Derek and Hayden had been dating for the past three years. Although they met for the first time at Manning and Taylor’s wedding several years ago, sparks didn’t fly between them until Derek appeared as a guest on Hayden’s cable news show in Washington, D.C. Following the interview, they’d gone out to dinner and really hit it off. After Derek returned to Atlanta they’d kept in touch, getting together every chance they could. They’d been going strong ever since.
“Where’d the fellas go?” Derek asked humorously. “I’m surprised they’re not glued to your sides to make sure nobody hits on y’all.”
Everyone laughed.
“They went to say hello to some legendary history professor who rarely makes public appearances,” Reese explained.
Derek’s eyes widened. “Professor Phifer is here?”
“He sure is.” Lexi grinned. “I remember how much you guys used to rave about him.”
“Hell, yeah. Professor Phifer was theman.”
“An opinion obviously shared by many, judging by the large crowd surrounding him.”
Derek followed the direction of Reese’s gaze and grinned. “I gotta go talk to him. Excuse me, ladies.” He took off, threading his way purposefully through the crowd.
Reese smiled after him. “He looks happy.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Lexi smiled softly. “I’m glad things are working out with Hayden.”
“So am I,” Taylor said with a rueful grin. “For a while there I was worried that she’d never get over her feelings for my brother. She took it pretty hard when Tru married Simona.”
The others nodded, remembering.
Samara smiled. “Just goes to show. When one door closes, another door opens.”
There were nods and murmurs of agreement.
Taylor glanced across the room. “Oh, here comes Hayden now.”
The others turned to see a tall, leggy redhead walking swiftly toward them. Hayden Vaughn was an attractive woman with baby blue eyes and flaming red hair that spilled past her shoulders in stylish layers. Tonight she looked sleek and sophisticated in a green Chanel dress with a scooped neckline that showed just a hint of cleavage.
“Hey, Hayden,” everyone greeted her warmly as she approached.
“Hey, girls!” There was an excited gleam in her eyes. “Oh my God. Guess what?”
Everyone leaned forward. “What?”
Hayden thrust out her hand to show off a sparkling diamond engagement ring. “Derek proposed!”
The group erupted into squeals, then took turns hugging and congratulating Hayden.
“Details,” Taylor demanded eagerly. “We want details, woman.”
Hayden laughed radiantly. “It was so amazing! He really put a lot of thought and planning into the proposal, and he totally surprised me.”
Everyone was intrigued. “What’d he do?”
Hayden grinned as she launched into her story. “Okay, so since we’re always flying back and forth between D.C. and Atlanta to see each other, Derek thought it would be fitting if he proposed to me on a plane.”
“Aplane?”
“Yes! It was so awesome!” Hayden gushed. “See, I usually fly commercial when I visit Derek, but this time my father insisted that I take his private jet. He’s done that before, so I never suspected that he and Derek were up to something. So I got to the airport, boarded the plane and settled in for a quick, uneventful flight to Atlanta. Little did I know that Derek was hiding in the back. Shortly after the plane took off, a flight attendant brought out a bottle of champagne and two wineglasses. Another attendant presented me with a dozen red roses.” Hayden laughed. “At that point I was like, ‘OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!’ Then Derek came out holding a small black box. By the time he got down on one knee, I was bawling my eyes out!”
“Aww,” everyone cooed appreciatively. “How romantic!”
“Itwasromantic,” Hayden said with a blissful sigh. “I’ll never forget it.”
