Page 79 of Sugarlips
“Speaking of,” I paused, clearing my throat before I continued. “We’ll probably need to keep up the ruse of being a couple. Most people there tonight who’ve heard of The Dump Truck have probably seen the news story.”
She kept her eyes down, digging around in the tiniest purse I’d ever seen. But her spine and shoulders were rigid, alert. “Or even more likely, they watch Bruce and Jill in the mornings.”
I nodded, even though she wasn’t looking at me. “Exactly.”
“You’re right,” she finally looked up, giving me a single, resolute nod. My heart skipped a beat. Tonight was my chance. I’d have Chloe on my arm, and I could show her how great a date with me could be.
Even still, I had to play it cool. I had no doubt she would scare easily.
“I mean, we still need to be professional,” she said. “No making out or anything, but yeah. We should look like we’re not just business partners.”
And just like that, Chloe and I had planned our first date.
She just didn’t know it yet.
Tanja hadn’t been jokingwhen she said it was a lavish event. Even in line for the ‘list’—something Chloe told me every good party had—a woman handed us each a flute of champagne. The crystal stem was delicate in my hands and I took a sip. It wasn’t bad. It certainly didn’t warrant the intense warning Tanja had given us about it. Not that I was a champagne connoisseur or anything—but Iwasa chef and I knew good flavors when I tasted them.
A live band played on a gold-gilded stage in front of a dance floor and dozens of circular tables dressed with cream-colored table cloths and vases of ornate flower arrangements.
I froze as we stepped up to the man guarding the entrance with a simple clipboard, stunted by my momentary paranoia.Did I really belong here?I felt wildly out of place juxtaposed with Chloe’s natural ease in crowds like this. Of course she felt at home. Chloe got along with almost everyone. She could strut into just about any affair and find her way around. And it helped that her dad was the mayor. Her mom was some big shot lawyer in Boston for years. She probably grew up going to galas like this.
Her arm threaded through mine and she flashed me a quick smile as we approached a man at the door. “Hi,” Chloe said easily. “Chloe Dyker with Sugarlips PR and Marketing, and Liam Evans with The Dump Truck Food Service.”
Even hearing my business name amidst the others made me cringe. The Dump Truck. It sounded like I was a garbage man sent to mill about with executives.What am I doing here?
I took a deep breath. I needed to pull it together, especially if I planned to make tonight a night to remember for Chloe.
The man at the door nodded and stepped to the side. As we walked in, Chloe squeezed my arm. “Ready?”
No.“Sure.” I tried to sound breezy in spite of the nerves bouncing in my belly and the clammy sweat slicking my palms.
I placed my hand to her back and leaned into her as we crossed the carved archway into ballroom. The smell of her perfume danced around me, calming my nerves. Light, floral, and feminine.
I slid my hands around the shawl wrapped over her shoulders. “Want me to check this for you?” I asked.
She clamped her hands around it like a security blanket. “No, it’s okay. I’ll do it in a bit.”
“Have you ever been wooed, Chloe?”
She started, turning to face me and her brows creased. “Wooed? What does that mean?”
“Woo. Courted. The process of which a man charms and chases a woman he desires…”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I didn’t need the Webster’s Dictionary definition. Nobodywoosanymore.”
“Is that so?”
She snorted and contorted her face with a wry twist of her mouth. “Yes.Believeme. I think I’ve had alittlemore experience in that area than you have.”
Ouch. Well, that was… harsh. Chloe rarely lashed out like that. Especially not with me. “You have,” I admitted. “But my relationship lasted almost four years and ended pretty amicably. Can you say that about any of yours?”
She blinked as the realization of her words sank in. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, fuck. Liam, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
Only, shedidmean that. She saw me as inexperienced. And maybe in some ways, I was. But in others, I far surpassed her in maturity. And that’s what I needed her to see tonight.
“Hi,” A woman slid up beside us, grinning from ear to hear. “You’re Chloe and Liam, right? With The Dump Truck?”
We’d barely made it in the door and someone already recognized us?
