“I’m here with someone, actually,” he said, trying to politely but firmly end this conversation. “Have you met Goldie?”
Danica snorted. He’d grant her that, it was an unusual name. Maybe her parents were old-fashioned.
Goldie was making her way toward him again. Though she was among strangers, he would never have been able to tell. She carried herself with composure and class in that dress. An impulse took over him, and he gave Danica a parting nod before making his way toward her.
Danica didn’t get the hint. “Is that her?” she asked following in his wake.
“It was nice talking to you, Dani. Have a good evening.” Adrian gave her enough of his attention to make the farewell before slipping away.
Her voice crawled after him. She was following him.
“I hear you’re looking for something of your father’s.”
Adrian stiffened with all the instinct of a hunted animal sensing its predator. She didn’t. His mom wouldn’t have shared news of his missing inheritance with her, would she?
He turned to find Danica simpering, her glossy lips pouting in fulsome triumph.
“Tell me you’re joking,” he said.
Danica strutted closer and ran a hand up his lapel. “Lockboxes can be tricky. If you need help looking, you know how good at finding things I am.” She winked.
The memory rippled in his mind’s eye. He’d lost his keys once in high school, and she’d found them under his bed. They’d ended up sharing their first kiss after it had happened.
He wouldn’t play this game. He refused to, though part of him was tempted to come out and ask her where the lockbox was. How would she possibly know it even existed? Why would his mom or dad confide that in her, but claim to not know where it was to him?
It wasn’t logical. Danica had probably only heard it was missing, not where it was.
Adrian wondered again what was inside of it. Chase had been left the house he and his family lived in, along with the barn and horses. Jordan had been given land as well, along with the fish hatchery on their property. It wasn’t that Adrian felt entitled, but he did want to know which portion of his father’s business had been segmented and given to his care. It couldn’t be the bed and breakfast part of things. That had stayed in their mom’s care.
Goldie returned to his side. “Everything okay?” she asked.
Boy, but her lashes were long. He couldn’t help but feel the weight of Danica’s attention on them, so he took the opportunity to slip both arms around Goldie’s waist. He sensed her tighten, her lashes lifting wider as if surprised. Then she relaxed into his embrace.
Her slim waist, her dazzling eyes, and the feel of her surrendering was enough to lure him closer. He found himself lowering his nose to where her smooth neck met her shoulder when her voice stopped him.
“What’s this all about?” Her voice was timid. She placed a hand on his bicep.
Right.
“Sorry,” he said, realizing how he was holding her and toning it down a notch. He lowered his arms and stepped back. At least his tactic had worked. Dani was gone, but he hadn’t noticed her walk away. With Goldie this close, he hadn’t noticed anything at all except her.
“Fake boyfriend, remember?”
Goldie pressed her lips together. Adrian winced as well, hating how it sounded. It implied how false the gesture had been. In that moment, however, it hadn’t felt fake at all.
Dancing with Adrian was delirious. The man knew just how to step, how to cast his glance in that carefree way to display his superb jawline, and especially how to hold her when the songs were slow. Several times, Goldie was tempted to close the distance the way he’d done when she’d returned to him after looking for her aunt, to lay her head on his chest, but she couldn’t let the stardust of the evening, with its live music and twinkle lights, make her forget reality.
She also couldn’t forget how jarring it’d been to hope for a glimpse of Aunt Bethany only to find the blonde she’d seen had been too young and didn’t look a thing like her mother after all.
If Goldie didn’t find her aunt, what was she going to do? Return home and admit defeat? She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the band’s peppy rendition of Jump, Jive, and Wail stopped, and after the applause, Mrs. Bear made her way up to the stage.
“It’s time to begin our raffle,” she announced.
Already? She supposed she had been sidetracked in Adrian’s arms for a while now.
One by one, prizes were presented. Fishing poles, coolers, table runners, and quilts. Finally, Mrs. Bear invited Danica to the stage to present a wooden sign with the word “Home” assembled on it in darker wooden letters.
Goldie secretly loved the sign’s simplicity, and began imagining how it would look on her wall above the table she’d found at a thrift store. The numbers they read off sounded vaguely familiar.
“It’s you,” Adrian said, leaning in close to mutter the words and offering one of the many tickets in his hand.
“Me?” Goldie couldn’t believe it. “I won?”
He grinned. “Here,” he called out, loud enough to be heard. He took Goldie’s hand and lifted theirs together like she’d come out on top during a boxing match.
Applause became a cacophony in Goldie’s ears. She couldn’t help the grin stretching over her face. Adrian accompanied her up to receive her prize.
The sign was made with stained wood and hand-painted letters. Goldie held it up with admiration until she noticed the glower on Danica’s face. Suddenly, she would rather not have won at all.
“Don’t mind her,” Adrian mumbled, patting Goldie’s hand as he joined her down the stairs and back to the gym floor.
The remainder of the prizes was awarded, and the dishes were being cleared by the waiters and waitresses when Adrian asked if Goldie was ready to leave.
That she was. She couldn’t help but notice Danica and Mrs. Bear sharing secrets on the stage. Every time their glances trailed in Goldie’s direction, she told herself they were only looking at Adrian, though a sneaking suspicion told her it was just the opposite.
They were looking at her, which only made her wonder what exactly they’d been talking about.
Goldie carried her sign out to the car, waiting patiently while Adrian acknowledged people left and right and introduced her as his girlfriend from back East. She flinched every time, though she supposed it wasn’t an outright lie. He had officially asked her to be his temporary girlfriend. But the memory of their dance, of the way he’d held her, and the way her heart half wished it was real, was too bewildering.
It wasn’t real, and it could never be real. Until she found her aunt and found out exactly what was going on, she couldn’t allow herself to trust anyone—no matter how kind, generous, or gorgeous he was.
CHAPTER TEN
COLUMNAR STREET WAS COMPLETELY DEAD. The corner street lights, abandoned bikes in yards, and the occasional porch light were the only indications that anyone lived in any of the houses lined there. It seemed those who left the fundraiser hadn’t made it home yet.
A few bugs flitted in the light above Bethany Harold’s door. Goldie wrung her hands, toes throbbing in her too-high heels as she held the skirt of her dress to keep it from sweeping the ground. Adrian lingered near the wrought-iron railing surrounding the porch.