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I pivoted to face her, polite smile firmly in place. “Melissa.”
Her eyes narrowed. She preferred that I refer to her as Mother. I preferred to be called Lainey. If she wanted to start with disrespect, I was more than content to follow suit.
“I thought I saw you speaking to Tally,” she said, not commenting on the name as she moved to stand next to me. Karagiani had drifted closer with Tally’s absence and I didn’t warn him away.
Facing the runway, I kept my mother in my periphery as I made a show of watching the parade of outfits.
“I’m impressed by the attendance,” I said rather than directly addressing her statement. “They have an excellent turnout.”
“It’s for Montague. He promised to unveil three new classics that are being added to his vaulted collection.” The designer thought a great deal of himself. Each year, he selected one or two designs from earlier years to be featured as a vaulted design. It would be available for one more season and then never again.
I had to wonder if the people who ate it up understood he probably got the idea from Disney. Not that I cared to ask, it just amused me.
“I had heard he was the second designer and would be closing out the afternoon.” Not that it mattered to me. I didn’t much like his designs. They were all aboutdramaticand over the top. My mother, on the other hand,lovedhim.
“You should come to dinner,” she informed me. “Andrea will be going back to school.”
The fall break was ending. “I’ll check my schedule.”
“Mrs. Reed,” a woman said and Melissa turned away. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Collette,” my mother greeted her and then they moved away. I blew out a breath. Relief that she wasn’t planning to drag me into that conversation threaded through me.
I stole a look at my watch. The diamond band helped to disguise it as a bracelet, but as long as it felt like I’d been here, it hadn’t been long enough.
“Kotyonok.”
The soft exhalation of the endearment invaded every one of my senses, creeping right past the barriers and defenses I’d erected to keep Melissa away. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn’t dare. Not reacting took every ounce of concentration and control. There were far too many witnesses here. Too many who had also been at the gala would have noticed that scene.
If we made another?
No, unacceptable.
“Ezra,” I said, summoning a smile. Shock hit me at the condition of his face. However, even a cursory glance showed me far more bruises than I would have expected. “How lovely to see you.”
His tousled hair looked more finger combed than anything else and the hint of stubble on his cheeks suggested he’d rolled right out of bed to come to the event. Then again, there was still bruising on his cheek and chin. The stubble probably helped to cover for it. His right eye was open, though it too was deeply bruised that the low lighting actually made it worse.
“What happened?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. Even as I asked, the memory of Adam punching him repeatedly surfaced and I grimaced.Get it together Lainey, I ordered myself. Get it together.
Lifting my chin, I focused on him again. He wore a button-down shirt and light jacket with no tie. The shirt was open at the collar and he looked more ready for a day in the Hamptons than here at a fashion show.
He searched my face, his expression not remotely banal or openly polite. If anything, intensity radiated off of him in waves. “We need to talk—just the two of us.”
“I think we’ve said enough lately.” Karagiani was right there, but he’d shifted so he had his back partially to us. While we were near a runway, we were also mostly alone. Or at least on our own island in the crowd.
“Please.”
One word. It threatened my resolve. “Ezra,” I said, meeting his gaze. “The last time you said that…”
“I know, we had sex and then I left.”
That was one way to put it.
“This—this isn’t about sex this time.”
I raised my eyebrows. “No?”
“No, I genuinely want to talk to you. I’d also prefer to do it without your sewer rat or Adam or that fucking Cavendish hovering over us.”
