Second Chances at love

Opening night 1

The days went by and the clock chimed away and soon the restaurant was ready for opening, the restaurant had a breakfast, lunch and dinner service and lots of different cuisines, Grace and Megan had interviewed and hired all the staffs they needed including waiters and chefs. Grace also hired Megan as the supervisor of the restaurant while she managed the business.

Grace was elated and extremely proud of herself, she was finally doing something for herself and she had begun to fall in love with the city. Her children were doing well at school but she did worry about them, she felt like the restaurant was keeping her so busy, she hardly had time for her children. In England, she had been a stay at home mother because John had not wanted her to work, at first it was flattering and Grace considered it romantic that John wanted to provide for her entirely, but then she had been young and dumb because later she felt imprisoned in her own home.

Grace had not confided in anyone concerning her past, there were times when she wanted to tell Megan that she was a wealthy divorcée but she couldn't because she wasn't proud of the fact that her wealth was amassed by collecting half of her ex-husband's money and she also didn't trust Megan to keep her mouth shut, she loved Megan but she couldn't overlook the fact that Megan was a gossipmonger.

"Gracie, have you gotten your outfit ready," Megan asked drawing Grace from her thoughts, she didn't even wait for Grace to respond before she continued talking. "please, please, please tell me that you haven't so that I can dress you up, you have a very flattering figure, I wonder why you hide it beneath old fashioned clothes, say yes, come on, come on." She pleaded incessantly.

"s**t," Grace groaned inwardly, she had been pretty distracted by the preparations that she had forgotten to get an outfit for the opening night.

"But do I need an outfit though? I can just wear an office wear after all am the manager right." She tried to reason with Megan.

"Uh uh, no you do not," Megan complained and shook her head.

"Thank God for me, Grace, we have a lot of things to do before we get ready, first we're going shopping for an outfit then the spa, then the salon and Oh My God we're going to have so much funnnnnnnn."

Grace laughed and accepted but she hoped she would not regret it, Megan was more of a free spirit than she, and even if she was planning to live without inhibitions, there was only so much that she could take.

A few hours later, Grace fought down the urge to rip out her hair, they had started preparing for the opening night, but it was not in the order that Megan had mentioned, they had gone to the spa first and Grace felt so good then they'd gone for a massage and then to the hair salon, now they were at the mall in their robes and slippers trying on gowns that Grace considered childish and improper.

"Remind me again why I agreed to your plan?" Grace asked gritting her teeth, Megan had yet again rejected the proper dress Grace had chosen.

"Because you love me," Megan's voice sounded muffled because her head was stuck in between the clothing racks.

Her head bobbled and she drew out a silver coloured dress from the rack, it sparkled and she gushed out excitedly" Oh my Grace, this is definitely the one."

She handed the dress over to Grace who fingered the material, it felt like silk with a sheet of sequins draped over it, though the dress was a bit inappropriate for Grace, she couldn't deny the fact that it was an amazing dress and so she took it from Megan and entered into the dressing room to try it on.

When she tried it on, she felt that it fit perfectly and the large mirror confirmed her feeling, the dress moulded into Grace's body, it hugged her snugly but not too tight, it had slim hands and a low hemline that stopped just below the knees, it had a flat neck and backline so it didn't expose her cleavage but it did bare her neck and shoulders. She gave herself a once over and made her way out of the dressing room.

Megan gaped and cleaned her eye with an invincible kerchief dramatically, the dress looked wonderful on Grace.

"You're taking it." She said with an air of finality and Grace just laughed "Don't I know it."

They took the dress and made their way out of the store, after their shopping, they left the mall with beautiful outfits and shoes and Grace smiled at Megan who was endlessly chattering on, her initial frustrations forgotten. Back in England, she never had to go shopping for clothes, all her clothes were designed and delivered to her at home, no matter the occasion. She realised that there were a lot of things that she had not experienced before, she had never even shopped for groceries before but since coming to Boston she and her children had shopped for groceries every weekend and she found it a fulfilling chore.

Grace and Megan decided to leave for the opening night of the restaurant together and so Grace drove them to her house to prepare for the event.

"Kris, Jake am home where are you," Grace called out when they got home.

"What a mighty fine house you've got Grace, I absolutely love it." Megan complimented looking around the house.

"Hey mom, you're back." Kris and Jake greeted hugging their mother slightly.

Grace introduced the children to Megan and Megan immediately hit it off with them, she started recounting stories about her high school days.

Grace just smiled and crossed over to the kitchen to get a glass of water, she asked if Megan wanted anything but Megan just helped herself to a glass of juice. She called the planner and made sure that all was going according to schedule before she prepared herself for the task ahead, preparing for the party.

Megan kept insisting that she allow her children attend the event, but even though she didn't want them to, she had to agree because they did deserve to attend the opening night of the restaurant, after all, it was her business, but she would make sure they left early.

Kris And Jake were so excited to attend the event when Megan suggested it and she couldn't bring herself to say no to them. Kris selected a green dress that made her eye colour pop while Jake selected a navy blue jacket and matching pants, Grace offered her approval on their individual outfits and left them to go prepare herself.

A few hours later Grace blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, she was stunned at the spectacle mimicking her in the mirror, she was astonished, she could hardly believe that she could look as attractive as she did. Her mother never spent time with makeup or too flattering clothes as she considered them improper, she preferred to instead adorn herself with priceless pieces of jewellery and she had passed it down to Grace. Grace never bothered with makeup and she only wore appropriate clothing, she never even painted her nails with any colour other than the nude colours but now the woman starring at her in the mirror was wearing a flimsy attire with low hemline, her nails were coloured with red polish, her face covered in light but classy makeup, her strawberry blond hair sprayed over her shoulders and she had on red shoes with heels that were too high for comfort, she was absolutely breathtaking.

She looked at Megan who was equally dressed beautifully, she had on a blue dress with a slim hand that bared her back, she had on black heels that were so high they had Grace wondering how she would walk in them, she also wore makeup but she was not moderate with it as Grace had been, her caramel skin glistened in the soft light and her curly dark hair fell over her shoulders in thick heaps.

"Megan," Grace called out, "we have to leave soon, you already look amazing, we don't want our party to start before we get there."

"Alright fine, but I don't know why you insist on driving, we could've just hired a limo." Megan pouted.

"Come on now, don't be ridiculous, there's no need to be so fancy and Kris will be driving home later because I don't want them to stay out late."

"Really mom," Kris said joining the conversation, "I'm so happy that you've finally trusted me to drive, so does that mean I get to have my own car."

"Don't push it Kris and you drive carefully okay, one strike and you're out."

"Maybe you should let me drive instead," Jake suggested.

"No." All three women responded at the same time.

"Well, that was unanimous." He said and walked outside.

The three of them smiled and they went outside, Grace made sure to look the house before leaving.

The event was scheduled to start by 7 pm, the restaurant had already been decorated and the staffs were already prepared, Grace, her children and Megan arrived just before the event started.

"Wow mom, you certainly know how to throw a party," Kris commented taking in the sights before her.

"Yes, I must confess, this is rather splendid," Jake added.

Some of the guests had already started to arrive and they stopped to say hello to Grace and congratulate her on the opening of her restaurant, Kris immediately went to the DJ booth, someone was already there and so she just accompanied him, while Jake headed to the kitchen, he was eager to learn what the chefs were preparing because he was interested in becoming a chef one day. Megan joined Grace to welcome their guests and the party soon kicked off.

Grace was having an uneasy feeling, ever since her last encounter with Kade, she had not seen him and though she decided that her reply had been for the better, she still felt a dull ache in her chest, but she brushed it aside as she looked over to the DJ booth and saw Kris supporting the DJ, she was smiling happily, Grace knew that her daughter wanted to become a DJ and she had no objections to it, John would have never allowed it but she didn't have to worry about him anymore, she looked around for Jake and when she couldn't find him anywhere, she decided he must be in the kitchen as she knew her boy loved cooking and eating food.

She welcomed more guests and she was soon called to give a speech, she made her way to the front and clinked her glass thrice with a spoon to get all their attention. She raised the microphone to her mouth and started explaining everything about the restaurant and the purpose they hoped to serve, she spoke passionately as running the restaurant was something she was very passionate about, she concluded her speech and began to descend from the stage, just as her leg made contact with the last floor, she looked up, the restaurant door slid open and in came Kade and some other guy she didn't care to notice.

Blue eyes sparkled with fire met hers and she was immediately transported to a few days back at club Elite when he had said he wanted to see her again, a jolt of electric warmth rushed through her veins and she struggled to breathe as she always did when Kade was near.