Chapter 1:
"Mallory, please! You have to do this for me!"
Mallory Leanna Evens stared at her older sister as if she had grown two heads.
"Macey, I can't just go on your blind date for you and tell this mystery guy that you aren't interested. It doesn't work that way. If you want to, you go and tell him yourself." she sighed. It was so like Macey to make her do the dirty work. Sometimes Mallory wondered how it was that they were sisters. Besides the fact that they looked nothing alike, they acted like polar opposites.
Macey was the one who'd gotten the looks of the two. She was tall and had a slender build with mile long legs that made her the golden girl of the modeling industry. Her hair was cut into a chin length bob that framed her face like a golden halo. Her eyes, the one thing Mallory had in common with her, were large and a dark emerald green that flashed gold in the right light. She'd gotten most of her looks from their father.
Mallory had gotten her share of looks from their mother. She was short, barely reaching 5'1" and had wildly curly bright red hair she usually kept tied back in a long braid. She was startlingly pale when compared to her perfectly golden skinned older sister. Mallory had no problem being the sister who'd gotten the brains of the two. She'd graduated top of her class in college, added to the fact that she'd started at 16, it was quite an accomplishment. She now worked as a pediatrician and loved every minute of her job.
"Mallory, if you love me at all you'll do this for me. Josh want's to get back together and this is his last night home before his band goes on tour in Europe for the next few weeks. I need to spend some time with him. Please Mal!"
Mallory looked at her sister who looked on the verge of tears. She knew she couldn't resist her sister when she cried. It just wasn't possible.
"Oh fine. But I'm just going to tell him sorry you weren't available and then I'm leaving." Mallory sighed and then laughed as her sister gave a shout of triumph and threw herself at her.
"His name is Ryan O'Connell..."
"Wait what?" Mallory felt her jaw drop. "You are not serious are you!"
"I'm very serious."
"You're going to stand up the most respected quarterback in the NFL?"
"I'm not standing him up Mallory. You're going! Besides the man has a reputation for being a man whore. If anyone can handle him it's you little sister. Now the reservations are at that fancy new Italian restaurant at seven sharp. Please Mallory wear something girly. No jeans and T-shirts. You will be representing me." Macey pleaded and Mallory rolled her eyes.
"Of course Macey now leave. It's already five and I need a shower."
Macey gave Mallory one last hug and left her alone. When Mallory heard the front door of her apartment close, she sighed and jumped in the shower. An hour and a half later she stood in front of the mirror and gave herself an approving nod.
The pale gray dress was both modest and sophisticated. The slightly plunging neckline gave a hint of cleavage that was both accentuated and disguised by the bright red stones that hung from around her neck. The hem line was a bit shorter than she would have liked, but she pulled it off. A pair of red pumps made the outfit pop. It wasn't that she didn't like dressing up. She just preferred being able to throw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and be done with it.
She'd decided on a whim to keep her hair down. It flowed down her back in a riot of gypsy curls that seemed both sophisticated and untamable.
Her makeup was soft and understated with a bit of emphasis on her eyes. Macey would be proud, Mallory decided and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was a quarter till seven and a fifteen minute drive to the restaurant from her house. Mallory decided to wait about five minutes then leave. While she waited she walked into her living room and nearly trip on the monstrous mound of blue-gray fur laying in the middle of the floor.
"Lane!" she sighed and the huge Great Dane stared up at her. "You do know you have a bed for your snoozing don't you?" she said and bent down to pet the dog on his silky head. She'd had the dog for nearly two years, and he was her best friend. He even slept in the bed with her. Seeing as he was almost twice her size, he took up much more room than she did, however.
"Look, I'm going to have to leave you here for a little while, but don't worry. I will be back before you know it."
As if understanding, Lane shook his head and went back to his snoozing. Mallory smile and grabbed her clutch before leaving her apartment.
It was a little before seven when she pulled her black BMW into the parking lot of the restaurant and found a decent parking spot. She climbed out of her car and made her way inside.
There was a tall and unbelievably gorgeous brunette in a figure hugging black dress standing behind a glass podium. She gave Mallory a warm smile and Mallory smiled back.
"Do you have reservations?" she asked in a voice that could have seduced the Pope.
