Page 23 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
“Hailey, these are my friends, Betty and Maureen.”
I smile and shake hands with both of them.
“And these are two of the other donors for the evenings, Norah and Sloan.”
I try to memorize who is who while continuously shaking hands. Betty has a coiffed hairstyle, reminiscent of a bygone era. Maureen is wearing the most hideous yellow dress I’ve ever seen in my life. Norah is the only young woman of the group, slightly older than me, and Sloan has impressively long dark hair, laying flat against her back.
“Ladies, this is the piece that I’m donating.” She gestures toward me and I still for a moment before I realize that she’s talking about the necklace that I’m wearing. Maureen leans in to get a closer look.
“Oh my, is that—?”
“A Mappin and Webb? Yes. I picked it up in London this past Fall. Isn’t it gorgeous?”
I make a mental note to google Mappin and Webb when I get a chance. I want to know exactly what I’m wearing.
“It looks so lovely on you, Hailey. I’m so jealous—I wish I had your complexion.” Norah says.
She’s paler, with extremely blond hair that I get the feeling is dyed.
“Oh, don’t be silly. You’re gorgeous.” I say, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“You do look absolutely stunning. I love that dress. Is that one of Penny's designs?” Sloan directs her question towards Eleanor.
“Good eye. It is! Landon begged her to let Hailey wear it tonight. When she said yes, I knew that I had to have Hailey model my diamond donation for the night. It just completes the look, doesn’t it?”
The women all nod while I take in this information.
Landon begged his sister to let me wear an exclusive design? Why would he do that? Surely, he could have just bought any designer dress and it would have been fine.
My queries are interrupted by Landon coming up behind me and whispering in my ear.
“Are you ready to do some mingling?” he asks. “You’ll likely see some familiar faces.”
I nod and turn to him, almost bumping into his chest. His cologne smells woodsy, with hints of musk. I take in a deep breath and feel my skin growing warmer. The smell of him is intoxicating. I can feel things stirring in my body that I don’t want to be stirring.
He smirks at me, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
He takes me by the hand and strolls me around the room, introducing me to multiple people.
“Mrs. Renalteux,” he says as he pushes me toward an older woman wrapped in a fur stole, “this is my fiancée, Hailey.”
Mrs. Renalteux smiles tightly as she looks me up and down. Her face looks permanently pinched, as if she’s smelling something bad.
“What’s your last name, dear?” she asks.
“Um, Dunn,” I say, confused.
“Dunn…I don’t know any Dunns. Are your parents from this area?” she asks, and I suddenly realize what she’s doing.
She’s trying to decide if I’m worth her attention, by determining where in her world I fit in.
“Yes, they’re from—”
“Hailey, honey, Albert Forester is over there. Care for us to go say hello?” Landon interrupts me.
“Oh, of course. I do adore Albert,” I say, and give Mrs. Renalteux a big, fake smile. “It was so lovely to meet you. I hope we get to talk more soon.”
She puts her nose in the air and turns away, as if I hadn’t spoken at all.
