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He laughed. “Oh, no. It’s not weird. Like I said before, my job responsibilities often include making other guys jealous.”
“That isnotwhat I’m trying to do. I told you, up until a few nights ago, I thought Paul was happy with someone else, and I wouldn’t have tried to ruin that. I guess I was just sick of being alone and thought this would be fun.”
His lips curved into an understanding smile, and he nodded. “Well, that’s good. Means you aren’t trying to manipulate him.”
“Exactly.”
“However,” he said, turning on his blinker to pull into the venue, “I’m reasonably sure it won’t hurt that I’m here.”
We pulled up to the curb, and Beau smoothly got out and handed his keys to the valet. Then he rounded the car just as another valet opened my door. He held out his hand with a wink. “Allow me.”
I smiled gratefully at the valet as he backed away, then placed my hand in Beau’s. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He tucked my hand into the crook of his elbow and we set off for the entrance of the massive estate.
Attendants opened the two tall doors for us, and we were immediately greeted by an older man in a cream-colored suit who let us know that the cocktail hour was taking place on the promenade that ran along the estate’s private pond. It was basically a lake, but hey, semantics.
We walked out the back door of the main house, and I gasped as I took in the beautiful strings of light and lanterns hanging from the trees in the backyard. Cassidy came from old money, so clearly this event would be one of Aria’s more elaborate affairs. I’d been to events here that would classify as a fancy backyard barbecue, and this clearly wasn’t that.
Beau and I made it to the area where the cocktail hour was being held, and I did a slow circle. There were cocktail tables placed throughout the space, a long bar along the edge of the grass with several bartenders in cream-colored suits like the first man’s. Servers walked around with trays of appetizers, and my stomach grumbled. Thankfully, it hadn’t been loud enough for Beau to hear.
“I’m starving,” I said with a laugh. “I haven’t eaten much today.”
“Saving up to gorge on the fine catering?” Beau asked with a teasing smile.
“Something like that.” I hadn’t gorged on anything in a long time, but it wasn’t really worth clarifying at the moment.
“Well, let’s flag down a server and get started.”
We stepped further into the crowd, and with that came the greetings from most of the guests. I knew nearly everyone since Bobby and Cassidy had been together since they were fourteen and their families had pretty much blended into one big one by now.
Layla was the first of my good friends to spot me. She got Lyndi’s attention, and they both excused themselves from their dates to come over. Layla’s smile was so bright I thought maybe she’d whitened her teeth since the last time I saw her. “Hey, Shel.”
“Hey,” I replied, returning her one-armed hug before hugging Lyndi, too.
“I love your dress,” Lyndi told me. “You look amazing in green.”
I brushed my hands down the front of my dark-green dress, loving how soft and smooth the fabric felt on my skin. It was the perfect color for all of the greenery and Spanish moss around us if I did say so myself. I didn’t blend in like another one of the plants, but coordinated nicely.
“Layla, Lyndi, this is Beau,” I said, gesturing to my date.
He shook their hands, offering them the same charming yet distant smile that seemed to be his trademark. I couldn’t help but wonder what all of this was like for him. He’d told me why women usually hired him, but how did he feel about that? Not to mention the fact that he was accompanying them to a wedding. There were so many expectations with a date like this. Was it hard for him to keep the lines from getting blurry with his clients? Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to worry about that with me. If I wasn’t willing to let myself love Paul for fear of taking away the future he deserved, I wouldn’t do that to this poor guy, either.
Wait. No. We weren’t thinking like that anymore. Layla had appropriately admonished me for taking Paul’s choice away in this situation, and with everything I’d been through with my diagnosis, I understood her point. Just as I’d told Beau, I planned to move forward with letting Paul know how I felt about him, and then we could discuss the rest like mature adults.
“I’m going to get us a couple of drinks while you ladies catch up,” Beau said, leaning close to my ear as he spoke.
The way his breath tickled my cheek would have been ridiculously swoony, but when I looked up, my eyes locked on Paul’s. He was pretty far away, but I definitely didn’t miss the unbridled anger in his gaze as he watched us.
My stomach did a hard somersault as a blush crept up my neck, and I looked up at Beau. “Sounds great, thank you.”
“Can I get anything for you, ladies?” he asked Layla and Lyndi.
They both shook their heads, gazing up at him with stars in their matching eyes. Layla gestured to their drinks. “We’re good, thank you.”
He nodded and turned back to me. “Just sparkling water with lime for me, please.”
“Not drinking tonight?” he asked. It wasn’t in a judgmental way, but he was curious.
