I nodded because I didn’t want to let James know that his ex had gotten under my skin. “What did he mean about his father expecting to see you together?”
He closed his eyes, shoulders sagging. “His father thinks we’re still together, more or less. Or at least he wants us to be together. And since he’s the source of almost all of my business, I have to be careful not to upset him, at least until I can bring some new clients on board.” His expression was pleading. It was clear he wanted me to understand the predicament he was in, and I was trying to, but it was a bit of a struggle.
“You think if he knows you and Richard aren’t dating he’ll fire you?”
“More or less.”
“So you have to pretend to be dating?”
He winced. “When you put it so bluntly it sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”
I could see how much stress he was under. I knew his work mattered to him, and I knew he took a lot of pride in his accomplishments and in his position at the firm. It would devastate him to lose all of that, and him being devastated would gut me. I resolved to do anything I could to support him, even if doing so made me uncomfortable.
I slipped my hand into his, squeezing tight. “Whatever you need from me, I’ll do. We’re in this together, right?”
James leaned in, brushing his lips across mine in full view of everyone around us. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I smiled, my heart feeling full.
The moment was interrupted by an older man with a full head of white hair coming over to greet James with a handshake and slap on the back.
“Cal,” James said, greeting the man with a wide smile. “So nice to see you. Let me intro you to my boyfriend, Sawyer Gilley.”
I swore I would never get tired of hearing him refer to me in that way.
The man turned to me with a handshake and a grin. “And what do you do, Sawyer?”
I stared at him, realizing I had absolutely no idea how to answer that question. Thankfully, James came to the rescue. “He’s in real estate as well. Hospitality and tourism, specifically.” Which was true, or at least had been true, so I wasn’t sure why the answer made me so uncomfortable. It made me feel like something I wasn’t—that who I was wasn’t good enough. My stomach tumbled over nerves again. I felt like a fish out of water.
I gave Cal a tight smile, hoping he wouldn’t ask any follow-up questions. I had a feeling that he wouldn’t be terribly impressed if he discovered that my hospitality and tourism experience amounted to running an old motor inn that had fallen into such disrepair that half the rooms were borderline uninhabitable.
Thankfully, an elegantly dressed older woman appeared at his elbow before he could say anything. “Cal, there you are. I can’t believe you left me to those wolves.” She turned toward James. “Oh thank goodness, a friendly face,” she said, leaning in to peck him on the cheek.
Her eyes then landed on me with interest.
James noticed and grinned. “Martha, this is my boyfriend, Sawyer,” he said, making the introductions. “Martha and Cal Lynne are in yachts,” he explained to me.
I had no idea what it meant to be “in yachts,” but it sounded fancy and way out of my league. I had no idea what one said to someone who was “in yachts,” so I made a noncommittal “hmmm” noise. One thing was clear, though, being “in yachts” was lucrative if the diamonds affixed to Martha’s ears and hanging in clusters around her throat were any indication. The jewelry was elegant, but obviously quite expensive. Everything about the couple screamed money and sophistication, and they both wore it with ease.
I smiled tightly, trying not to let it show how acutely I felt like I must stand out in such an obviously high-class and wealthy crowd.
Cal started to ask James his advice on a new loophole in the tax code related to real estate, and Martha rolled her eyes. “Can’t take their minds off business for a minute, can they?” she asked me. It was clear from the sparkle in her eyes she was teasing.
“I guess it’s a good sign that they love their jobs,” I offered.
She laughed. “Or at least the money that comes with those jobs. Though I guess since we’re the beneficiaries of said money, we shouldn’t complain too loudly.” She looped an arm through mine. “Come, let’s explore a bit lest we perish from boredom.”
Before I knew it, she’d started tugging me toward the ramps leading to the galleries above. “Um…” I shot a panicked glance toward James, hoping he might save me from being dragged away into the sea of strangers. He responded with a distracted smile, as though pleased I seemed to be fitting in. Not wanting to disappoint him, I gave a quick “Be right back,” before letting myself be pulled away through the throngs of designer evening wear and jewelry that cost more than my jeep.
“Are you a fan of modern art?” Martha asked as we strolled slowly past an exhibit of large square canvases. They were all blank which I would have thought was some sort of mistake, but they were also hanging in a museum, so there must have been something to them I just wasn’t seeing or was too ignorant to figure out.
“Um…” I looked at the empty canvases, not sure how to respond. Thankfully I didn’t need to as apparently Martha was a huge fan and took great pleasure in narrating what we were looking at.
I probably would have found it interesting if I hadn’t been so wound up, terrified she might ask me a question or to offer my own opinion on any of the pieces. It wasn’t that I didn’t like art, I just that I didn’t know the language of it, certainly not the way she did.
So I nodded and hmmmed and tried to mimic her expressions until she was pulled away by another couple and I was finally left on my own again. I breathed a sigh of relief. Not that Martha had been anything other than delightful and easygoing, but I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that I was still an outsider and at any moment I’d be unmasked and sent home from the ball.
Feeling adrift and out of place, I started to make my way back down the ramps, scanning the crowd below for a sign of James, wanting to ground myself with his presence. The moment my eyes fell on him, I felt my shoulders ease and my chest loosen. He cut a striking figure, even from a distance, and all I could think was that he was mine. I couldn’t wait to get him naked again. I wondered if he’d be interested in bailing on the party early and heading home to enjoy our own gala in bed.
Grinning at the thought of it, I picked up speed, anxious to reach him. But before I’d even made it around the next turn, another man approached him and slipped an arm around his waist. I froze, my stomach dropping. Even from here it was obvious who the other man was: Richard.
James deftly slipped from his grasp, but he didn’t manage to put much distance between them. They still stood uncomfortably close, heads tilted toward each other in what looked like an intimate conversation.
I didn’t want to feel jealous, but I couldn’t help it. Richard was handsome and charming and knew James far better than I did. The two of them had a history together—a long one that involved a shared brownstone and family vacations. James had told me he was over his ex, but it was obvious there were still lingering feelings between the two. I started moving faster, wanting to reach James and slip my hand into his, needing the reassurance of his touch.