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Now, with the numbers in my pocket, I realized that I could be the first person to try on anything in the world. And giddy with the excitement, I began to relax, to enjoy myself. To let my guard down.
As the night went on and the sun set, the party became more intense. Waiters wandered among the crowds, handing out champagne, Bellinis, and you name it. There were flurries of excitement. Bottles were opened, and I saw, at the very end of the terrace, on a large, flat section of the tiled floor, an enormous and elaborate DJ set had been set up.
Alex found me after a while. “You having a good time?” he said.
“Alex, this is … amazing,” I said. “How did you manage to do this?”
“Easy,” he said, smiling. “I surround myself with the right people. That’s how you get anything done. How are you doing so far? Did Katherine Vogel talk to you?”
“The lady from—“ I said, then whispered, “Jared Ford?”
“That’s right.”
“Yeah, she gave me this special card with his private number.”
“Tonight, your life’s gonna change,” Alex said, smiling. “And it’s all thanks to this,” he said, lifting up my hand, letting me look fondly at the diamond ring.
“I guess,” I said. “But how are we going to get out of it now?”
“Another time,” said Alex. “Come on. It’s almost time.”
In front of the band, there was a raised dais, circular and about thirty feet in diameter. Alex led me onto it, and then he motioned to the band.
The singer-songwriter I’d seen earlier had stepped up to the microphone. “What up, folks,” he said, and people roared and screamed.
“You know,” he said, as the pianist of the band launched into a soulful series of chords, “first let’s give a big hand to Alex, for organizing this whole thing.”
Applause and cheers rang out, but Alex just smiled. He lowered his head a little, ever so modest. Even when his choices and expenses were totallyimmodest.
“When I woke up today, I was planning on playing a little tennis, maybe going into the studio to do some work,” said the singer. “But here I find myself in Hawaii, with a drink in my hand and all you lovely people.”
More whoops and cheers. So, this is how the rich party, I said to myself. I could get used to it. Alex was leading me up to the dais now, and I stood in front of everybody. I straightened my shoulders, resisting the urge to slouch, to let my nerves get the better of me. I wanted to look my best for him.
“So, this is a little something to say thank you, Alex,” drawled the singer. “And hopefully, this isn’t the last time I get to party with you.”
He began to sing: “Fly me to the moon, and let me play amongst the stars …”
And Alex and I?
We began to dance.
Keeping me in a close embrace, he lifted one of my hands onto his shoulder and took the other one. And I slowly felt our bodies start to sway in time to the music.
Alex stepped with me, leading me. His strong, confident steps led me around him, as together we moved. At one point, he held his hands high and I indulged myself in a neat little twirl.
The music rose and fell, like the rhythms of our breath together, as elegantly and expertly he turned me and spun me, and for a moment it seemed like it was all true, that somehow I was going to get married to Alex, and we were really going to be together forever.
“Please be true …”
And somehow, that was good enough, better than good, it was perfect, it was all I really wanted. We danced together, and as we turned, my eyes fell on a dark shape, under the lights, and a pair of warm, blue eyes.
“In other words … I … love …”
But they weren’t Alex’s eyes.
It was Jared.
Chapter Twenty-Two
