I roll my eyes. “No. He’s still not my type.”
“What about him is not your type?” Len asks. “Is it the rugged, Greek god–like physique? Or is it the fact that he’s got a beautiful face even with all the scars and nicks? Or wait! I know! It’s the charm and sex appeal that seeps out of every pore on his body. That’s not what you’re looking for right? I mean what woman would want that?”
“You should give up accounting and become a comedian.” I take a gulp of champagne so big the bubbles make my nose tingle. My eyes land on Alex’s date again as she reaches for her own glass of champagne. “It’s the fact that he reportedly messes around with women who don’t belong to him.”
“You don’t know the details about that Seattle thing,” Len reminds me.
“No, but you said he came with her and she’s wearing a ring the size of a Fiat.” I nod toward the mystery date again and watch as Len’s eyes find what I couldn’t help but notice as she reached for her champagne.
“Lordy! I bet that thing can be seen from space,” Len gasps. “And here he comes!”
I turn and see Alex walking toward the girl in red. He must feel the weight of our eyes because he turns his gaze to us. Len grins and waves and I nod. He leans in to say something to the woman when he reaches her and then he’s got a hand on her back, guiding her toward us.
As soon as they reach us, he opens his mouth to say something, but Len steps forward and speaks first. “Hi! I’m Len Levitt. I volunteer at Daphne’s House. This is Brie Bennett, she’s the director.”
I extend my hand. “You must be Alex’s fiancée?”
Len chokes on her champagne. Hard.
“Oh my God! Are you okay?” Red Dress asks Len, eyes filled with concern. She hands Len her cocktail napkin and gently pats her on the back. “Alex, get her some water.”
“I’m fine,” Len manages to spit out. “Thank you, though.”
“Len and Brie, this is my friend, Rose Caplan,” Alex explains, glaring at me.
“Oh. I just saw your lovely ring and I thought…” I let my sentence trail off.
“She’s engaged to my teammate, Luc,” Alex explains and gives me a tight smile. “She’s a teacher and she’s also very interested in Daphne’s House.”
“Nice to meet you, Rose,” I say, quickly absorbing this new information. “I’d be happy to answer any of your questions about the charity, and thank you so much for attending tonight.”
“If Brie doesn’t have the answer I’m sure her mom and dad do,” Alex says with a big, fake smile on his face. “Mommy and Daddy own the place, don’t they, Brie?”
Mommy and Daddy?
I hesitate. His condescending tone makes me want to tell him the truth. I open my mouth to explain, when Luc, his friend from the Starbucks, is suddenly standing beside me. Rose’s face lights up and she reaches for him. “This is my fiancé, Luc. Luc this is Brie and Len. They work with the charity.”
Luc shakes both our hands. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too.” Len is staring at him, openmouthed, so I subtly nudge her.
“This is a great event. And a great cause. I’ve done a fund-raiser for a similar place in Maine called Hope House. Have you heard of it?”
“Yes! I worked closely with Keith Duncan when he was starting it. He based his place on us.” I’m really excited that they’re genuinely interested.
“Rose has been itching to find a place like this here in New York to volunteer with,” Luc says. Rose nods as he weaves their fingers together. “We both grew up without real parents so we know how necessary this type of thing is.”
“Oh.” I’m totally stunned by that statement. “Were you in foster care?”
Rose shakes her head and her face darkens a bit. “My sisters and I essentially raised ourselves, and Luc was lucky enough to have family friends take him in.”
I’m more than stunned; I’m blown away really. Len clearly is too. “Make sure you give us your contact info because we’re always in need of volunteers.”
“And our kids are always looking for tutoring help so they can improve their GPA or get help passing their GED.”
“I would love to tutor them,” she says.
Len pulls out her cell phone from her purse and starts to take Rose’s info as I feel a warm hand on my back. I look up and see Victor. His eyes are darting from Luc to Alex. “Hey. Barons, right?”
