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Juni held up a dress against Allegra and moved her head from side to side. “That should work on you.” She chuckled. “You could wear a potato sack and make it look good.”
Allegra smiled as she held up the turquoise dress which had an empire waist and butterflies stitched on, as though they’d just landed on her chest. The front of the garment went to above the knees, while the back cascaded to the ground.
“Is your family coming?” I asked.
Allegra nodded. “Even Ollie.”
“Great.” I hoped he and Harriet wouldn’t flirt openly.
Thoughts of Lachlan filtered through again, as they’d continued to do. I hadn’t spoken to him since that midnight visit, and that he probably assumed Ethan and I were dating made it hard to eat.
We put the finishing touches to the catwalk, and the models were good to go.
Two hours later, everything was in full swing. The gallery was packed with newcomers.
Hearing the cash register ringing and seeing red dots on Ethan’s paintings put a smile on my face. Clint’s unique chest of drawers proved incredibly popular too.
Guests laughed and chatted while sampling Sam’s brew.
Sam insisted I try his beer. He was such an amusing man, and he loved beer—not in that drunken, disorderly way but as a passionate connoisseur.
As I giggled at one of his silly jokes about how many Irish men it took to cross the road with a chicken, Lachlan appeared behind him, and I forgot to breathe. He was so beautiful with his swoony turquoise eyes.
Lachlan strode over to me in an easy-going manner, as though we were buddies, not former addicted lovers, and kissed my cheek.
“This looks fabulous,” he said, leaving behind his teasing scent, which flooded me with burning memories of him ravaging me.
“Thanks.” I acted as though we’d never even touched. “Are you here alone?” I wasn’t in the mood for Britney. The only positive thing to come from our breakup was not having to endure her dirty looks.
“Sure am.” He pointed. “Ah. I see Sam’s set up a table of his beer. Just what I feel like.”
And off he went, just like that.
It felt as though we’d never been together. I wanted to run into a room and stand in the dark crying. Instead, I had to paint on a smile.
When the parade started, Harriet came and joined me.
“The clothes are so outrageously colorful, and isn’t Allegra a natural model?” she asked.
I nodded, doing my utmost to keep my eyes on the models and not Lachlan. He was hanging with Aidan and Sam, clinking beer bottles, chatting, laughing, and charming every eligible woman and man in the room without even trying. A few of the young models kept giving him the eye. My nails came close to drawing blood from my palms.
“Have you spoken to Lachlan yet?” Harriet asked.
I let out a deep, audible breath. “Uh-huh. It’s fucking killing me, having him here.”
“He’s no longer married, you know.”
I turned so sharply that my neck cracked. “What? How do you know?”
“Ollie told me earlier. It’s just happened, apparently. He’s getting a divorce, and she’s left the house. Lachlan’s living there alone with Manuel and Sherry.”
I gazed at Lachlan, whose eyes landed on mine and remained there. The smile he wore from joking with his buddies melted away, and his expression turned intimate.
“Look, he’s eye-fucking you,” Harriet said. “You’re crazy. I would have stayed with him, married or not. She forced his hand.”
“Oh, Harriet, don’t go on about it.” That they’d separated meant everything. I just needed Lachlan to tell me himself.
Why hasn’t he? Why was he acting so fucking cool? I’d blocked him. And he thought I was with Ethan. Hell.
