Klein glances up at me. I make a go-ahead gesture with my hand. “You can go if you want. She’s inviting you.”
Klein relaxes and smiles. “Sure. I’d love that.”
“Excellent. I’ll be there too. You should come as well,” Barron says to me. “I’ll bring Stella, if I can convince her to get on the jet.” He turns to Klein. “She didn’t want to make the trip tonight. Too enamored with her new grandbaby to leave.”
“Perfect. It’ll be awesome,” Elizabeth says, her eyes bright. “I’ll add you to the invite list.”
“Where’s Tolyan?” Barron says, looking around. “Isn’t thathisjob?”
It’s true, her “assistant” is missing. The rumor is that her husband, Dominic King, insists Tolyan be present, especially when Dominic can’t accompany her himself. That Russian is most definitely a bodyguard, even if Barron doesn’t seem to realize that.
“He’s helping with the security because the team the organizers hired flaked out and sent only half the number of people contracted for.” Elizabeth scowls. “I swear, if anything happens, I’m going to hire Prescott to sue.” She takes security as seriously as anyone I’ve ever met—myself included. But her concern is understandable. Some psycho breaking into your home and trying to kill you and your husband tends to make you paranoid. “Anyway, I’ll remember to add you, don’t worry.” She smiles at Klein.
It’s nice to see the way Elizabeth and Barron warmly take Klein into their fold. Not that I really had any doubts.
A new wave of guests comes over to say hello to Elizabeth, and an art collector starts talking to Barron about some new artists he met. Since Klein wanted the beef tartare canapés earlier, I grab a couple of tiny plates from a passing waiter and hand one to her.
“Oh wow, look what the cat dragged in.”
Klein’s body tightens, her hand flinching and almost dropping the canapé. I can feel my face twist at the smug, annoying voice. I turn around to see Katt standing with a hand on her cocked hip and a superior sneer, like she owns the entire opera house.
Chapter Forty-Five
Ailee
Every muscle in my body stiffens.Katt?
My sister looks as glamorous as ever, outfitted in a red dress with a plunging neckline that reaches her navel. Her hair lies sleekly around her expertly made-up face, and a fortune in diamonds glitters from her ears and neck. She glares at me, her mouth twisted into an ugly line.
Coco appears as well, coming to stop next to her like a backup. She’s in a mermaid dress that’s an unfortunate shade of yellow and makes her look like a jaundiced tuna. She’s also wearing the exact same sneer as Katt.
I press my lips to avoid laughing, because that’d only upset Katt. But it’s almost comical, like those two rehearsed the sneer together so that they would look identical. They look more like sisters than Katt and I do.
Her eyes rake me up and down, and the tips of her mouth curve downward. Irritation and jealousy flash in her eyes. What does she find annoyingnow? It can’t possibly be that I’m too embarrassing for her. I know I look awesome tonight. Maybe she’s envious that I’m here with Josh. After all, she had the audacity to claim that she was engaged to him.
Her expression turns soft, her eyes shimmery with sugary affection as she looks at Josh before it becomes sullen as she glowers at me again. Not sure why she’s upset. It isn’t like I stole Josh from her—they were never in a relationship in the firstplace. She gazes at my hair critically for a bit, then her frown deepens. Finally, she eyes the plate of canapé in my hand, then at my belly, then smirks. She doesn’t have to say it:You sure you can afford to eat that? Withyourbelly?
Embarrassment and shame surge. It’s a reflex. I start to lower the plate, looking around for a place to deposit the food, then catch myself.Why am I reacting this way?Why allow her to destroy my good mood? I look down at the plate. I’ve beenwantingto eat this since I got here, and Josh got it for me. It still looks delicious, and I deserve to enjoy good things.
Josh steps forward, his jaw tight, but I put a hand on his rigid forearm. As much as I appreciate his protectiveness, I need to do this on my own. I want to show Katt that she can’t put me down like she used to anymore.
Holding her eyes, I lift the plate, pick up the canapé and bite into it. An intense beef flavor mixed with savory mustard and shallots explodes in my mouth. The crunchy crust adds to the texture.Yum. Can’t believe I almost gave it up to please Katt. I start chewing deliberately.
“Have some dignity,” Katt says between clenched teeth, unable to bear it anymore. “You eat like a pig.”
“A veryhappypig,” I say with a smile, then inhale. “You should try this. It’sreallytasty. Might improve your disposition. And you should quit frowning so much. You aren’t as young as you used to be, and you don’t want to develop any more wrinkles.”
Katt turns crimson. My heart pounds with rebellious exhilaration. I’ve never spoken back to her like this, but it feels amazingly good to assert myself, rather than letting her walk all over me like before.
“Howdareyou talk to me like that?” she spits.
“Easy.” I take another bite and make sure to chew ostentatiously. “I’m your sister, not your doormat.”
Coco takes a half step forward, as though she’s just tag-teamed off Katt. “You might be a happy pig, but I guess you aren’t hot enough for Josh to fuck yet.” She glances at the way Josh stands close to me and sneers. “So why are you still hanging on?”
I blink. She said some nasty things in her email, but I never expected her to say anything like that to my face. But at least she’s consistent.
“Who the hell are you to talk to my fiancée that way?” Josh demands. “And how would you even know?”
