“And so it begins,” Travis grumbled unhappily. He took my hand and guided me further into the room. “There will be a sit-down dinner later, but for now it’s a lot of drinking and showboating,” he explained.
“You really don’t like these things, do you?” I replied.
“No,” he acknowledged. “But I like having the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm.” He leaned close to my ear. “And I get to take her home later, too.”
“If you’re lucky,” I put in tartly.
He chuckled. “Fortunately for me, since I met you I’m luckiest bastard in the world.”
“You are a bastard, I’ll give you that,” a man chortled from behind Travis, appearing a moment later through the crowd. He looked to be about Travis’s age, and I guessed he was a military man from the way he held himself.
“No one’s a bigger bastard than you,” Travis replied without missing a beat, a grin lighting up his face. He looked genuinely happy to see this guy. He turned to me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. “Chris, meet my better half, Emerly. Em, this is Chris Peters. We served together.”
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled, extending my hand to shake.
Chris shook my hand and cocked a brow at Travis. “You went and settled down on me, huh?”
“Hell yes,” Travis replied emphatically. “I didn’t expect to see you. I thought you were down in San Diego?”
Chris sighed. “I got roped in last week.”
“So you love these things as much as Travis does,” I surmised with a dry laugh.
“You got me there, sweetheart,” Chris replied with a chuckle, and took a sip of his drink. “I’ll make sure we’re sitting together. I don’t think I can bear a two-hour dinner sitting next to a politician or a bottle blonde.”
Travis nodded in understanding. “I’d prefer that, in case I need to leave the table for any reason. You can watch out for my girl.”
“I can do that,” Chris agreed.
“I can take care of myself,” I argued indignantly. “It’s a dinner, not a war zone.”
Both men laughed and started to talk about their military buddies. I took the opportunity to study the room, taking in the women all dressed to the nines and the equally dapper men. I had to admit there was a lot of blonde in the room, and breasts that couldn’t be real, but I thought they were gorgeous.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you something to snack on.” Travis spoke in my ear, breaking the spell of people watching. I realized Chris had wandered off as Travis took my arm.
I stepped toward one of the tables where a delicious-looking array of appetizers was spread out.
“Travis,” I heard from behind me, and turned to see one of the blondes I’d admired earlier stepping close to Travis. “It’s been too long.”
His eyes shot to mine, and he looked immediately uncomfortable as he reached for me. I realized that he needed my support as much as I needed his. “This is my girlfriend, Emerly,” he introduced. Clearly this was another one whose name escaped him.
She eyed me steadily, her eyes sweeping over my dress and hair with such scrutiny I felt like I was going through the metal detector at an airport. I stood up straighter under her gaze, surprised that I didn’t feel intimidated. I knew I looked good, even if I didn’t fit the standard Los Angeles stereotype.
I extended a hand, plastering a smile on my face. “Nice to meet you. I didn’t catch your name?”
I couldn’t resist throwing that in.
Her smile was brittle when she replied, “Carmen.”
“Nice to meet you, Carmen,” I amended, shaking her hand before placing mine back in Travis’s warm grip.
“I haven’t seen you at any events,” she noted, and the challenge was clear in her tone.
“I haven’t seen you either,” I replied with a smile so fake it hurt my face. I suddenly knew what Travis had been talking about, but I was determined to hold my own.
“Yes, well it’s nice to meet you. We should do lunch. I can introduce you to the other girls,” she suggested.
I knew her invitation held no meaning. And anyway, I could only imagine what her pack of vicious females was like.
