Chapter 3

Stefan arrived early to the restaurant. He had taken care not to choose
something too elegant nor too casual. He sighed. He didn't know why
he had accepted the girl's invitation. 'Yes, you do,' a little voice told
him. 'Her sister.' Again the young woman's face appeared in his mind. He had spent all night thinking of her. Her long, flowing blonde hair... her svelte figure... her curved--

"Stefan!"

Stefan rose to greet Amy, quickly scanning around her. "Is your sister not coming?" he inquired, keeping his disappointment out of his voice.

"Oh, she should be here any second. Aren't you going to pull out my chair for me?" Amy teased.

"I'm terribly sorry. How rude of me." He started pulling out the chair, but Amy stopped him.

"I was kidding. We should wait for my sister anyway."

Stefan frowned slightly. He would never understand American humor, he decided.

"There she is! Laura, over here!" Amy waved her down, much to Stefan's chagrin.

Laura was equally embarrassed. She quickly walked up to them and grabbed Amy's hand to lower her arm. "You don't need to make such a racket, Amy, I could see you from where I was."

Ignoring her reprimand, Amy introduced her sister to Stefan. "Stefan, this is my sister, Laura."

Stefan and Laura shook hands, and both felt a shock pass through them. Laura quickly took her hand away, not wanting to prolong the moment.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Laura," Stefan said.

The way he said her name affected her more than she wanted it to. She gave him a slight smile. "Likewise. Shall we sit down?"

"Please." He moved to help her.

"Oh, I can get it, thanks." She moved to sit the farthest she could away from him, while he helped Amy into her chair.

"Your sister informed me you are here shopping for your wedding dress."

Her radiant smile took his breath away. "Yes, I'm getting married soon."

"I wish you all the happiness," he said.

"Thank you," Laura replied. "So what brings you to New York?"

Before Stefan could answer, Amy piped in, not liking being left out of the conversation. "Stefan is just traveling. I was right, he is loaded."

"Amy!" Laura turned bright red. She smiled apologetically at the look of confusion on Stefan's face. "She means you're, um, very rich."

"Oh," Stefan said, not knowing how to respond. "Well, that is true."

There was an awkward silence.

"So what's your favorite TV show, Stefan?" Amy asked.

"I don't watch television," Stefan said. "I prefer reading. Do you have a favorite work of literature?"

"Seventeen," Amy joked.

Laura rolled her eyes. Stefan just smiled politely.

"Don't you get it?" Amy asked, slightly irritated. "It's a magazine. I don't read much, is what I'm saying."

"Oh."

"Maybe we should order," Laura suggested.

"Excellent idea," Stefan smiled thankfully. Laura decided she liked his smile very much, especially since she had inspired it.

"Oh, this sucks," Amy declared, "I have a pounding headache."

"Shall I have the waiter bring you some medicine?" Stefan offered.

"I think it'd be better if we just go back to the hotel," Amy said to Laura.

"Amy, are sure it's that bad?" Laura said.

"Yes!" Amy complained. "Ow, I'll meet you in the car, bye Stefan. Have a nice life." She grabbed her head, stood up, and left.

Laura looked at Stefan. "I'm so sorry, she, um, she must really be in pain."

"I understand," Stefan said, "It was nice meeting you, if only briefly."

"You too," Laura said. She put out her slender hand and he took it in his large one.

They stood like that for a minute, neither knowing what to say. "I should probably go... my sister...," Laura finally said, finding it very hard to look away from his beautiful green eyes. She released Stefan's hand and started walking away.

"I've heard outdoor weddings are very beautiful," Stefan said suddenly.

Laura turned and smiled widely. "I'll remember that. Bye."

Stefan returned the smile. "Bye." He stood there until the last trace of her was gone from his sight.

*****

Back in the hotel room, Amy flopped on the bed and let out a loud sigh. "Boy, am I glad that's over! Man, that guy was such a stuffed shirt. He may be drop dead gorgeous, but he's got the personality of a rock."

"You didn't have to be so rude, he wasn't that bad," Laura said. 'He wasn't bad at all,' she thought.

"Oh, please. Did you see how he didn't laugh at my joke?"

"Amy, no one laughs at your feeble attempts at jokes," Laura countered.

"Ack! Now he's got you talking like him. Feeble? Say lame!! Don't let the stuffed shirt get you under his spell. Woooo. Woooo." Amy fell to the floor laughing hysterically.

Laura tried to laugh, but couldn't. She needed to call Luke, needed to hear his voice. Then all these unwanted feelings would go away. Everyone had pre-wedding jitters. That was all it was. She was in love with Luke.

Making herself comfortable on the bed, she picked up the hotel phone and dialed his number. She let it ring ten times before she finally hung up.

"I'm just glad he doesn't live here," Amy stated. "Boy, give me a nice American boy any day. Those Europeans can stay where they belong."

The thought of not seeing Stefan again bothered Laura, but she pushed the feeling aside. "So I take it you don't want to bear his children anymore?"

"God, no. Can you imagine? Although I wouldn't mind the process at all," Amy smirked.

Before she could stop herself, the thought of Stefan naked passed through Laura's mind. She swallowed and tried to replace the image with the thought of Luke naked. It didn't work. She covered her head with a pillow and wondered again why life was so damn complicated.