Lillian reached out and patted her back gently. “Maybe you could just…not go?”
Three heads swiveled toward Lillian.
“That’s basically announcing she doesn’t plan to marry Gage King,” Isabel said flatly.
Bea froze, forkful of buttery lattice crust halfway to her mouth. “So by going…I’m saying I do?”
“No.” Georgina picked up the drink menu. “But not going says you don’t.Everyone knows you’re with Gage. He claimed you publicly at St. Ives. You went to Imperium as his date. You chit-chatted with my aunt and uncle while he stood beside you.”
Bea sighed. There was no getting out of this. She was with Gage, and everything that came with him.
She pulled her sweater tighter around her ribs. “So what do I need to know? Assume my life depends on this.”
And it kind of did.
They all paused.
“Overpack,” Naomi advised. “Your wardrobe is your armor.”
“Make a parent ally by Saturday,” Georgina offered. “Someone who’ll vouch for you.”
“Stay close to Gage,” suggested Isabel. “Half the room shuts up around his silence, so you’ll have fewer questions to answer.”
Lillian spoke next. “What happens if she can’t find Gage? Or any of you?”
Georgina stirred her iced coffee. “Then you find the nearest man who’s smiling at you. Men are always kinder to pretty girls than women are.”
Isabel bumped her knee under the table. “You’ll be fine.”
Bea glanced around the table. And knew what the next step was. “Are any of you free tomorrow?”
Isabel raised a brow. “Why?”
Bea reached into her bag. Slid a platinum card onto the table. It hit with a soft metallicclink—small sound, heavy meaning.
The silence was immediate.
Naomi leaned forward. “No.”
Isabel’s eyes widened. “Is that?—”
She nodded. “He gave it to me last night. Told me to get whatever I need.”
To be precise, he’d said,Don’t say no. Let me handle it.
And as much as she resisted spending his money, even she knew department-store optimism wasn’t going to cut it for her social debut.
“Did he say we could come?” Lillian asked.
One side of Bea’s mouth lifted. “He actually said to take you all.”
“This is the greatest day of my life,” Naomi breathed.
Isabel placed a hand on her heart. “I’m touched he entrusted us with you.”
“We ride at dawn,” Georgina said solemnly.
Bea slid her a look. “You’ve never woken up at dawn in your life.”
