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One
There’s one thing the stories about Cinderella never mentioned—any prince who threw a ball and invited the entire city, just to find his bride, knew exactly how to appeal to the public.
The way Ramsey Miller worked the socialites in the Hotel America ballroom, with a warm smile here, a handshake there, and the occasional kiss on the cheek, wasPrince Charming, brought to life.
He’d bleached the copper out of his hair—I assumed because blond polled better than auburn, or something ridiculous like that. He looked incredible anyway, wearing an easy smile and a suit made to accentuate his strong arms and torso.
I turned my attention back to my other guests, which was the reason I couldn’t fault Ramsey too much for sweet-talking everyone tonight. This wasmyevent, and even I intended to schmooze a little.
I’d rather have the check-equivalent of everything donated to the fundraiser, from the food to the hotel itself. But people had paid a good price for the meal, and would drop even more during the silent auction.
A trending hashtag always drew in more money than simply asking people to write a check. An event like this would ensure the kids who needed a place to stay, the residents of the LGBTQ+ shelter I ran, would have food and clothes, plus a little more, for the next several months. Nights like tonight produced ninety percent of the money that kept us afloat.
My sister never had this choice, which I still regretted years later. At least this way other kids like her would.
It wasn’t my shelter—I hadn’t founded it or anything—but over my years of volunteering, people had come and gone, until I was responsible for more and more. I wasn’t technically even in charge, but we’d never been able to find a replacement after our last head left, so I did the job. Tonight, that included raising funds. Tomorrow, it might mean I was making lunch. Every day was a new experience.
“Violet.” Lyn joined me near the wall, where I was recharging before my next pass through the room. “Amazing turnout.”
“It really is. Better than I could have hoped for.” When I wasn’t working at the shelter, I managed Lyn’s anime gaming café.
She was a great boss and good person, and these days, she practically glowed with happiness. At least a little bit of that had to do with her boyfriends—yes, plural. She had two, and I couldn’t even imagine one making me that happy. I liked her guys, but they happened to be close friends with Ramsey, which was the only reason he was in my life again.
Lyn handed me a champagne glass with bubbly amber liquid in it. “Sparkling grape juice,” she said. “How are you holding up?”
I loveddoing.Working. Making a difference. Helping people. However, I preferred to do so behind the scenes or one-on-one. “Drained. But it’s worth it.”
“How appropriately direct.” Lyn laughed lightly.
I smiled. “And true. The reminder keeps me going.”
“I get that.” Lyn nodded across the room, at Ramsey. “Do you need me to run interference?”
Even though he was around more often, Lyn did a good job of making sure I could be somewhere else when he came into the café. I think she misunderstood my reasons for wanting to stay away—not that I’d gone out of my way to set the record straight.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like Ramsey, though I tended to get defensive when he was around. It was that I remembered how good things were when I was with him. I adored the person he was behind closed doors. I even had fond—scorching—memories of those occasional nights we’d shared the bed with his best friend.
But he wasn’t the same person in public. He was plastic. Fake. Working the world with a smile, a handshake, and the occasional kiss on the cheek.
“I’m good,” I said to Lyn. “He’s another guest tonight, and the last thing he wants is to draw attention to our past.” It was the last thing I wanted too, but I wasn’t going to wear a mask, in order to achieve it. I’d be polite, but I refused to be fake, even here.
Lyn gently squeezed my arm. “I’m going to find the guys. If you need anything, wave or holler or quack really loudly.”
I chuckled. “I will.” We both knew I wouldn’t. I had this under control. My gaze drifted back to Ramsey, who gave me a tentative smile when he saw me. I turned away, not able to ignore the way my pulse kicked up.
Yup. Totally had this under control.
As Lyn melted back into the crowd, I swallowed the last of the sparkling juice, wheezing at the burn of bubbles down the back of my throat. Time to go thank more donors.
In my off-the-shoulder satin dress, and shoes and clutch dyed the exact same sapphire blue, I looked like I belonged with these people, in this world of crystal and sequins and diamonds.
But my dress was off the clearance rack, and my best friend, Luna, and I had turned our hands blue dying the accessories.
I was so out of place.
The politeness and platitudes flowed, as I saidhelloto one person after another.
“You’ve done a fantastic job with this event. You’re so efficient.”
