Page 147 of Even Ground

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Delaney arrives next, followed by Josh. They sit opposite us, snuggled together, and I wriggle a little closer to Reece. He slips his arm around my waist, and then we’re on the road.

Everything’s lit up, and all I see are shiny colours in the night sky as we’re driven toward the event.

The limo slows, then comes to a stop.

Delaney smiles at me as the limo door opens. “We’ll go first. Watch out for the camera’s flashing, they’ll be blinding.”

I squeeze Reece’s hand harder, but his hand on the base of my spine gives me a little rub, and I take a deep breath to relax.

Once Josh and Delaney are out, Reece steps out, turns, and offers me his hand. His confident smile gives me confidence, and I take it to steady myself as I step out of the car.

Despite being warned about it, I blink as flashes go off all around us.

Reece leans in.

“Smile, beautiful.”

I turn to look at him, and he gazes at me with so much affection, I know I’m ready to face whatever challenges we’ll have.

We’ll do it all together.

Once we’re inside, there’s far less photography, and a lot of mingling. We’re shown to the table, and I’m relieved to take a seat after our walk into the building.

“How do you do this?” I ask Delaney.

She grunts. “It’s exhausting. But now we’re here, we get to eat and dance before we go home again.” Her hand brushes my arm. “You’ll look so beautiful in all the magazines. That dress really is to die for, and it suits you.”

“Thank you.”

I keep my eyes on the door, watching each new arrival. Some designs I could name the designers on sight, others I’m not so sure of.

“You know this is going to drive your tutor crazy,” she says.

Despite all my bravado, the thought of that makes my stomach flip. But I’m simply living my life. I might be part of a world I never seriously thought I’d live in, but now it’s real, and no matter what happens with my studies or anything else, I’m Reece’s girlfriend.

And my life has been enriched by having his love and his trust.

“What’s that look for?” Reece says as he takes his seat next to me.

His brows knit when I make eye contact and say nothing.

“Do you want to go home?” he asks. “Any time, just say the—”

“I’m happy right here with you.” I lean against him.

His warm arm wraps around my shoulders. “Good.” He kisses my temple. “I promise we don’t have to do this kind of thing too often. I’m much more of a homebody now. Maybe even more when I have my own actual home with you.”

I cup his cheek, pulling him closer to kiss him softly on the lips. “That all sounds wonderful to me.”

With it being a charity event, drinks and food are served to our tables, and then there are speeches before the dancing starts. It’s all a bit of a blur as I spend more time looking at how people are dressed than anything else.

“Dance with me?” Reece takes my hand.

I let him pull me to my feet and follow him to the dance floor where he takes me in his arms.

“Having a good time?” he asks.

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