veneers.
Jimmy moves closer to his wife and wraps his big arm around her tiny waist. “I told you, baby. All the movers and shakers are here tonight. Aren’t you glad we came?”
“Nice to see you again, Glory,” William says, leaning down to give her a kiss on each cheek. He’s nearly bent in half to reach her.
“Who’s this, William?” Glory is looking at me with unabashed curiosity. “Is she your date?”
“Indeed.” William angles himself to put me on better display. “Glory Thompson, allow me to present my companion for the evening … Jennifer.” He shifts his gaze to me. “Jennifer, Glory and Jimmy are some very dear clients of mine.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking Glory’s hand.
Glory winks at my date. “I like her, William.”
He responds with a straight face. “I will inform her of the import of that statement the very moment you are out of earshot.”
Glory laughs and slaps him on the arm. “Boy, you always crack me up.” She looks at me. “These British guys … always being silly while acting like they’re being completely serious. You have any of the champagne yet?”
I shake my head no.
“Come on, then. Let’s go get us some.” She hooks her arm through mine before I have a chance to disagree. I watch William getting smaller and smaller over my shoulder as she leads me away. He’s smiling with strictly-contained amusement.
“So, how did you meet our William?” Glory asks, guiding me towards a bar manned with servers in white jackets and black ties.
“We met … online, actually.” I’m turning pink over the idea that my ad might be revealed to these people. I should just get a red magic marker and draw a giant letter A over my chest and get the judging over with.
“Reeeally?” Glory raises an eyebrow as she takes me in. “That is just fascinating. Who would have thought …” She stops and shakes her head. “No, I suppose it’s what everyone’s doing now.” She snorts. “Jimmy and I met in junior high school. No online dating for me.”
“Consider yourself lucky,” I say, reaching out for a glass of champagne on a tray. “Dating sucks.” As does living with a man for eight years and then getting dumped. Been there, done that. I lift the champagne to my nose and take a whiff. It’s yeasty and winey, not entirely unpleasant or unfamiliar since I’ve had some before at weddings.
“Can’t be too bad. You’re here, right? And you’re with William Stratford, the city’s most eligible bachelor.” She winks just before touching her glass to mine and then taking a long sip.
My heart lurches. Is he really that in demand? I glance over at him and know without hesitation that yes, he probably is. He definitely has the look just about every woman goes for, plus he’s wealthy. And of course, he has that accent…
“He’s a fun date, right?” Glory’s nudging me and very possibly fishing for information.
I nod, unwilling to give her more than that. She’s right about William, though. Charity balls and princess dresses are waaaay better than sitting at home mourning the years I wasted on the wrong guy.
I take a sip of my drink, and the champagne bubbles tickle my nose. Attempting to stop the sensation from taking over, I wiggle my face around, but it’s useless. I put my finger under my nose and squeeze my eyes shut a second before I lose control. “Ahhh … choo!”
“Aww, you have the cutest sneeze!” Glory links her arm through mine once again and smiles like a loon as she looks out over the crowd that’s getting thicker by the second. “Come on. Let’s go find our dates before they disappear.”
“Disappear?” I blink my lids a few times, trying to clear the tears that appeared with my sneeze before they fall down my cheeks and make me look like I’m crying.
She rolls her eyes. “You know how they are. They get to talking about this business deal and that business deal, and an hour later I’m dancing by myself while
Jimmy moves closer to his wife and wraps his big arm around her tiny waist. “I told you, baby. All the movers and shakers are here tonight. Aren’t you glad we came?”
“Nice to see you again, Glory,” William says, leaning down to give her a kiss on each cheek. He’s nearly bent in half to reach her.
“Who’s this, William?” Glory is looking at me with unabashed curiosity. “Is she your date?”
“Indeed.” William angles himself to put me on better display. “Glory Thompson, allow me to present my companion for the evening … Jennifer.” He shifts his gaze to me. “Jennifer, Glory and Jimmy are some very dear clients of mine.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking Glory’s hand.
Glory winks at my date. “I like her, William.”
He responds with a straight face. “I will inform her of the import of that statement the very moment you are out of earshot.”
Glory laughs and slaps him on the arm. “Boy, you always crack me up.” She looks at me. “These British guys … always being silly while acting like they’re being completely serious. You have any of the champagne yet?”
I shake my head no.
“Come on, then. Let’s go get us some.” She hooks her arm through mine before I have a chance to disagree. I watch William getting smaller and smaller over my shoulder as she leads me away. He’s smiling with strictly-contained amusement.
“So, how did you meet our William?” Glory asks, guiding me towards a bar manned with servers in white jackets and black ties.
“We met … online, actually.” I’m turning pink over the idea that my ad might be revealed to these people. I should just get a red magic marker and draw a giant letter A over my chest and get the judging over with.
“Reeeally?” Glory raises an eyebrow as she takes me in. “That is just fascinating. Who would have thought …” She stops and shakes her head. “No, I suppose it’s what everyone’s doing now.” She snorts. “Jimmy and I met in junior high school. No online dating for me.”
“Consider yourself lucky,” I say, reaching out for a glass of champagne on a tray. “Dating sucks.” As does living with a man for eight years and then getting dumped. Been there, done that. I lift the champagne to my nose and take a whiff. It’s yeasty and winey, not entirely unpleasant or unfamiliar since I’ve had some before at weddings.
“Can’t be too bad. You’re here, right? And you’re with William Stratford, the city’s most eligible bachelor.” She winks just before touching her glass to mine and then taking a long sip.
My heart lurches. Is he really that in demand? I glance over at him and know without hesitation that yes, he probably is. He definitely has the look just about every woman goes for, plus he’s wealthy. And of course, he has that accent…
“He’s a fun date, right?” Glory’s nudging me and very possibly fishing for information.
I nod, unwilling to give her more than that. She’s right about William, though. Charity balls and princess dresses are waaaay better than sitting at home mourning the years I wasted on the wrong guy.
I take a sip of my drink, and the champagne bubbles tickle my nose. Attempting to stop the sensation from taking over, I wiggle my face around, but it’s useless. I put my finger under my nose and squeeze my eyes shut a second before I lose control. “Ahhh … choo!”
“Aww, you have the cutest sneeze!” Glory links her arm through mine once again and smiles like a loon as she looks out over the crowd that’s getting thicker by the second. “Come on. Let’s go find our dates before they disappear.”
“Disappear?” I blink my lids a few times, trying to clear the tears that appeared with my sneeze before they fall down my cheeks and make me look like I’m crying.
She rolls her eyes. “You know how they are. They get to talking about this business deal and that business deal, and an hour later I’m dancing by myself while
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