By nine, the sun had set and the moment its watchful gaze left the revellers to their own devices, the devil cameout to play. Champagne spilled over pyramids of glasses, luscious truffles were hand-fed to full lips and Myrna was proven right – her air-conditioning system really did need updating if the number of people shedding clothes left, right and centre was anything to go by. At the heart of it all was the hostess herself, bejewelled and wearing an emerald-green dress, high necked and long sleeved, with a soft drape to the back and a long silk skirt that fell almost to the floor but not quite so as not to get caught up around her feet. As practical as she was stylish, she informed me it was essential not to let your skirt get caught up in your shoes, not because you might fall over but in case you had to run from the police. When she moved, I saw a slit running all the way up one side to reveal what she insisted on calling her ‘hoofer’s legs’. She was iconic.
One by one or two by two, her guests lined up to bend the knee to the queen of the hills, some of the most famous people in the world, starry-eyed and speechless. She sat in her favourite, high-backed chair, receiving them with a healthy mix of grace and glee, smiling at some and seeing off others with a single flicker of her eyebrow. Alongside the actors and singers and industry bigwigs were Myrna’s neighbours. I saw the old man who lived two houses down from Suzanne clinking glasses with the mum from a classic nineties sitcom, and a woman I recognized from across the street, barely recognizable without two screaming toddlers strapped into a double pushchair, laughed happily with a tall, handsome former vampire and all I could think was, good for her. Those children were awful.
But there was still no sign of Ren and Bel.
‘Let’s go and get another drink,’ Suzanne suggested.‘You can’t spend all night waiting for them, they might not come.’
‘I can’t make my mind up whether it would be better if they did or didn’t,’ I admitted, right as a ponytailed teen-actress-turned-music-mogul popped another bottle of champagne on the screaming celebrity hordes. ‘Ren really wanted to see Myrna’s house, I can’t believe he’d pass up the opportunity.’
‘You know how new couples can be, they’re probably at his place—’ she stopped herself from completing the sentence and quickly recalibrated. ‘Doing something very chaste while fully clothed.’
‘If you really believe that, you’ve been single for too long,’ I said glumly.
‘I’ve been single forever,’ she reminded me. ‘But I’m going to work on it.’
‘Work on it how?’ I asked. ‘Have you set some annual objectives?’
‘I know you’re taking the piss out of me, but yes,’ she answered, her eyebrows set with determination, blue eyes focused. ‘I’ve hired an executive partnership agency and they’re going to send over profiles of several suitable candidates on Monday. Hopefully we can set up some meetings for next week.’
‘Stop, stop, it’s too romantic,’ I swooned. ‘My heart can’t take it.’
‘Shut up and drink your champagne,’ she ordered, puckering her lips to stop herself from smiling. ‘I’m a very busy woman and I haven’t got all day to be swiping through apps and meeting losers who’ll go through my bathroom cabinets when they say they’re going to the toilet.’
‘Everyone does that and don’t pretend you don’t because we all know the truth.’ I glanced over at Myrna’s chair. ‘Our gracious host implied she’d be interested if you’re up for it.’
A delighted bark of a laugh escaped from Suzanne and she traced the rim of her glass with her fingertip, contemplating the offer. ‘It’s going to have to be a no. She’s amazing, obviously, but she would eat me alive, and I don’t mean in a good way.’
‘The correct answer,’ I replied, only slightly worried at the glint in my sister’s eyes.
As the music got louder and the lights dimmed lower, any lingering inhibitions popped like the bubbles in the champagne and Myrna got the bacchanal of her dreams. Singing, dancing, touching, bodies pressed against bodies, it was beautiful chaos.
But I didn’t care about the party. All I wanted was Ren. With each minute that passed, the need to see him grew stronger until it was almost an obsession. He could already be here, him and Bel lost in the crush of couture, and the thought of leaving the next day without laying my eyes on him one more time was unbearable. Even though I knew it would hurt, I just had to.
I slipped away from the crowd, leaving Suzanne talking with a stunning Black woman I recognized but couldn’t quite put my finger on. She was wearing a scrap of pink fabric that clung to her body for dear life, providing just enough coverage to avoid getting arrested, but more importantly, she was looking at my sister like she was the key to the universe and Suzanne looked almost as thrilled with her as she had with her department’s latestproductivity report. I left the two of them to make heart eye emojis at each other and let myself drift away on the tide of the party, pushed and pulled into the different rooms, moving with the ebb and the flow and ending up in the ballroom. It wasn’t a huge ballroom, said the woman who hardly had room to swing a toy cat in her living room, but it was spectacular, the ceilings hand-painted to look like the night sky, all the stars and constellations picked out in what could easily be real gold. There were no windows so it felt safe and secluded, the perfect hideaway, even with a hundred people crammed inside and dancing to the live band. I bobbed along the edge of the room, drinking in everything I saw. There was no need for the free-flowing champagne, just walking around the room was enough to get me drunk.
When Ren and Bel walked in, everyone turned to stare.
Gran liked to say everyone was beautiful when they were happy and the people at this party were ecstatic, but the two of them together were spellbinding. Bel was everything, glowing in a one-shouldered peacock-blue gown, slashed at the waist to reveal inches of midriff and slit all the way up to the matching underwear that teased its existence as she moved. Ren made the perfect foil in a slim-fitting black tuxedo that only made his broad shoulders broader and narrow waist more defined, and a blindingly white shirt beneath to set off the bronzed tone of his complexion. They looked incredible, perfectly cast to star in the rest of their lives together. I stayed exactly where I was, barely breathing and doing my very best to disappear.
Ren whispered something in Bel’s ear and walked out, leaving her alone in the spotlight where she belonged.Completely unable to help myself, I raised a hand when her gaze swept towards me, waving her over to my safe little corner.
‘There you are,’ she said with a happy exhalation, pressing kisses onto my cheeks. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere, this place is too much.’
‘Myrna wasn’t messing about when she said she wanted to put on a proper farewell bash,’ I said, wondering where Ren had gone, when he might come back and whether it might be easier to throw myself off the balcony and into the pool rather than deal with all these confusing feelings.
‘It’s a whole vibe.’ She bopped her head in time to the music. ‘You look beautiful.’
‘Then you look incredible,’ I replied. ‘That dress is magnificent.’
‘A diamond’s got to shine,’ she replied, laughing as she tossed flicked hair over her shoulder and struck a dramatic pose. ‘But thanks. I bought it from this guy in Calabasas who I’m pretty sure was stealing dry cleaning from the Kardashians. Hey, this is going to sound crazy but I thought I saw someone who looked just like Suzanne making out with someone who looked just like the singer, Juliette.’
I snapped my fingers, relieved to put a name to a face. ‘That’s who it was. Good for Suze.’
‘I’m going to need to know so much more about that later,’ Bel said, happy and confused. ‘But I need to talk to you. Is there some place quiet we can go?’
My heart leapt out of my chest, bouncing up and down like Tigger after ten espressos.
‘It’s going to be impossible to have a conversation in here.’ I backed away until I had to yell over the music. ‘Let’s talk tomorrow.’
