A Modern Day Persuasion (17 page)

“Dad! Susan! Will’s here!” Elizabeth shouted with glee just as they heard the doorbell ring. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, Elizabeth rushed to answer it.

“Hi, Will! Come on in,” Anne heard Elizabeth say in her most charming voice. Anne continued to listen as Elizabeth ushered him into the living room where their dad and Susan were sitting.

Being curious to find out if the “Will” currently in their home was the same stranger from the beach, Anne plucked up the courage to check things out for herself. Entering the room, Anne was glad to discover that Will was not facing her as it allowed her to scope him out momentarily, albeit from the back. Even from that angle, Anne recognized him as the man from Lincoln City.

“Oh, there she is!” Mr. Elliot called out, drawing all attention to Anne. “I don’t believe you’ve ever met my daughter Anne,” he said as he motioned Will in her direction.

Will turned with a ready smile only to give a double take, indicating his recognition of her. Seeing the rather goofy and bewildered look on his face, Anne was thankful to have had the prior knowledge so her face did not mirror his surprised reaction. But even with the silly expression on Will’s face, Anne had to admit he was extremely handsome. Forcing herself to suppress a giggle, she held out her hand in greeting to welcome him with a dazzling smile. Will quickly exchanged the initial look of shock to one of pleasure.

“No, but…ahh,” Will answered her father mischievously, taking hold of Anne’s hand. “We actually saw each other at Lincoln City, didn’t we?”

Anne smiled, “Dear Watson, I do believe you’re right.”

Will was, in any girl’s book, a hunk. He was of nice height, well-built, and had a chiseled face that belonged on the cover of
GQ
. In fact, Anne now recalled Elizabeth mentioning previously that Will had done some modeling in the past.

“Will,” Elizabeth interjected in a voice that showed her threatened state, “Please, have a seat next to me.” She patted the chair next to her and he obliged. Feeling more confident with Will now at her side, Elizabeth began to extol on his accomplishments. “Anne,” she said, “You do know that Will is a host for an MTV show?” Before Anne could reply, a spiteful gleam shone in Elizabeth’s eyes as she added, “Oh, I forgot,” she continued with malice, “You don’t care about stuff like that.” Elizabeth shot Anne a back-off look, causing Will to glance curiously between the two sisters.

Anne took a deep breath and tried to pretend her sister wasn’t turning this introduction into a drama scene. “Actually, I didn’t know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. In fact,” she said, turning to Will, “I find it quite fascinating. How did you ever land a job like that?” Anne asked.

Will looked pleased at her interest, “I was a contestant on another MTV reality show called
The Real World
a few years back. I guess I generated enough of a following that they offered me my current gig.”

Although Anne wasn’t a fan of MTV or the show
The Real World
, she had to give Will props for achieving what must be a very lucrative job.

Her father, growing hungry, spoke up, “Anne made us lunch. She’s quite the accomplished cook,” he added, obtuse to the climate in the room.

Oh, why did Dad have to brag about my cooking
? Anne thought,
Talk about putting pressure on my culinary skills
! She just prayed that all of her food selections would turn out to be edible.

“Really?” Will studied her with a new look of esteem.

Anne smiled shyly, “Well, let’s hope I can live up to my dad’s appreciation of my cooking.”

“I doubt you’d present anything I wouldn’t want,” Will said with a admiring glint in his eyes. For some reason, the look made Anne rather uncomfortable.

In an effort to escape his forward eyes, Anne invited everyone into the dining room to start them on appetizers while she finalized what hopefully would be a tasty lunch.

The table Anne set was elegant. She had spied some beautiful flowers in the backyard greenhouse and decided to use them as a centerpiece. Along with the “cold pasta dish” her sister had requested for lunch (which was actually a chilled Chicken Basil Linguini), Anne had prepared a fruit salad and homemade sourdough bread. It was a light meal, but purposely so—for dessert was “Death by Chocolate”.

To Anne’s confusion, and Elizabeth’s dismay, all through lunch, Will seemed more intent on conversing with Anne. To make matters worse, Elizabeth was becoming quite jealous and downright mean with every observation of Will’s marked admiration of her sister.

At first, Elizabeth assumed it was a tactic by Will to make her jealous—perhaps he thought it would make him more in demand. If so, Will was completely off base—all it did was provoke intense anger. What frustrated Elizabeth the most was knowing she was considered the beauty, so why did Will wish to spend so much time gawking at Anne, who in her eyes, was quite plain? And why would Will exert such effort to change the seating assignments so as to sit next to her sister? Elizabeth simply couldn’t comprehend it.

Hoping to find some sympathy from Susan, Elizabeth attempted to secure her friend’s attention, but Susan was too occupied doting on her father. Resigning herself to seclusion, Elizabeth sunk into her chair and began to give Anne the evil eye while playing idly with her food.

Anne, on the other hand, was finding herself attracted to Will’s personality despite her initial misgivings. Will was actually quite funny, and surprisingly knew endless bits of trivia which Anne found fascinating. With each passing
moment, she was becoming more intrigued by Will but knew she needed to remain cautious in her admiration. After all, a guy that good looking couldn’t be trusted, right?

As dinner was wrapping up, Susan elected to share the recent story of Missy Dee, recounting in vivid detail the incident of the infamous sandwich. Will found the story entertaining, and while helping to clear the table, he continued to speak to Anne of Missy Dee.

“It sounds like your visit with your cousin was quite memorable to say the least,” he said with a slight smirk.

Anne headed towards the kitchen with Will following her. “You can say that again!” she rolled her eyes playfully, “Most movie stars today think they are practically little gods. I’m sorry to say Missy’s not what I categorize as good company.”

With an inquisitive smile, Will prompted, “Okay, now I’m curious. What
do
you consider good company?”

By now, Anne and Will had deposited all the dishes in the sink. Anne turned around and rested her back against the base of the countertop, looking squarely at him. “My idea of good company is to spend time with people who are caring, compassionate, and intelligent. People who can exchange more than ten words in a conversation without everything pertaining to themselves.” Anne paused, perplexed by Will’s captivated look. He started to grin, and Anne gave him a questioning smile while finishing her statement with, “Well, anyway, that’s my definition of good company.”

“You’re wrong,” Will said, much to the surprise of Anne as he took a step towards her. “That’s not
good
company…it’s the best.”

Anne smiled as their eyes locked for just a moment. The connection was so quick and clear, but it seemed to last forever. It was then that Anne began to feel perhaps Will was more than just a pretty face or a charmer, but actually a person whom she could relate to. She couldn’t help but gaze back into his handsome eyes. They riveted her attention as
if being pulled by a tractor beam. Her father’s entry into the kitchen broke the enchanting atmosphere.

“Anne, we’re ready for the dessert,” her father said, not sensing any of the awkwardness caused by his entrance.

She slowly nodded, trying to avoid Will’s eyes while reaching for the cake platter to remove the glass lid. Grabbing a knife to slice the cake, Will was beside her before she knew it.

“Nonetheless,” he began, “It is important to be seen with influential people. It never does any harm being related to someone famous.”

This observation by Will disappointed Anne, and she said so. “I don’t care too much for acquaintances or distant family members you only keep because of their status or monetary value.” Slicing the cake with a little too much enthusiasm, Anne didn’t bother trying to hide that her feathers had been ruffled. Social status had always been a sensitive topic, especially after the ordeal with Rick. “Can you grab those plates in the cupboard above?” she asked, motioning to the dishes on the second shelf.

Will, realizing his faux pas, tried to smooth over the situation while retrieving the dishes. “Let’s just put it this way,” he said to Anne after she had served up the cake. “Maybe it’s a good thing your dad has people like Missy Dee to distract him from…should we say, less advantageous acquaintances?” By the time he finished this statement they had reached the dining room and Will inclined his head with a pointed look in Susan’s direction. Anne paused and looked at Will curiously, following his gaze to where Elizabeth’s friend was currently making a fuss over her father.

Will licked off some of the frosting which had found its way onto his hand, “Yum…I can see where this dessert gets its name. This is positively to
die
for.”

Disconcerted, Anne distributed the desserts while Will sat down to devour the chocolatety treat. Taking her place next to him, Anne decided to let the subject drop, yet still
wondered about Will’s interest in her father’s affairs.
I too, have always suspected Susan’s motives, but this should be of no concern to Will.
Anne wished she knew why her father’s romantic affairs seemed to be of importance to him.

Chapter 33

Anne flipped through her iPod as she waited for Carol at the lower level luggage claim area. The flight had earlier been delayed, and now Anne was scanning the crowd for her friend. So far, all she could see were uptight passengers and airport security guards, none of whom seemed too friendly.

“Anne!”

Anne heard her name and turned to see Carol rushing towards her with arms opened wide. Instantly, a lump formed in Anne’s throat. The sight of Carol always impacted her; it was like seeing her mother. Anne swiftly closed the distance between them and accepted Carol’s warm embrace.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Carol exclaimed.

“Me too!” Anne reciprocated, then pulled away to note the medium sized carry-on which now rested at their feet. “How many pieces of luggage did you bring this visit?” she asked with a mischievous look.

The last time the two of them traveled together for a girl’s weekend, Carol had packed six suitcases. It had been a running joke between them ever since.

“Only three,” Carol replied with mock righteousness.

Anne laughed. “I have a feeling we’re going to need a forklift then.”

“Really, Anne. I’m not that bad, am I?” Carol said, feigning innocence.

Spotting one of her suitcases beginning its way down the conveyor belt, Carol moved swiftly to retrieve it with Anne assisting. Exerting all of their strength to yank it off, Carol turned to Anne in triumph. “One down, two to go! Where are you parked?”

“I got lucky and found a space close to the elevator on level three,” Anne answered, taking command of the suitcase for Carol.

Carol smiled in relief. “Thank goodness—my puppies are exhausted!”

Forty minutes later the two of them were on the freeway heading towards Carol’s hotel.

“What a nice car! Is it yours?” Carol inquired as she took in the fine leather and smooth ride of the glitzy Mercedes.

“It’s Elizabeth’s,” Anne answered, signaling for a lane change. “She’s letting me use it until my ‘junker’ arrives.”

“Wow, that doesn’t sound characteristic of her,” Carol said, shifting in her seat to get a better look at Anne.

“It isn’t,” Anne chuckled. “Actually Elizabeth doesn’t want this car anymore. She ordered a new one which won’t arrive for another week. When it does, she’ll trade this one in.”

“Hmm…to coin Paul Harvey, ‘Now we know the rest of the story,’” Carol said, digesting the news. “Which reminds me…how about filling me in on Will Elliot? I remember meeting him once when your father and I visited Elizabeth at Dartmouth. However, after their breakup, I seem to recall your family was not on the best of terms with him. Does that mean everything is all patched up now?”

“Yes, surprisingly. Dad’s now accepting him with open arms.”

“Is he still as handsome?”

“Yes, very,” Anne chuckled again.

“So, what do you think?” Carol inquired with a twinkle in her eye.

“Will’s very nice and I like him, but I’m not sure I see us together.”

Carol stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and amazement. “Really?”

Anne was a little irritated by Carol’s response. Was it so odd that she wasn’t madly in love with Will when he was practically still a stranger?

“I need more information, dear,” Carol said, egging her on.

“I don’t know,” began Anne, trying hard to be careful with her words. “Maybe I just think it’s weird that after all these years he’s coming around again.”

“Perhaps he’s beginning to value the meaning of close friends and family. Regardless, if Will seems interested in you, why hesitate? You’ve got to admit he’s rich, and considered quite a catch.”