“Cab for Brooks?” I say, and that lovely smile spreads across her face as she walks over the road. She’s wearing black, glittering heels that perfectly complement the sparkling diamonds around her neck.
“You look stunning,” I say, unable to hold in the compliment any longer, and a light flush stains her cheeks as she clears her throat.
“You don’t clean up so bad yourself. Nice tux.”
I tug at my sleeves. I have several well-tailored tuxes for this type of thing, but I spent a lot longer getting ready tonight than I usually do. Subconsciously, I must have been aware I needed to match my date.
“Ready to go?” I ask, holding out my arm.
I tense as the kids cycle up beside us on the other side of the street.
“Who’s that, Mia?” one of them shouts, and she snorts as the little shit flips me off.
“My guardian angel. Didn’t your mom call you inside like twenty minutes ago? It’s dark out.” She says in a jovial tone as they all hoot with laughter and cycle away.
“Friends of yours?” I ask.
“They play around our h—they play around here a lot,” she mutters, and quickly gets into the car. I glance around one more time at the neighborhood, feeling humbled by the luxuries I take for granted in my own life.
I climb into the car, rolling my eyes at Melvin, who is doing a much better job of complementing my date than I did.
I tell him to roll his tongue back in, and we set off. I’ve never looked forward to an event so much.
The designers have outdone themselves this year, and the venue is even more impressive than I had pictured.
With the lights dimmed, the candles burning, and the gentle murmur of conversation flowing over the tables, I feel a swell of pride at everything my company represents.
I had originally pushed back on the black-and-gold theme, but I’m glad I let my designer talk me into it. The white of thetablecloths complements the black-and-white stage at the back of the room. Flowers hang from the ceiling, adding pops of color everywhere I look.
There are tiny lights woven across the ceiling and over the stage, and the centerpiece of each table is a leafless tree branch covered in tiny gold jewels.
Several eyes turn toward us as we enter, and I pull Amelia a little tighter against me as she noticeably stiffens.
“You’ll do fine, just be yourself.”
“Wow,” she whispers. “The place looks amazing.”
“Thank you. I’m rather pleased with this myself. Very Alice in Wonderland,” I say with a smile, but she doesn’t laugh, looking around like a deer in the headlights.
Kendrick is the first to approach us, of course. The man never passes up an opportunity to exert his prowess over others.
“Crawford, you made it!” he says, laughing at his own joke. His eyes move to Amelia, and pause for a fraction too long, his eyebrows twitching. “Miss Brooks,” he says with a tight smile. “You look quite lovely.”
His gaze moves to me, and I stare him down so viciously that he simply nods and walks back to his date.
The gall of the guy, looking at her like she doesn’t belong here.
There are already dozens of people in the room, and everyone has dressed to impress. One woman is wearing an enormous gold hat that rivals the size of the tables around us.
Looking down at Amelia, I’m struck again by how simple and perfect she looks. No other woman in the room compares.
But this isn’t real. She’s only here because I’m paying her to be.
I turn toward the door, noticing one of our main investors, Thomas Maxwell, walking through the entrance with a youngwoman on his arm who's about Amelia’s age. I grimace. Maxwell is pushing sixty, and there’s no way that’s his daughter.
“Why don’t you go grab a drink, Amelia?” I say quickly, not wanting her to have to put up with Maxwell’s inevitable misogyny. “I just have to welcome Maxwell and a few others. I’ll be back,” I say.
I let go of her arm, stepping back, surprised by the intense desire that grips me to keep her by my side.
