Holding the Dream by Nora Roberts

her cheek. “And when you’ve lost, officially, you wear the Ungaro slip dress, the red, to the party tonight.”
    â€œThe thing that looks like a nightgown? You might as well be naked.”
    â€œReally?” Josh wiggled his eyebrows. “No offense, Kate, hope you lose. Come on, duchess, home, bed.”
    â€œI’m not wearing a red slip to any party,” Kate insisted.
    â€œThen don’t lose,” Margo said with a careless shrug as she walked with Josh to the door. “But when you do, have Laura pick out the accessories.”
 
    She wore a hammered-gold collar and triangular earrings that danced below her lobes. Her complaints that she lookedlike a slave girl captured by the Klingons fell on deaf ears. Even the shoes had been forced on her. Red satin skyscrapers that had her teetering at three and a half inches over her normal five seven.
    She sipped champagne and felt like a fool.
    It didn’t help matters that some of her clients were there. Margo and Josh’s acquaintances ran toward the rich, the famous, and the privileged. And she wondered how she was going to maintain her image as a clearheaded, precise, and dedicated accountant when she was dressed like a bimbo.
    But a bet was a bet.
    â€œStop fidgeting,” Laura ordered when she joined Kate on the terrace. “You look stunning.”
    â€œThis from a woman tastefully garbed in an elegant suit that covers her extremities. What I look,” she said after another gulp of champagne, “is desperate. I might as well be wearing a sign. ‘Single Woman, HIV negative, apply in person.’”
    Laura laughed. “As long as you’re hiding out here, I don’t think you have to worry about it.” With a sigh, she leaned back on the decorative banister. “God, it’s a beautiful night. Half-moon, starlight, the sound of the sea. A sky like that, it doesn’t seem like anything bad could ever happen under it. This is a good house. Can you feel that, Kate? Margo and Josh’s house. It’s good.”
    â€œExcellent investment, prime location, excellent view.” She smiled at Laura’s bland stare. “Okay, yeah, I can feel it. It’s a good house. It has heart and character. I like thinking of them here, together. Of them raising a family here.”
    Relaxed now, she leaned back with Laura. There was music drifting through the open doors and windows, the friendly sound of conversation, the tinkle of laughter. She could smell flowers, the sea, a mix of feminine perfumes, exotic tidbits being passed around on silver trays. And she could, simply by standing there, feel the permanence and the promise.
    Like Templeton House, she mused, where she had spent so much of her life. Maybe that was why she had never beendriven to make a home of her own, why an apartment convenient to work was all she’d wanted. Because, she thought with a faint smile, she could always go home to Templeton House. And now she could always come here as well.
    â€œOh, hello, Byron. I didn’t know you were here.”
    At Laura’s easy greeting Kate’s pretty mood popped. She opened her eyes, straightened up from the banister and squared her shoulders. Something about Byron De Witt always made her feel confrontational.
    â€œI just got here. I had some business that ran over. You look lovely, as always.” He squeezed Laura’s offered hand lightly before turning his gaze to Kate. The shadows were deep enough that she didn’t notice his deep-green eyes widen slightly. But she did catch the quick, amused grin. “Nice to see you. Can I get either of you a fresh drink?”
    â€œNo, I have to get back inside.” Laura stepped toward the terrace doors. “I promised Josh I’d charm Mr. and Mrs. Ito. We’re in hot competition for their banquet business in Tokyo.”
    She was gone too quickly for Kate to scowl at her.
    â€œWould you like another glass of