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She finally looked up at me, and I saw she was barely holding it together, her breathing ragged. I pulled her in close for a hug, as well as to warm her up.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
At first, she didn’t reply, burying her head in my chest for a while. Her breathing continued to be erratic, and I was fairly sure that I felt the damp of more tears. I gently rubbed a hand along her back, trying to soothe and calm her. This wasn’t my first experience comforting a woman, but it was the first time I worried that she would pass out or wouldn’t be able to breathe.
Slowly, Kit calmed in my arms, however. It was clear she was exhausted afterward, and I continued to hold her for some time.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she tried to pull back a little and support herself again.
“There is absolutely nothing to be sorry for. It’s Sarai and myself who should be apologizing to you. You have trusted both of us to take care of you while you are here, and tonight, we both failed you. Bernice is mean and catty, and we should never have exposed you to her.”
Kit shook her head as if she didn’t agree. “She was right, though. I’m not dressed as well as everyone else here tonight. I should have known that I would be ridiculed.”
I frowned, looking down at her dress. While she had a point that it wasn’t the right sort of attire for somewhere this famous, the dress looked good on her and hugged her figure in all the right places.
“I think you look wonderful, but yes, perhaps it would be wise to wear something a little more...” I trailed off, not sure how to phrase it without being offensive.
“Expensive,” she finished for me. “I should have gone shopping before I got on the plane, but I didn’t get a chance. I...”
Suddenly, the predicament that she must have been in dawned on me. “It’s okay,” I said, thinking fast. “You don’t need to worry. I understand. Just like Jack, when he met Juno, had to understand that she didn’t have the same level of wealth. I understand that you don’t either.”
I wasn’t sure that the words were coming out right, but I had to try to make her feel better. None of this was her fault.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Kit
Although I knew Lukas was just trying to make me feel better, part of me wished that he wouldn’t. I knew that I just didn’t look good enough for the situation I was in. He was being the perfect gentleman.
I was mortified that I had cried on him and not been able to calm myself down properly for ages. And to make matters worse, I was so cold that I needed to wear his jacket. I’d known that I wouldn’t be warm enough or look good enough, yet I had come out anyway.
It was time to figure out what to do now. I had already asked Lukas once if he knew where I could get a cab, but he wasn’t letting me know, and I wasn’t sure if I should ask again.
“Do you want to go back inside?” Lukas asked as I tried to sort through the jumble of thoughts in my head.
I shook my head. That was one thing I definitely didn’t want to do.
He frowned and looked between the doorman and the road. Although the restaurant doorman wasn’t close, it was clear that he had seen and heard enough, and I felt mortified all over again.
“Why don’t we go somewhere else?” Lukas took my hand in his, stroking his fingers down the back of it and not letting me go. “I don’t think I want to be here anymore either. I’d like to be somewhere just the two of us and to do something more…romantic, more than spend our evening with our work colleagues.”
I nodded, relieved and eager to spend more time with just Lukas. He was far kinder, and maybe I wouldn’t be so underdressed if the people around us were holding their customers to a lower standard.
Everything about Lukas was always wonderful, and I had enjoyed meeting his friend. But even Sarai had made everything harder on me by trying to introduce me to so many other people while I was here. Not all of them had been friendly, and many had looked down on me and my clothes.
Of course, she had met me in a situation and place where people had all been wearing wedding attire and whatever suited the sunny climate. Here, it was far more about fashion and far harder for me to fit in without having money.
Lukas very quickly summoned his own car. Someone must have taken it and parked it nearby because it wasn’t long before someone drove it up and then handed him the keys. He quickly swept around the car to open the door for me and helped me inside as if I was wearing the most delicate of clothes and needed assistance.
It was a relief to be out of sight, and I found myself calming even further. Once again, Lukas made me feel safe enough that I relaxed and let him drive me away. I didn’t know where he was taking me, and for now, I didn’t care.
I was away from the restaurant and all the people who were judging me without knowing me.
After a while, I started to look out of the window more and take in where we were going. It appeared as if Lukas didn’tknow where to go either, and he was just driving for the sake of driving.
“We didn’t get dessert,” I said, realizing that we had walked out as they were serving it. Another reason to have been embarrassed by the whole situation. Everyone had noticed us going in the wrong direction.
“Want to find a place to get some?” he asked, slowing the car slightly.
