She nodded, separating their hands so he could hoof it over to the guy on the other side of the flower arch.
Em was pretty sure the guy was also a Nosh celebrity, but since she didn’t watch the network much, she couldn’t put her finger on which show was his.
She tilted her head to the side, trying to place him but came up blank. She scanned the rest of the room, and surprise of surprises, she actually recognized some of the attendees from her previous life. They didn’t seem to recognize her, though. At least there was no acknowledgement or that spark of recognition when you see someone after a long period away.
That stung quite a bit. But no one really remembered the wallpaper, did they?
“Sorry,” a woman said, as Em stepped back to let her through the mass of people. Em’s back hit the wall with the movement.
Staying over here was a mistake. She should’ve gone with Ethan. That was the more normal thing to do, anyway. She swallowed and searched the room for him, but didn’t see him anywhere.
Damn.
But if there was one thing that wasn’t going to happen again, it was her being pushed against the wall.
She channeled Barbie and stepped right into the fray. She searched for someone she might know or anyone who seemed kind enough to chat with.
“Emmaline?” She’d recognize that voice anywhere.
She pressed her lips together in a wide grin as she turned toward the sound. “Hey, Dr. Paul. What are you doing here?”
He laughed a hearty laugh. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Imagine finding you here.”
Dr. Paul was a plastic surgeon from Beverly Hills. He may have spent his days nipping and tucking, but he himself seemed to be aging without assistance. The deep creases in his forehead and the laugh lines around his eyes were deeper since she last saw him.
“I’m not really sure what I’m doing here,” she said. “My date seems to have disappeared.”
“How do you know the happy couple?” he asked, slipping her a champagne flute before taking a sip of his own.
“I actually don’t,” she said with a shrug. “I’m here as a plus-one.”
“Ah. And how does he know them?”
“Funny story,” she said with a chuckle. “I have no idea.”
“I love funny stories,” he said. “The groom’s my nephew. His dad runs the New York Nosh offices.”
Ah, yes, that would be the networking portion. She white-knuckled her purse, forced herself to relax.
“I’m so pleased to run into you here. I’ve been trying to get Tony to connect us, but he’s been a busy guy.”
Oh, she’d just bet.
“Do you remember that holiday party when you sketched out those scenes for Brody?” Dr. Paul asked, looking at her like she was definitely seen.
Of course she did. “Yes.”
Brody was his grandkid and totally bored at that event. He and Em drafted an entire story on the back of napkins. Brody gave the text; she drew the drawings.
“I still have those napkins you drew on,” he said. “We bring them out every December. It’s tradition now.”
A fizzy buzz of excitement took hold. She let it, this time. “I love that.”
Loved that something she’d been part of was a tradition in their family.
“I wanted to connect about possibly publishing the story through Bubbly Press someday,” Dr. Paul mused. “One of the editors did the holidays with us and loved them. He mentions it every now and again.”
“That’s amazing.” Em took a sip of champagne, happy as all heck with how this was going. “I’m on board with that. Let’s do it.”
