After a long moment, Emma said, “Davina seems nice.”
He nodded. “She is.”
“She’s very beautiful.”
He nodded again.
“Andverysophisticated,” she said, as if prodding him.
“Yes, well. She’s an adult.”
The words rolled off his tongue before he could stop them, but it was too late. He saw their impact—how her smile fell, how her bare shoulders tensed, how she leaned back as if he had landed an actual blow.
“Yeah. Yes. That she is.” She stumbled over her words, darting her eyes over the crowded room like there was a lifeline somewhere that she could grab on to. “You know what, I’m going to go check out the rest of the party.”
“Emma, I didn’t—”
“No, it’s fine. Really.” She smiled again, small and sad, but God if it wasn’t genuine. “I’ll see you later, Knightley.”
It sounded so… final. She paused, staring at him a moment longer, and then turned and disappeared among the guests, leaving him alone.
CHAPTER 19
Emma wandered the party aimlessly, weaving through the crowd, not even sure what she was looking for. She finally made it to the living room and found a huge crowd jumping up and down as music pounded off the walls. Brightly colored glow sticks waved in their hands, and a few blow-up beach balls bounced overhead. The bartender had added plastic LED ice cubes to the night’s signature drink, and now everyone’s glasses lit up and blinked as they moved together on the dance floor.
The party was a success. And Emma had made it happen. That sort of triumph usually sent a thrill through her, a wave of excitement. Yet, as she surveyed the scene in front of her, it wasn’t all that exciting.
She wanted to go home. But of course she couldn’t. It wasn’t even midnight yet, and she was the hostess, after all.
Still, she needed space.
There were heaters in the backyard, so she decided to head that way, down the hall toward the conservatory that led to the garden. Bodies blocked the way on every side as she started in that direction, and she was struggling so hard to get through them thatshe almost walked straight into a woman emerging from a side bathroom.
“Oh!” She caught herself before almost walking directly into Davina Sundar.
Davina seemed equally caught off guard, smoothing the front of her dress and giving Emma a nod. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
Emma waited, expecting Davina to say something, perhaps offer a compliment about the party, the decorations, the food. But by the time she realized a brief greeting was all she was going to get, the moment was bordering on awkward. So Emma broadened her practiced smile and asked over the music, “Are you enjoying the party?”
Davina leaned toward her. “What?”
“Are you enjoying the party?” Emma repeated, practically yelling.
“Oh, yes,” the woman said, eyes darting over Emma’s shoulder at the undulating crowd. “It’s quite a scene, isn’t it?”
Emma allowed herself a moment to beam. “Well, it was a lot to pull together, let me tell you. Especially on such short notice. Luckily, Montgomery is friends with the DJ and my brother-in-law knows the caterer, so the rest of it was really just logistics. But between you and me, I’m still surprised we pulled it off. I’ve learned that Montgomery is the worst at planning ahead.”
Davina’s brow furrowed. “I… I didn’t know you two were together.”
“Oh, we’re not,” Emma said. The words came before she had time to realize they barely affected her. “Not like that, anyway. I was just helping with the party since he’s new to the neighborhood. He left it all to me, so it completely monopolized the past couple of weeks. I mean, who works between Christmas and New Year’s?”
She released a tittering laugh and Davina smiled. “Just you and I, apparently.”
“You were working, too?”
Davina nodded, scanning the crowd again. “There are usually a substantial number of asylum applications we need to submit to the government before the end of the year to ensure they’re processed.”
