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“We’re meeting your father there in two hours,” Mom says, giving my arm a squeeze.
I take a quick shower, blow dry my hair, put on makeup, and pull out my shimmery-blue velvet cocktail dress with a one-shoulder neckline, one long sleeve, and a cutout waist. The form-hugging mermaid silhouette is flattering, and the color makes my eyes pop.
But as I look in the mirror, I don’t like the image before me. I’m frustrated because I know how my hesitation to be seen with Efrem is weighing on him. It was agonizing not to look at him every other second at Isla’s birthday dinner.
I’m so intensely aware of him, so naturally drawn to him, that trying to pretend nothing’s happening between us is nearly impossible. But after the way things ended at Proclivity, I’m not quite sure where we stand, and I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable between him and the Veles family if my relationship with him is over before it really began.
I need to make things right, to call him and speak to him. Because the ball’s in my court now, and I need to make a decision. But not tonight.
Tonight, I’m going to be a good daughter.
I’m going to put my family first.
I’m going to put on my best smile and do what I can to show that Attorney General Richelieu’s daughter isn’t some major fuck-up that reflects poorly on his tough-on-crime policy.
“Let’s go!” Mom calls from downstairs.
“Coming!” I shout back and snag the first pair of heels I find.
My heart skips a beat as I realize they’re the same ones I wore to Proclivity. And warmth pools in my belly at the memory of Efrem’s sexy voice,You will wear them here from now on.I groan internally as I slip them quickly on.
Would that I could, Efrem.
I want nothing more than to be there with him right now.
The charity dinner, set on the eighty-fifth floor of a Manhattan skyscraper, is jam-packed with high-society people. New York’s elite. The trust fund babies and the business tycoons. All there for the silent auction that will give millions to tonight’s charity foundation to fight poverty in New York City.
And, of course, the press is there to capture every moment, to document just how generous each of the glamorous philanthropists can be.
It seems odd to me that people would get dolled up in their nicest clothes for an extravagant evening in a fancy ballroom where we’ll eat what I’m sure will be a luxurious dinner—all in the name of helping the poor.
“Dani Richelieu, is that you?”
Whirling from the night view of the city below me, I find Adam Page grinning from ear to ear. His brilliant smile puts me at ease in an instant, and my shoulders relax as I find myself in the company of an old friend.
“How are you?” I ask, hugging him warmly.
He lifts me off my feet as he hugs me back, reminding me that he’s grown considerably since the first time we met at one of these lavish events.
“I’m good. I’m good,” he says, setting me down lightly. “I’ve missed my commiseration buddy.”
“Commiseration? From what I’ve heard, you’ve decided to follow in your father’s footsteps and step into the political arena. As far as I’m concerned, you’re one ofthemnow,” I tease, making “them” sound like a dirty word.
Adam chuckles. “Oh, please.”
“Am I wrong?” I press. “Were you forced to attend this event against your will like I was?”
Before he can answer, the music pauses for an announcement that the silent auction will be closing in five minutes and that everyone should start making their way from the cocktail area into the dining room.
Pressing one hand to the waist of his tailored black suit, Adam gestures for me to lead the way to the food. I do, glancing toward him as we walk.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I observe after several seconds of silence.
Adam sighs. “Fine, okay? I confess. I’ve let their honeyed words poison my mind and turn me into a weak-willed lemming. I now believe inthe cause.”
I shudder playfully. “Okay, that sounds creepily like a cult to me.”
Adam laughs and shrugs. “I suppose politicians and cultists have a few things in common.”
