Page 26 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

At the bark of his voice, several of the nearby partygoers turned to see what was going on.

“Why would you need to know him?”

“Because I would like to know who is talking to my wife!”

“Wife?” Billy said.

“Ex-wife,” Bianca said. “We divorce nine months ago.” She glared at Eduardo. “Someone is having a hard time getting over it.”

“You are making a big mistake,” Eduardo said. “How do you know he will not try to take advantage of you?”

“Oh, you poor delusional man. Taking advantage of me is exactly what I’m hoping he’ll do.” She glanced at Billy. “You will do this for me,sì?”

“That and more, if you desire,” Billy said.

She snuggled against him. “I knew you would be accommo…accommo…”

“Accommodating?”

“Yes. Such a nice word.”

Eduardo stepped forward to separate them, but before he could lay a hand on Billy, Billy moved himself and Bianca out of the man’s path.

Eduardo tried to veer after them but ended up tangling his feet and stumbling into a table, upon which sat several glasses.

Alcohol spewed out of the flutes and onto him as he and the table crashed to the floor.

Now, everyone in the room was looking in their direction.

“Come,” Bianca whispered, taking Billy’s hand. “He can figure out how to get up on his own.”

They exited the room, walked quickly down the hallway, and nearly ran into Stacy as they entered the museum lobby.

“Oh, there you are,” Stacy said to Billy. “I was just coming to look for you.”

Bianca raised an eyebrow and checked Stacy out. “And who is this?”

“This is my personal assistant, Stacy Lange,” Billy said. “Stacy, this is Bianca Barone.”

“Ms. Barone, a pleasure to meet you,” Stacy said. She was used to dealing with celebrities and knew how to show respect without coming across as a fanatic.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Bianca said, then glanced at Billy. “How personal?”

Stacy looked as if she’d just bitten into a lemon. “Notthatkind of personal. First, that would be inappropriate. And second, Billy’s old enough to be my—”

“No need to finish that sentence,” Billy said.

Bianca looked embarrassed. “My apologies. My ex-husband was a little too personal with his personal assistant. I am, how do you say…oversensitive on this issue.”

“No need to apologize,” Stacy said. “And sorry your ex was such an asshole.”

“Not was, still is.”

Stacy laughed.

“You said you were looking for me?” Billy said.

“Right.” She held out an envelope. “For you.”

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