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Saxon lifted a glass to his lips, and a serious expression crossed his face. After he took a drink, he replied, “He’s expected.”
And that was it. Nothing more.
“Is Trev expected to?” I asked him.
I hadn’t seen Trev in the twenty minutes we had been here.
“He’s here. Somewhere. He’ll eventually show up.” Saxon then cut his eyes in my direction. “Want to go see the view from the balcony?”
That sounded like an escape, and I was on board for one of those. I nodded my head, and Saxon waved his hand toward the entrance we had come in. I followed him as he made his way through the crowd, only stopping to take two more glasses of champagne while moving toward the glass doors that overlooked the city.
He held the door open for me, then handed me another full glass. I finished the one I was already holding, then placed it on a high table as we walked over to stand away from the doors and the two other couples talking out here.
“What exactly is this for?” I asked Saxon.
Melanie had told me we were going to a charity event, but nothing more. She had been very focused on my hair, makeup, and clothing. I’d even been given a brief etiquette lesson on speaking, eating, and carrying myself tonight. The stress of it all had me missing my home, even more than I already had.
“The gala?” he asked me, glancing back over his shoulder at the party going on inside.
“Yes,” I replied.
He smirked. “This one is to raise money for scholarships—locally, of course—given by the Horse Racing Commission to those who are underprivileged but show promise. Or something of that nature. You’ll realize that the events or galas are mostly a way for the powers that be to do business. Sure, they raise money, but it’s more than that.” He stopped talking then and took a drink. “I believe the next one is the annual masked ball, which raises money for the Red Cross. It’s one of the few I enjoy.”
I hadn’t realized they did this often. I started to ask him how many they did when an arm wrapped around my shoulders.
“Damn, you look smoking hot,” Trevor’s familiar voice said close to my ear.
“And there he is,” Saxon said in an amused tone.
“Were you looking for me?” Trev asked as his eyes met mine.
Like Saxon, Trevor looked older in a tuxedo. More sophisticated.
“I was curious if you, too, were made to attend these things,” I replied, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.
A corner of his mouth lifted. “Unfortunately, it’s a must. How are you enjoying your first elitist private party?” he asked me, then took a drink of a darker liquid in a glass. It smelled like whiskey.
I shrugged. “Surviving,” I replied.
Trev let out a bark of laughter that caused the other people on the balcony to look over at us. Trev lifted his hand in a wave.
“Where did you get the whiskey?” Saxon asked him.
“The bar,” he replied.
“They didn’t card you?” I asked.
“Please, I’m a Hughes,” he replied, then took another drink.
Saxon glanced back at the doors we had come out of. “How much longer before we can escape, do you think?”
“We’ll have to survive the dinner first. Once the auction starts, we should be able to sneak out,” Trev replied. “How did you get out of bringing Declan?” he asked Saxon.
Saxon shrugged. “I told her my mother expected me to escort Maddy.”
I winced. I hadn’t realized that. This would only make my interactions with Declan even more difficult.
“Ouch. You’re gonna pay for that one,” Trev told him.
