Then my gaze caught the reason why we were there on his finger. Mitch’s ring.
“You better go,” I reminded him when he lingered, clearly reluctant to leave me.
If he was struggling now, how would he handle what we were anticipating would come next?
Hollis gave him a look that saidMove, and while I doubted he liked taking orders from my best friend, he did it anyway.
The second he was out of earshot, she asked me, blunt as always, “You had sex, didn’t you?”
Her words jolted me.
I lifted my chin. Unlike me, she had a comm in her ear.
“Not on yet.” She fixed the skirt of her glamorous gown, then snatched a champagne flute from a passing server.
“Not one for me?”
“It’s not to drink.” She winked. No clue what that meant. “Now, tell me all about what happened upstairs. You look properly ... you know.”
I scanned the room for my brother and confirmed he wasn’t nearby to overhear. “I look what?”
She sipped the champagne anyway. “You rarely swear, so I’m trying to be polite.”
Ohhh.My cheeks flushed.Properly effed?Yeah, well, Alejandro hadproperly effedme, all right. I exhaled and smiled, feeling too many eyes on us. “Why’s everyone looking at us?” I asked instead.
“Two beautiful women in a room full of men,” she said casually, then glanced at the bar. “One of them, though, is glaring at me like he wants to murder me.”
I followed her gaze to Reed. Yeah, if looks could kill.
They remained engaged in a silent standoff. One that could burn the room down.
“So,” she said, finishing the champagne she wasn’t supposed to drink, “how was it? Exceed expectations? Ten out of ten?”
I almost laughed. We were chatting about sex in a ballroom full of black market bidders, and I wasn’t panicking or puking.
Maybe Alejandro had quieted my overthinking brain when he made love to me.
I rested my hand lightly on my stomach, remembering what I’d said about getting pregnant.
“It was ...” I let my voice float, mingling with the sound of the saxophone.
“Wow,” Hollis whispered, bumping her shoulder against mine. “That good?”
“That good,” I confirmed as the orchestra transitioned to another haunting piece.
We’d been chasing ghosts—it only made sense to play that kind of music, I supposed.
“I’m glad you didn’t let Mitch being dead for real get in your head and not be with the man who clearly makes you happy.” Only Hollis could be so upfront like that. No-holds-barred. She really was the woman I’d gotten to know over all this time. “You deserve to be happy. I just still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were getting a divorce. Guess we’re even now, since I lied to you?”
I gave her a pointed look. “Not quite even.” I lifted the skirt of my dress so I wouldn’t trip, anxious to get closer to the stage for a better look.
“I have to turn on my comm. The auction is about to start. Stay in sight.” She patted my forearm, then left.
I drifted toward the stage, the satin of my dress whispering against the marble. The jazz pulled me in. My fingers moved at my side like they were playing the keys again.
I lost track of time, lost in the music, to the memories of when I used to perform.
A shiver trailed up my spine.
