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“I know, right?” Cherry says with a laugh and does a little twirl.
Another hand-me-down dress. Knowing what I do about Cherry’s childhood, I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure that this is the last used piece of clothing she wears.
“We’re at the same table,” Montana continues, leading us to a round table right in the middle of the room. “With Luna and Wolfe and Sarah and Tanner.”
“And Indigo Lovejoy,” Cherry adds, giving Montana a look. “He’s sitting next to you.”
“Yep.” Montana doesn’t look happy about that.
“You okay?” Cherry asks.
“It’s fine.”
“Indigo is a great guy,” I say, speaking for the first time. Both pairs of female eyes turn to me, and I shrug. “Well, he is. He’s my friend.”
“He’s a nice guy,” Montana says, nodding slowly. “I won’t argue with that. Anyway, this should be fun. There’s a silent auction with the proceeds going to Samson House.”
“Oh, I love that.”
“What’s Samson House?” I ask.
“That’s right, you’re still pretty new here,” Montana replies with a kind smile. “It’s a shelter that helps people out, and they’re fabulous. The food pantry is one of the best on the west coast, and they even keep storage facilities to store furniture and household goods so when people get back on their feet, they have something to start with. No charge.”
“That’s incredible.”
“They really are,” Cherry agrees. “I’m so glad they’ll be receiving some money from this. I’ll have to check out the auction.”
“You do that. I’m going to freshen up in the little girls’ room,” Montana says. “I’ll catch up with you in a few.”
With my hand on the small of Cherry’s back, we make our way to the edge of the room, which is lined with tables displaying all kinds of things up for auction. They even included a painting done by Sarah, which already has half a page of bids and is currently going for well into the four figures.
“Oh, look at these,” Cherry says, fingering a pair of dangling silver earrings. “They’re so pretty.”
She’ll have them by the time the night is over.
We browse, pausing here and there to get a better look. A waiter comes by with champagne, and we both take a glass.
So far, it’s a pleasant, laid-back evening, and the looks coming Cherry’s way haven’t been lost on me.
We’re admiring a sculpture made of driftwood when a man speaks next to Cherry, not to her but loud enough for us to hear him.
“I can’t believe we’re going to spend all this money just for it to go to some homeless shelter. Aren’t there better places for it to go? Those people need to get a job and stop leaching off those of us who aren’t afraid of a hard days’ work.”
Cherry stiffens beside me, but I clasp her hand in mine as we continue to listen.
“I mean, Jesus, there has to be more than fifty-thousand dollars here, all for a homeless shelter? How much toothpaste do they need?”
“I don’t know,” I say, cutting in and grabbing his attention. “I guess I’d rather be poor and ask for help than be an asshole.”
I smile widely, and I can tell the other man doesn’t know whether I’m joking or not.
And we don’t stick around for him to find out. If I stay, I’ll end up punching him in his ugly, pompous face.
Instead, Cherry and I walk to the table where everyone else is already seated.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Cherry says, laughing so hard she has to wipe a tear from her eye. “Zeke essentially just called Harley Anderson an asshole.”
“The rich jerk who has a perpetual scowl on his old, wrinkled face?” Indigo asks, looking around the room. “He is an asshole.”
“So, Sarah told me that I wasn’t allowed to ask questions tonight,” Tanner begins, shaking his head. “But I’m going to anyway because it was less than a month ago that I thought the two of you were going to break out in a fistfight at Annabelle’s party. So, what happened?”
“My water heater busted,” Cherry replies smoothly. “And he wasn’t a jerk about it.”
“I feel like we’re missing a huge part of that story,” Luna says, glaring daggers at Wolfe. “You haven’t even filled me in on this, and you had to know.”
“Not my story to tell,” Wolfe replies with a shrug.
“So, no more hate, and now you’re dating?” Indigo asks, clearly avoiding any contact with Montana, who’s sitting right next to him. I wonder what the story is there. “And I don’t have to continue looking for a new condo for you, Zeke?”
Cherry’s face whips around to mine. “You were looking for a new condo?”
“Let’s talk about this later.”
“Oh, we’re going to talk about it, all right. I can’t believe you.”
“Oops,” Indigo says with a cringe. “Sorry.”
“Smooth move,” Montana mutters, rolling her eyes.
“What in the hell am I missing over there?” I demand, but Indigo doesn’t reply, and Montana just shakes her head.
