“Are you hurt?” Desmond asked, looking me up and down, as though to check that I was still in one piece.
Rishi mumbled something next to me about being only emotionally wounded and not physically, but I could only feel Desmond’s intense gaze on me. I needed more than a minute to process what had just happened. I had beeninvolved in a fight at a party, which included attendees the likes of Desmond McKinley. I felt my mouth go dry at the humiliation of it all.
“She’s fine,” Rishi added after a minute, seeing as how I was incapable of coherent words. “She just needs a minute to catch her breath.”
Desmond was following my look and stepped away. “Thank you,” he said, his tone frosty as he looked at Rishi. “How do you know Ava?” he asked Rishi while Rishi gave me a not-so-subtleoh my, he seems jealouslook.
“A few hours ago, Ava saved my life,” Rishi explained. “I’m Rishi Chopra, and I invited her to join me here as a way of saying thank you,” he said, shaking hands with Desmond.
“And yet your brawl almost got her in trouble,” Desmond muttered, stepping in closer to me.
I turned to him and murmured, “Be nice,” while Rishi looked suitably chagrined.
“I promise not to put her in such a situation again,” Rishi said solemnly, hand on his heart. “Ava, I’ll catch up with you later,” Rishi whispered into my ear. “You have some explaining to do,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.
I hoped he would stay away from Oliver.
Desmond interrupted my thoughts. “Are you hurt?” he asked, stepping back to look at me.
“Not hurt,” I responded, even as I felt pinpricks of shame creep up my cheeks. “Just feeling self-conscious.”
“No reason to be,” he said, taking hold of my arm and looking down into my eyes. “You look great, Ava.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling awkward.
Every time we met, Desmond caught me in an embarrassing situation and got to know the humiliating details of what had been going on in my life. This time, I was just a better dressed woman in an embarrassing situation.
And yet, on every occasion we met, I was floored by the same thought.He looks gorgeous.Did I forget that?
I didn’t seem to remember that vertical crease between his eyebrows or that disarming smile that went with it. It made him look adorable.
I gave myself a small shake. I needed better thoughts. Strong feminist thoughts. Grrr …
“I see you found someone to accompany you today,” I said when Desmond turned to me.
So much for feminist thoughts.
In reality, I had had a surge of powerful emotion when I saw him on the steps with Ellie. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to dig deep into those emotions to find out what it meant.I didn’t enjoy seeing him with another woman.
“Ellie’s an old friend of the family,” he said, taking my hand and leading me away from the crowded room and into a quiet corner at the back. “I regretted coming with her five minutes into the party,” he added, drawing closer to me. “I’ve been thinking of you a lot after our lunch together yesterday.”
I felt my face go warm, and I clasped the strap of my handbag tightly.
“Where is Ellie?”
“She had to leave. Unfortunately, the heel in one of her shoes gave up, and, well, she was having a hard time. I saw her off to a cab minutes ago,” he said simply. His gaze lingered on me. “I would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d been able to show up with you.”
I blushed deeply just as we heard a call.
“Desmond!” called someone from a group of tall, tuxedo-wearing men at the far end of the room. “We haven’t seen you since that night of the NBA All-Star game.”
Desmond nodded at them before turning to me. “Theyare the investors who once provided seed funding for Luxe Hotels. I’ll need to speak to them unfortunately. Excuse me for a second, Ava,” he said.
The evening passed with Desmond getting a lot of attention from people. People who’d find a way to come up and speak to him. He stayed by my side when he could, and if he had to disappear to another group, he’d find his way back to me in minutes. Hours passed, and I still felt like I’d only just gotten here. He got me a drink and another, and when that was done, he steered the server with the hors d’oeuvres over to me, and I was feeling pleasantly well fed and relaxed enough to forget that I was completely out of my element here.
I looked over my shoulder behind me and saw Rishi in deep conversation with a couple of artsy-looking people. Rishi occasionally kept me company when he wasn’t giving Oliver the side-eye. Soon, Oliver walked out of the party, looking disgruntled, and Rishi and I gave each other a thumbs-up across the room, unable to stop grinning ear to ear.
“Thank you,” I said when Desmond followed my gaze on the departing Oliver. “Thank you for getting us from that mess.”
