He gave me a contemplative look as the door opened and we were whisked inside.
Our conversation finished abruptly as I paused to take in the opulent surroundings. Zoey walked up to stand beside us, her mouth gaping. “Wow. They’re sure taking the whole Garden of Eden thing seriously.”
The floor glowed with green vines, while above us, thousands of red apples dangled from the ceiling, some hanging lower than others on what appeared to be wooden branches. The word “EDEN” glowed in neon-pink letters, set into an enormous plant wall that towered over the DJ booth. Plush private booths lined the perimeter of the space, most of them filled with groups of smartly dressed men or glamorous women. Whatever worry I’d had about being overdressed disappeared in a second. Thank God for Sophie and her French friend. There was nothing else in my closet that I could possibly have worn to this place.
Jamie extracted his arm from mine to talk to the host, and Sophie immediately filled the space.
“This is perfect,” she exclaimed into my ear before lowering her voice. “Oh my God, Ives. He is so fucking hot. If you don’t nail him, it will be a crime against humanity.”
I patted her hand and cast a look over my shoulder. Jamie was still talking to a woman who worked here. “I’m not sure if he’s even going to stay. He wasn’t planning on it.”
“No way. I’ll make sure he stays. Give me one minute.” Before I could stop her, she sashayed over to him, and I whipped back around, unable to watch their interaction.
“What’s she doing?” Zoey asked, tracking Sophie’s movements. It was too loud inside to hear any conversation other than your own.
“She said she’s going to make sure he stays,” I hissed, shifting my weight nervously. “Oh God, this is a terrible idea.”
“Relax.” Zoey bumped my shoulder, nudging me to turn. “They’re coming back.”
Jamie said he’d come find us after he said hello to his friend. His expression didn’t give anything away. I shot a look at Sophie, who was wearing a sly smile.
A hostess came up to us and told us to follow her.
“What did you say to him?” I hissed to Sophie, clutching her arm while we were led through the crowd.
“Nothing! Just that none of us are big partiers and we’d all appreciate it if he stayed for a bit to make sure everything is okay.”
“That’s a lie! You go out all the time in Paris.”
“But you don’t. A white lie has never harmed anyone.”
I was certain that wasn’t true, but I decided to drop it. After all, she was doing me a favor by getting Jamie to stay.
The hostess stopped by a booth in the corner of the club and said it was reserved for us. I frowned in confusion. Had Jamie paid for this? I didn’t need to be a regular to know how expensive these things were.
“He shouldn’t have gotten this for us,” I told Sophie. “It’s too much.”
“Oh, don’t sweat it.” She squeezed my hand. “It makes men feel good to give us things.”
Before I could respond, she and the rest of the girls put their bags down, and everyone but Zoey and I went to dance. I looked down at the main dance floor. It was absolutely packed, so I knew I wouldn’t be going down there.
“You don’t need to babysit me,” I said to Zoey. “I’m fine.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, not everything is about you. I’m pacing myself. Without drinking, I won’t be able to keep up with those four for long.”
House music was blasting from giant speakers spaced out around the venue, but the beat hardly compelled me to dance. How different from when I was rolling on Molly and couldn’t stand still.
Two servers appeared at our table, carrying mixers and an ice bucket with a bottle of gin. I looked at Zoey, startled. “Did you order this?”
She shook her head and tapped a server on his arm. “Sorry, we didn’t order this.”
“It’s part of the booth reservation,” he said matter of factly.
Discomfort prickled across my chest. Jamie had gone out of his way to make us comfortable here, when just getting us inside was more than enough.
“Actually, I’m going to go dance,” Zoey stood up abruptly, moving around my legs to get out.
“Send the girls back here, I’m not going to make much of a dent in this,” I told her, pointing at the bottle.
