I didn’t look back or say anything else, not willing to deal with her annoying, high-pitched voice or overly-perky boobs.
I went back to checking the food, tasting a few things but not really enjoying them as much as I usually did when it came to good food. If I wasn’t needed to clean up afterwards, I would have gone home. Salvaging the rest of a shitty night with lots of junk food and watching soaps with Oma.
A hand on my waist startled me enough to drop the chocolate truffle I was about to stuff into my mouth. I didn’t need to turn around to know who had cost me my sugar fix. Rhett’s presence was unmistakable. I instinctively leaned into him before I remembered he was here with someone else. I pushed away and crossed my arms. My eyes narrowed and my mouth pressed tight.
He looked surprised by my reaction but not discouraged. He stepped closer, his intentions clear. I panicked and grabbed a crab ceviche from a serving tray that was sitting on one of the tables and pushed it at him.
He looked down at the entrée that was hovering dangerously close to his suit. “I’m allergic to seafood,” he said, confused as to why I was offering it to him. I knew he was allergic because I had called an ambulance for him before when he accidently ate a shrimp at one of his dad’s extravagant birthday parties.
“Even more of a reason to eat it,” I muttered and left him staring after me. I knew because I couldn’t resist the urge to turn around to catch one last glimpse of him. Bastard.
When one of the waiters passed me, I stopped them and pointed in Rhett’s direction. “The gentleman with the grey suit and light blue tie over there needs a glass of wine. He loves sweet whites so make sure he gets a glass and keep it going all night.”
Rhett hated wine. Especially sweet whites.
My next stop was Cassie, who was standing at the bar, sipping a lime green cocktail. “Where did you go off to?” she greeted me. When I got closer, I saw that her face was flushed, her eyes shining and she smelled like a mint factory.
“I was checking on the caterers. How is everything going out here?”
“Fabulous. I have to repeat what a wonderful job you did. You should become a party planner. Your talents are wasted in my office.”
She swayed to the side and giggled, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glassy. “How many of those have you had?” I asked and pointed at her nearly empty cocktail glass. She seemed to think about it, but when she was still thinking after a minute it was clear that however many was too many.
I was about to hunt down some food for her when Rhett materialized by my side again. He was persistent; I had to give him that. At least he didn’t seem to care much about his botox queen/date/maybe fiancée since I hadn’t seen them together since they’d walked in.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, standing once again entirely too close.
“Cassie,” I said, my voice too loud. “You said you really wanted to dance. Rhett enjoys dancing. He can take you.”
Rhett hated dancing with a passion. Not once in all the time that I knew him had he willingly stepped onto a dance floor.
Cassie put down her glass, smiling big. “What a wonderful idea. You would make this night perfect, darling,” she said and linked her arm with Rhett’s. “I didn’t take you for the dancing type.”
She dragged him to the dance floor, his body stiff, his eyes on me the entire way, promising retribution. I waved at him and disappeared into the anonymity of the crowd. I managed to stay away from him for the rest of the night, my task made easier by the never ending number of people who wanted to talk to Rhett. By the end, I almost felt sorry for him but then I remembered he came here with a date that wasn’t me and all sympathy turned to ash.
I stayed until everyone had left, helping clean up and put Cassie’s beautiful backyard back together. She was passed out on the couch, having had ‘the best time since she’d crashed a Rolling Stones party’. Her words exactly and a big compliment.
Rhett had also disappeared, and even though I was disappointed, I was also glad I didn’t have to dodge him again. I was dead on my feet and drove home in a daze, Gunner following me closely. At least I could count on him.
