE, STANDING IN front of me in all of his beautiful glory. Andrew, the mystery man who grabbed my attention and stirred up something dormant inside of me, bringing up feelings that I had pushed away and didn’t even realize that I was still capable of having. But yet he easily drew them out of me with