“Well, of course not,” Ridley immediately returned. Then she grinned. “Still, I’m happy for you.” She gave Evie a kiss on the cheek. “You’ve inspired me to one day use my evil for good. Not today. But someday.”
She shook her head. Ridley would never change, and Evie was just fine with that. She’d had enough trouble adjusting to the tiny changes she’d witnessed in her friend since she returned from London. She wasn’t sure if she could handle a more drastic change.
The fashion show came to an end, which meant the costume contest was up next. Evie had opted to keep Waffles out of this event after seeing some of the elaborate outfits many of the dogs wore. No need to give her baby an inferiority complex.
“Ev! Evie!” She turned to find Ashanti moving quickly toward her. “Hey, have you checked the number on the silent auction lately?”
“Not since before the fashion show,” Evie said, pulling herphone from her pocket. Goodness, how she loved a dress with pockets.
She logged into the app that patrons were told to use to submit their bids. There was a table set up with QR codes attached to auction items ranging from puppy dates with Duchess and Puddin’—for both canines and humans—to dinner at several of the city’s finest restaurants. Multiple dog groomers had donated their services. The biggest draw, by far, was a full year of doggy daycare at Barkingham Palace’s new Lower Garden District location, along with a year’s worth of Duchess Delights Dog Treats.
“Holy shit!” Evie said when she pulled up the page for the Barkingham Palace auction. The bid for that one item alone was already at over thirty thousand dollars.
“Youare saving The Sanctuary tonight,” Evie told Ashanti.
“Duchess and Puddin’ are,” Ashanti corrected her. She pointed to the photo setup where the two dogs sat on a cream-colored velvet settee. “I can’t believe how many people are willing to pay two hundred and fifty bucks for a picture with those two.”
Evie couldn’t believe it either, but she was damn happy about it. She looked around for Ridley. She could only imagine what she would have to say about these numbers.
“Hey, any idea where Ridley went? I was just talking to her a minute ago.”
“She’s probably somewhere avoiding Von,” Ashanti said. “He showed up about five minutes ago.”
Evie shook her head in disbelief. “What could that man have possibly done to have her so shook?”
“I don’t know, but it must have been damn good.”
“And Von hasn’t said anything to Thad?”
Ashanti shook her head. “Thad’s just as stumped as I am. More so, because he said Von usually can’t wait to talk about the women he’s slept with.”
They both rolled their eyes. Men.
Then again, Ridley was the same way. Evie had heard more about her friend’s sex life over the years than she cared to recall. Yet, she knew barely anything about what happened between her and Von.
“It’s so weird to see Rid like this,” Evie said.
Ashanti grinned. “Yeah, but you gotta admit it’s also kinda fun.”
Evie held her thumb and index finger together. “Just a bit.”
While the costume party was still going on, Evie and Waffles began making the rounds. Her dog may not be as popular as Thad and Ashanti’s, but Waffles was getting a fair amount of love from the crowd. She went over to where her parents and several of their friends sat at one of the round tables, enjoying the offerings from the dessert buffet that had cost her dad a fortune.
There had been an unmistakable shift in her relationship with her mother in the short time since their heart-to-heart at the hospital. There was a lightness to their exchanges now. Her mother had even joked about dog sitting her grandpup. She quickly assured Evie that it was a joke and that Waffles was still relegated to the sunroom, and only when Evie was at the house, but it was still funny at the time.
Her mother’s relationship with her father, unfortunately, remained the same. Not that Evie truly expected a change. As much as she loathed it, their partnership worked for them.
“I don’t know, Dr. Williams,” Evie said as she sidled up totheir table. “You may be this world-renowned cardiologist, but I think a second career as an event planner is on the horizon.”
“I do have a knack for it, don’t I?” Constance said.
Evie giggled at her cheekiness. It was so unlike her mother. She wouldn’t mind seeing this side of her more often.
“Don’t forget to bid on the silent auction items,” Evie said, giving both her parents a kiss on the cheek. “Doc Landry’s sister donated a week at her beach house in Gulf Shores. It will make for a nice vacation spot.”
Evie was on her way to check in with the caterer when she was stopped by a kind-faced woman with tight silver curls. She wore a beautiful pink dress that reminded her of Duchess’s outfit.
“Excuse me, but are you Dr. Evie Williams? The person who put on this party?”
