They were chatting and laughing when Evelyn looked back.
A stunning woman in a cream cashmere dress walked toward them from the other end of the corridor.
Her long hair fell naturally around her shoulders.
She was elegant and beautiful, like a figure stepping out of a dream.
Evelyn couldn't help but stare.
"Grace O'Sullivan, do you know her?" Rory asked, following Evelyn's gaze with a smile.
"Grace?" Evelyn hesitated.
Grace looked up at that moment.
She saw Evelyn.
For a split second, she seemed stunned.
But in the blink of an eye, a smile appeared on her face.
She walked over and greeted Evelyn naturally. "Hello!"
"Hello!" Evelyn replied with a smile.
She thought the woman looked familiar, like she had seen her somewhere before.
"Grace, have you two met before?" Rory asked with a smile.
"No!"
"Yes, we have!"
Two voices sounded at the same time.
"In the hotel corridor where your wedding was held, remember? I was working there for a short time!" Grace explained.
"Oh, I remember. No wonder you looked familiar!" Evelyn nodded with a smile.
That was the beautiful staff member who had greeted her while she waited in the corridor that day.
Grace sat down and joined their conversation.
Since they were all women, finding common topics was easy.
Beauty, weight loss, and other girly subjects came up quickly.
The women chattered away like a flock of sparrows.
Meanwhile, Owen Clarke froze when he saw Grace.
He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He looked again and asked, "Wait, I know Grace!"
"Do you know my girlfriend?" Gabriel Fraser asked in surprise.
Gabriel had known a few of the guys back when they were kids.
But his family had immigrated when he was a teenager.
He kept in touch with some of them over the years.
He wasn't very close to Alexander, though.
The Fraser family moved abroad the year after Alexander returned from Misty Isle.
So Gabriel was closest to Lucas and Owen.
In the past two years, he had some business contact with Alexander.
But he had no idea about their history with Grace.
"Your girlfriend?" Owen almost dropped his jaw.
"Yeah, it took me years to win her over. What do you think? She's gorgeous, right?" Gabriel said triumphantly.
"Do you know—"
"Owen!" Lucas interrupted him.
Owen had been drinking and didn't catch the warning.
"What's wrong?" Gabriel looked around at everyone.
"Nothing! When did you land such a beautiful girlfriend?" Lucas asked with a smile.
"Just two months ago. I came back for her!" Gabriel replied.
"You're lucky! I tried to chase her once, but I failed!" Owen patted Gabriel on the shoulder and clinked glasses with him.
Alexander, however, remained silent from start to finish.
He was as calm as if nothing had happened.
On the other side, Evelyn and the girls were also deep in conversation.
Eventually, the topic turned to the men.
"Evelyn, how did you meet Alexander?" Rory asked with a smile.
"Blind date!" Evelyn replied awkwardly.
To be more precise, they only met after getting married.
But she couldn't tell the truth.
She couldn't say her family was going bankrupt.
Or that Mrs. Sterling had taken a liking to her and exchanged ten million in financial aid for her hand in marriage.
"Really? Alexander goes on blind dates too?" Rory said in surprise.
Evelyn smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer.
"Don't get me wrong. It's just that Alexander has always been the coldest of the brothers. I never thought he'd agree to a blind date," Rory explained.
"It's fine. We really did meet through a blind date!" Evelyn shook her head.
"But it's nothing. I married Caleb through an arrangement too!" Rory shrugged.
"What matters is having a good relationship after marriage!" Evelyn said with a smile.
She meant it only for Rory and Caleb's marriage.
But sometimes, words sounded different to others.
"That's true. Look how nervous Alexander was about you just now. He was afraid I'd take you away!" Rory laughed.
"No, he just thinks I'm shy around strangers. He didn't want me to trouble you," Evelyn explained awkwardly.
"I'm not nervous about you! We've known each other for a long time. You don't have to be so polite with us!"
"Okay!" Evelyn nodded.
"Evelyn, what do you want to drink? I'll get it!"
"I'll come with you!" Evelyn felt bad just sitting there.
"It's fine. I'll get it. What would you like?"
"Then I'll have a glass of juice!"
"Give me a glass of Baileys!" Grace replied.
Rory got up to get the drinks.
Now only Evelyn and Grace were left on the sofa.
"I heard you're still in school, right?" Grace started a conversation.
"Yeah, senior year. I'm about to graduate," Evelyn nodded.
"We never expected Alexander to get married so soon. There was no sign of it before!" Grace said with a smile.
"Yes, we got married very quickly!" Evelyn added in her head: And we only got to know each other after we were already married!
"It seems Alexander really likes you. He couldn't even wait for you to graduate before marrying you," Grace looked at Evelyn and smiled.
"Maybe it's fate!" Evelyn answered awkwardly.
In reality, Alexander wasn't in a hurry.
What was urgent was her family's situation.
And Mrs. Sterling's worries.
Her family needed money.
And Mrs. Sterling was worried her son might be gay.
Well, it turned out Mrs. Sterling's worries were completely unnecessary.
And her family really needed that money to survive the crisis.
Rory came back with a tray of drinks.
She handed everyone what they wanted and took a glass of red wine for herself.
The girls who had gone to get food returned with their plates.
Everyone talked and laughed.
The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.
On the way home, Evelyn chatted excitedly with Alexander.
She talked about Grace and the topics they had discussed earlier.
She seemed tireless.
"You know what? Grace knows everything! No matter what topic comes up, she can talk about it. And everything she says is so professional and reasonable. She's been to so many places too!" Evelyn said enviously.
"If you read more books and travel more, you'll understand a lot too!" Alexander said with a smile.
"True!" Evelyn nodded with a smile.
She rested her chin on her hand and continued admiringly, "But Grace is only a few years older than me. Rory said she's traveled to all five continents. And she's still single. I really admire her. I wish I had that courage and ability!"
"Make a plan, and I'll go with you," Alexander replied.
Evelyn turned to look at him and smiled. "I'm just talking. I don't want to go now. Maybe later!"
Alexander was very busy.
That was the biggest impression he had given her all along.