If she doesn’t remember me, I’ll fucking die.
I drew in a deep breath. Let it out. Rolled my shoulders and shook out my hands.
Whatever.It doesn’t matter.
I’d go in, make my appearance, say hi to Jack and Bonnie, drop off a donation to the cause. If I saw her, I saw her. If she remembered me, great.
If she didn’t… well, I was an idiot.
But I already knew that.
At the mansion’s front door, I nodded to the greeters, one of whom wore a tin man costume while the other was dressed like a lion.
Apparently this year’s gala had a Wizard of Oz theme.
Moving into the grand foyer, I followed a floor runner designed to look like a yellow brick road to the check-in table, where I picked up an envelope containing my bidding card for the live auction, my table assignment, and two drink tickets.
Dinner was probably over by now, but I could sure as hell use a drink. I was standing in front of the outdoor bar, waiting as the bartender mixed one for me, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“You showed up after all.”
I spun around. “Oh, hey Jack. Hey Bonnie. You look nice.”
My new sister-in-law smiled and leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “So do you. I’m so happy you came. I’ve been telling Jack I was getting worried the hermit thing might run in the family.”
I grinned at her. “Nah. I doubt it’s genetic. I wouldn’t worry about producing little recluse-babies… unless you let them become workaholics like Jack and me.”
She patted her husband’s arm. “I’m proud of Jack’s work ethic. And I admire yours. It’s truly amazing what you two have managed to accomplish—and in totally different career fields.”
“He got the words, and I got the numbers,” I joked. “So…”
I let my gaze drift around the wide terrace and down to the torch-lit grounds of the mansion. “… how’s the party so far?”
Jack smirked. “If you’re asking if she’s here… the answer is yes.”
I took a sip from the glass the bartender handed me, and the ice rattled as my fingers suffered a sudden-onset tremor.
“Who?”
My brother laughed. “Oh, okay. If that’s the way you’re gonna play it. We were just getting ready to check out the silent auction tables one more time. Bonnie’s got her eye on a trip to Rome, and we want to make sure no one outbids us. Care to join?”
I shook my head. “Thanks. I think I’ll stay out here a while, enjoy the view.”
“But… isn’t it the same view from your own—”
Jack cut his wife’s question short. “Great. Have fun. See you later.”
He clapped me on the back then steered Bonnie into the mansion, leaning down to speak close to her ear as they walked. She glanced back over her shoulder to give me a knowing grin and a wave.
I moved through the well-dressed crowd, smiling and nodding at people who greeted me. Though technically Kristal and I traveled in the same circles now, I’d never run into her at one of these events—not that I attended a lot of them.
Her step-mother Margot was a big socialite, but I guessed society parties weren’t Kristal’s scene, either.
Still, she was here tonight—Jack said he’d seen her. I climbed the steps to the upper terrace, rising to my toes to survey the crowd.
Had she left already, gotten bored of all the superficial cocktail chatter and self-aggrandizing by her fellow old-money socialites?
Speaking of which, I spotted my neighbors, the Van Zandts heading my way. Looking around and realizing there was no way I could escape without appearing rude, I pasted on a social smile and stuck out my hand.
