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THE PARTY
Sadie
When Simon decided we should have an engagement party to celebrate our good news, I suggested that we hold it at his retreat on an island in the Pacific Northwest. It was a place that Simon shared with very few people, so I was certain he’d refuse. Also, it was such an inconvenient location I assumed most people would decline.
Those were the first mistakes I made that almost caused our breakup.
Simon shocked me by agreeing that Seguro Island would be the perfect venue for our celebration. Worse still, almost everyone accepted. Our guest list had started small: friends, family, and a few business acquaintances. Soon the ratios changed, and business acquaintances outnumbered people I actually cared about by a factor of about ten to one.
When the day of the party finally rolled around, I was a bundle of raw nerves.
“Everything will be fine, you’ll see,” Simon said as we watched the crew from Enchanted Events, the party planners, unload the moving barge that carried the tents, tables, and other hired equipment from the mainland. He hugged me. “Why do you think I decided to have the party here?” he asked.
“So you could control everything?” By everything, I meant security because he wasn’t concerned about the menu or the entertainment. Security was his top priority.
“Correct,” Simon said. Security was the only aspect of the party planning that he had any interest in. I didn’t know all the details, but I was aware that a new intruder alert system had been installed on the ten-foot-high palisade fencing that surrounded the property. Surveillance cameras were hidden everywhere. A few of our guests were security guards in formal dress. All WIFI and other communication networks would be blacked out for the duration of the party. The head of Enchanted Events, George, his staff, and the security crews would stay in touch with handheld transceivers that accessed a private network set up for the night.
As the mayhem of set up unfolded, Simon went back to his office on the second floor of the stone mansion I’d named Château Simon while I took Mom for a tour of the island and an afternoon at the spa. After a facial and full body massage, we were relaxed and ready to party.
* * *
When Momand I returned in the late afternoon, we swooned at the transformation the team had worked on the property.
Newly installed arbors, festooned with garlands of fresh flowers, invited guests to explore the garden paths. To make the adventure comfortable for women in stilettos, like me, temporary boardwalks had been laid over top of the gravel paths.
Small clouds of bubbles drifted overhead from the discreetly placed bubble machines. The west lawn had a croquet court at one end and a badminton court at the other. In between those courts, simpler games like ring toss and corn hole were set up. Tucked away in quiet corners were cozy settings of luxurious sofas and chairs. At the end of the short driveway next to the house were two small marquees. In one, a professional bartender and his licensed servers were loading the trays with glasses that would be filled with champagne for arriving guests. The marquee beside it was manned by a chef and a team of servers who would circulate with hors d’oeuvres to hold guests until the sit-down dinner at seven o’clock.
A massive hospitality tent sprawled across the spacious south lawn. When Mom and I peeked in, she gasped.
“It’s beautiful, Sadie.” She sounded surprised.
“You expected anything less?” I tried to sound unimpressed, but Enchanted Events had created a space that was as elegant as any five-star hotel might have offered. The seating for three hundred included white linen tablecloths, centerpieces of red and white roses, and sparkling cutlery. The doors behind the head table led to the mobile industrial kitchen where the chefs and servers were preparing for the night.
Afterwards, Mom headed back to the guest cottage where she was staying, and I wandered into the house. All the furniture from the spacious main floor had been removed, creating an enormous dance floor. On a small stage the band had already set up their instruments.
Upstairs, I found Simon still working. While he finished his phone call, I took out the dress I’d had custom made for the night. It came fromMadame Sainte Clare, modiste. I don’t know if there really was a Madame Sainte Clare, but that was the name on the discreet storefront nestled between the jewelers and other luxury stores on the west side. Admittance was by appointment only and appointments were only made with existing clients or those recommended by existing clients.
Simon’s sister Tracy had introduced me to the salon. It was a new and totally intimidating experience, but the finished product thrilled me. The lavender lace and satin dress had a sweetheart neckline with a built-in bra that displayed just enough of my cleavage to be sexy without looking tawdry. The fitted bodice made my waist look smaller. The swing skirt fluttered with every movement of my hips and legs. I wore my hair down, in long, loose curls. My only jewelry was my engagement ring and a pair of diamond studs Simon had given me that morning.
While I was doing pirouettes in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom, Simon came out of the dressing room in his charcoal tuxedo with a bow tie and cummerbund made from the same fabric as my dress. He looked good in anything he wore but tonight he looked like a prince, my prince in the magical world that waited for us on the other side of our bedroom door.
He took my hand and as naturally as breathing, we began to dance. First some side steps facing each other. Then he guided me through a couple of gentle underarm turns. On the last turn, he curled his arm around my waist and drew me close.
He kissed my ear and whispered, “I love you more than words can say. I can’t wait for everyone to meet you.”
It was a rare declaration of his feelings, and a frisson of pleasure ran down my spine. The pleasure turned to dread as I forced myself to think who ‘everyone’ was. Other than my small group of friends, most of tonight’s guests were strangers to me.
He hugged me close for a second. “Just dancing with you gives me the start of a boner. Are you sure you’re not a witch?”
His hand slipped lower and squeezed my ass. “I’d like to lay you down right here, right now and suck your plump pearl until you begged me to stop.”
Suddenly all I could think of was his talented tongue tracing circles around my clit. Just when I should have been bracing myself for the long evening ahead, I was worrying about the dampness blooming in my lavender panties.
We went outside to start greeting the arriving guests. We were almost at the front gates when the fairy lights on the perimeter fence twinkled into life. More fairy lights, woven through the arbors and on every tree in the garden, woke at the same time.
The weather was perfect. It had been a beautiful summer day and the afternoon heat was melting into a warm, gentle evening. Fate seemed to be smiling on us. I couldn’t remember ever being happier as I walked at Simon’s side, matching my strides to his much longer ones.
Cars arrived outside the gates and people handed their keys to the valets who were parking them off in a nearby farmer’s field. Outside the front gate, a security team authenticated guests’ invitations while relieving them of cell phones and other electronic devices.
