"What wedding?"I call after them, but they're already gone, absorbed into the crowd of Seattle's most terrifying matriarchs.
"That went well," a voice says behind me.
I turn to find Connor himself, looking amused."Your grandmother kidnapped my date."
"Business non-date," he corrects."And yes, they do that.It's like a pack hunting strategy."He hands me a whiskey."Nice moves out there.Very non-robotic.Damn near romantic."
"I was removing Sage from an uncomfortable situation."
"By tangoing her into submission?"
"It was a waltz."
"Whatever it was, Derek Manning looks like someone pissed in his champagne."He nods toward the bar, where Derek is indeed glowering at us."History there?"
"He's her ex.Left her for a twenty-two-year-old who sells foot pictures online."
Connor pauses mid-sip."I'm sorry, what?"
"FootPrincess2000.It's a whole thing."
"And I thought my dating history was complicated."He claps me on the shoulder."Good luck with the grandmothers.They've been planning our weddings since we were twelve."
He disappears into the crowd, leaving me to navigate the gala alone.
I make small talk with hospital board members, dodge questions about SafeStay's IPO timeline, and keep one eye on Sage, who appears to be holding her own in the grandmother gauntlet.
She's laughing at something Mrs.Reeves is saying, her head thrown back, and I'm struck by how natural she looks here.
Not like she's playing dress-up, as she claimed, but like she belongs.
"Staring is rude," Grayson appears at my elbow."Even non-date staring."
"I'm not staring.I'm monitoring."
"She's doing fine.Better than fine, actually.I think your grandmother just offered to adopt her."
"What?"
"Kidding.Mostly."He grins."So, FootPrincess2000?"
"Connor told you?"
"Connor told everyone.Alex is trying to find her Instagram as we speak."
I drain my whiskey."I need better friends."
"You need to go rescue your girl before the grandmothers start picking china patterns."
He's right.I make my way through the crowd, intercepting just as Nana produces her phone.
"—and this is Luke at seven," she's saying, showing Sage what I know is a particularly embarrassing photo involving a Superman cape and a missing front tooth."He insisted on wearing the cape to school every day for a month."
"Fascinating conversation," I interject, taking Sage's arm."But we should go."
"Already?"Nana pouts."But I haven't shown her the high school photos yet.You and Kevin looked so adorable at graduation.”
I don’t tell her that there’s nothing ‘adorable’ about my fucked-up cousin—her other grandson—and the horns he was probably hiding underneath his graduation cap.
