“What?” Jenna ran her hands down her torso, looking almost self-conscious. “Is it too much?”
“No!” Tiana rushed to assure her friend. “You look incredible! I thought you weren’t going to come.”
When she’d asked Jenna earlier in the week about her attending, she’d said she wasn’t, that she had a lot of work to catch up on.
“Yeah, I, um.” She licked her lips, ran her hands down her torso again, and then looked around the room. “I changed my mind.”
Something was up. Tiana studied her friend and realized she’d been so busy with her own life she’d clearly missed who Jenna was dressing up for.
“What’s—”
“Have you talked to him?” Jenna asked, interrupting Tiana’s inquiry.
“Are you…is there something going on with you and…” Tiana glanced around the room.
“No!” Jenna protested, a little too quickly and a little too loudly. Clearly therewassomeone, but not someone Jenna was ready to reveal. Tiana would never push her friend’s boundaries, but she would be there when she was ready to talk about it. “Don’t change the subject, have you? Have you talked to him?”
“No, he’s been busy.”
“He’s not too busy to look at you every five seconds.” Jenna lifted her champagne glass. “Three, two, one.”
Tiana felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand as she looked to her left. Sure enough, as she did, her eyes met Niko’s. When they did, a tingle rushed through her body like white water rapids.
Every day it had been Tiana’s intention to apologize to Niko, it was the absolute least she could do. She knew that she’d overreacted. She was embarrassed at how she’d behaved after everything he’d done for her. The thing was, if she apologized, she’d have to speak to him. And if she spoke to him for morethan her current one-minute-limit rule, then all bets were off. She had zero self-control with that man, which was a problem. A big problem.
The situation made her feel powerless, vulnerable, and indebted. All feelings shehated. She promised herself that after she was emancipated, she would never feel those emotions again. But somehow the situation also made her feel supported, protected, and safe. All emotions she’d always wanted to feel. All feelings she never thought she’d feel. It was a total emotional and mental mind-fuck.
When a gentle bell sounded from the stage, the crowd began to settle into a familiar transition of small talk rising and falling like the tide, chairs scraping against polished hardwood, and the clink of glassware as an undercurrent. The mayor, who was the night’s emcee, tapped the microphone and announced, with a practiced polish of chipperness, that dinner was now served and guests should find their assigned seats for the main event. The movement was immediate, a polite stampede of satin and soft wool and the tip-taps of high heels on the wooden floor. Tiana felt the tide of bodies sweep her and Jenna away from the silent auction tables toward the rows of round, immaculately set tables encircling the dance floor.
“This is where we part,” Jenna said, pulling her friend in for a quick hug before heading to her table.
Since Tiana and Niko were still a “couple,” they would be sitting together. It would be the most time they’d spent together since she’d woken up to find out she’d lost five days. The idea of sitting next to Niko all through dinner, making small talk and pretending to be together under a thousand scrutinizing eyes was enough to make her consider feigning another sudden flu episode.
She quickly found her seat at a round top that seated ten near the stage. The table was already half full, with three stunninglybeautiful women chatting and laughing in a way that suggested they were either already friends or had decided on the spot to become them. One of them looked familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on where she knew her from. Tiana tried to slip into her seat with minimum fanfare, but the second she did, the woman one seat over on her left turned to greet her.
“Hi, Tiana, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Jessie Sloan-Courtland,” she said with practiced brightness. Her straight blonde bob was shiny without a hair out of place and framed her heart-shaped face, which emphasized her large hazel eyes. Her perfect smile was dazzling and a little intimidating. “I’m Niko’s publicist, and Zach Courtland liked it so much he put a ring on it.” She waved her left hand, which had a stunning antique ring.
Tiana smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Jessie then took it upon herself to gesture around the table, conducting the introductions like a flight attendant with a demonstration kit. “This is Juliana Carson, she’s a NYT’s bestselling author and therapist, and Cole Carson is the lucky man who gets to call himself her husband.” She pointed to a stunning woman who could have passed for Sofia Vergara’s younger sister, who nodded graciously. “And this is Ivy Savage, she is working on her MBA while in drama school and also owns and operates a successful brand with her sister. Also, when she was volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in Chiapas, Mexico, she met a woman who wanted to set her up with her son when she got back to the states. She thought she was sweet, so she went to meet the woman’s son, Art, who ended up being World MMA champion Arturo Cruz.”
Tiana didn’t miss the fact that Jessie hadn’t introduced either woman as Arturo Cruz’s girlfriend or Cole Carson’s wife. She appreciated that. She also saw that Jessie was very good at spinning a story, which was all PR was. She was glad that Niko had her on his team.
“It’s so nice to meet you both.”
“Nice to meet you, too. My sister Iris and I signed up for your online classes, and I could barely walk on Thursday after your advanced vinyasa Wednesday night.”
Sister. Iris. Savage. That’s where she knew Ivy from. She was the other half of the Savage twins. They were very well-known influencers. It was so strange to think of people taking her classes that had millions of followers. All thanks to Niko. His generosity had short-circuited her brain.
“Sorry about that,” Tiana apologized.
“No, are you kidding?! It was great. I love it!”
Just then, Gianna arrived at the table. Without making any eye contact, she lowered herself into her seat.
“And, you know Gianna,” Jessie continued, in her role as social director.
“We’ve met, yes, hi.”
