“She’s at one of the family tables.”
“At the family table with no one claiming her as his. Long as you don’t make it clear what she is to you, men are gonna keep walking up. You think any man here does that… talks likethat, knowing she’s with you?”
A muscle in my jaw moved once.
“You’ve been doing this dance for months, Jules. Go do the actual dance.”
alyssa
She cameover ten minutes after the auction. Simone spotted her first. “Heads up. Inbound.”
Taryn drained the last of her drink as Sabrina arrived in a cloud of perfume.
“Simone. Beautiful event. Truly.”
“Thank you, Sabrina.”
Her eyes moved off Simone and landed on me.
“You must be Alyssa. I’ve been wanting to put a face to the name. Sabrina West. So nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“I’ve heard so much about you. Small town and all.” She let out a light laugh. “You know how it is.”
“I’m learning.”
She took Julian’s empty seat next to mine, uninvited, and folded her hands.
“That’s a beautiful dress.”
“Thank you.”
“It really is. It’s sobold.” She let the word do its work. “I don’t think I’d be brave enough to wear it, honestly. Different bodies do different things in different cuts. But you wear it beautifully.”
Taryn, very softly beside me: “Hm.”
“Thank you,” I said again in the same flat note.
“Anyway, I just wanted to come over and say what a lovely thing it is to see Julian extend himself the way he has been with you. He’s such a generous man. Always has been. It’s one of his gifts.”
Simone set her glass down. “Sabrina.”
“What? I’m acknowledging that what your brother has been doing for Alyssa and her son is exactly the kind of philanthropy he’s known for. He’s a giver. He sees a need, and he meets it. It’s beautiful, honestly.” She turned her fake smile back to me. “I’m sure being new in town with a child has beensohard. After everything you’ve been through, I can’t even imagine. My God —”
“That’s enough.” Simone’s voice didn’t rise. It went the other way, down to the register that ended things. “You’re a paying donor and we appreciate it. But you don’t get to sit at my table and do this. Leave.”
“I think I’ve been misunderstood. I was paying her a compliment.” She stood up and turned to me. “It really is so nice to finally meet you, Alyssa. Enjoy your evening.”
I didn’t reply.
Taryn watched her go. “She’s a miserable bitch. Don’t take in a word of that.”
“I’m not.” But I was, a little, and I hated that I was.
She’d all but called me a charity case. The poor widow with the son and the sad story. She’d built the whole thing out of a few true facts arranged in the cruelest order, and the trouble with cruelty arranged out of true facts is that some piece of it hit before you can ignore it.
What if some ofthat is true. What if?—
