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“Have you had something to eat already? You know you can always come back here and take a little break if you need one,” I offered.

“Thank you, Miss Bentley,” another one of the women said, and the second my father walked in, their bodies tensed immediately.

I hated the impact Dad had on most people, but I hated it the most with people who worked for him.

“Ready? Guests arrived,” he said, meaning for them to take their trays and head out of the kitchen.

They did, and I smiled at them to remind them of what I had said seconds before.

“Did you invite Kennedy?” Dad asked.

“No. She’s on a date with someone she met a few weeks ago. But Della said her girlfriends will bring their daughters so…that’ll be fun.”

“Oh, don’t be like this, Val. You’ll have a great time. Get something to eat, drink, and talk to people.”

I would, while teasing Riggs and making sure we would never break eye-contact.

I sighed and nodded, then walked out to the foyer to greet our first guests who I’ve never met before.

Della’s friends and their daughters were nice, and there was even one who looked like she was right up my alley.

Sexy, a tease, and with a resting bitch-face.

Maybe I would make friends tonight.

“You’re Valley. I’ve heard about you before,” one of the daughters said with a smug grin on her face.

“And you are?” I asked, taking in her beautiful dress which did make me jealous for a second.

“Payton.”

“And where did you hear about me?” I asked.

“At school. I think it’s your cousin who goes there too. Beatrix, I think is her name.”

I nodded, puckering my lips. “Small world,” I said, taking a sip of the champagne I had grabbed from the kitchen counter.

“So…are you one of those girls who keep on looking at others girls with that judgmental look until they leave or is that just how you look?”

Where’d she get the audacity to talk to me like that?

“I was gonna ask the same,” I replied, staring back at her until neither of us could contain a laugh.

Yeah, this chick was exactly like me.

“Want a smoke?” she asked, but as much as I would’ve enjoyed to go outside and do all the things my parents would hate to know about, I had to pass as I saw Riggs walk into the house as handsome as ever.

“Not right now. How about I let you in on a little secret, P?”

“Love secrets,” she grinned, watching me closely while I followed Riggs with my eyes.

We were standing a little further away from the others, next to the stairs where no one could hear us talk.

“See that man over there with the slicked back hair and white beard?” I asked, nodding in Riggs’s direction.

Payton looked toward him and nodded, then she frowned and looked at me again.

“Don’t tell me you’re into that guy…”

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