Page 58 of Some Like It Scandalous
Kate attended alongside her, thankfully. She carried a digital tablet, took personal information, noting the donation numbers and more. Anna’s head whirled as they moved through the crowd. The turnout was enormous. Of the twelve hundred guests invited, Kate told her over seven hundred were in attendance. Since they were charging a thousand dollars a plate, they had already earned a huge amount for the fund.
At exactly a quarter to eight, a stir rolled through the crowd and Anna turned from greeting the head of a movie studio to see Charlie arriving. The nervous flutters in her stomach doubled, then plummeted.
He wasn’t alone.
The Grand Duke Armand made a hell of a noise when he entered the crowded ballroom with not one, but three women—including his former paramour Nikole holding on to his right arm. He looked devastating in his black tuxedo, his charming smile lighting up his dark looks. His hair feathered rakishly across his forehead. Instantly captivated, the crowd surged toward him.
Men shook his hand. Women curtsied. Photographers snapped his picture. The buxom blonde model on his arm looked across the room, her gaze cutting into Anna’s with a look of such utter triumph in her brittle smile.
Stomach aching, Anna forced her own smile to stay in place. When Armand seemingly glanced across the room at her, he spared her the briefest of nods. She returned it, trying to ignore the sucker-punched feeling in her abdomen and the cascade of hot, then cold, racing over her skin.
The executive seemed to sense her distraction and excused himself. Anna glanced at Kyle. “I need a moment,” she murmured.
He nodded and with one gesture, her security fell in around her and they began to weave their way through the crowd toward the side of the room. Kate, swept up by the security force, stayed with her. “Are you all right, Anna?”
“I’m fine.” Anna lied through her teeth. “I just need to catch my breath and maybe splash some water on my face.”
At the restroom, Kyle opened the door and Kate slipped in to check for him. “It’s empty.”
Anna followed her inside, grateful for the sudden silence away from the murmuring crowd. She planted her hands against the cool marble and closed her eyes. Breathing through her nose and out her mouth, she tried to calm the wild stampede in her chest. He brought Nikole. It didn’t matter that those other women were with him with their poured-on dresses and glittering jewels and overwhelmingly gorgeous bodies—he’d brought Nikole.
The woman who name-dropped him as her fiancé. The woman with whom he’d shared an on-again, off-again affair.
Was it suddenly on-again?
Nausea surged up and she pressed her lips together. She would not get sick. She would not do this.
A cool washcloth draped against the back of her neck and she jerked, glancing up to find Kate looking at her in the mirror. “You’re not okay.”
“I am fine. But thank you. I just?—”
“Need a moment, you said.” Quiet empathy echoed in the woman’s voice. “What can I do?”
Anna looked at herself in the mirror and saw a pair of hollow eyes gazing back at her. She took another lungful of air and exhaled. “How are we doing with donations?” Focus on the job.We’re here to raise money, a lot of those people came to gape and point at the royal sideshow…but they’re paying for the privilege. Hold on to that.
“Well, in addition to the per-plate fee, of which we take half directly for the scholarship and the checks and pledges we’ve taken so far…” Kate glanced down at her digital tablet. “About four million, five hundred thousand. And we’ve only spoken to about a fourth of the people in attendance. I’m sure there will be more after your speech…”
Oh God.Nausea burned up again and she barely made it into the toilet in time to throw up. Kate was there again, holding her dress and hair out of the way. She didn’t hesitate, disappearing to the sink and returning with another cold washcloth.
“I’ll get you some water.” She walked over to the door and had some quiet words with Kyle. By the time she returned, Anna was back at the sink and rinsing out her mouth. Thankfully, she didn’t soil her dress. Kate passed her a cold glass with ice and water in it. She also held two tablets in her hand.
“They’re for motion sickness. It’s not quite anxiety, but they should help. Just don’t drink any more wine or champagne.”
The thought of alcohol revolted Anna. She took the pills and washed them down with the water.
Kate leaned against the counter. “Can I give you some advice?”
“You just watched me throw up and freak out.” Anna blotted the damp washcloth against her mouth and pulled open her clutch to find something to repair her makeup with. “I think you’ve earned the right to give me some advice.”
“His Highness is a prince, a grand duke, CEO of a large international corporation and sits on numerous boards and advisory councils in the European Union. He’s wealthy, famous, a celebrity of sorts, and really not hard on the eyes.” Kate ticked off the qualities with her rounded, red nails.
“I’m pretty much aware of that.” Being reminded only made her unease sink its claws deeper into her belly.
“Of course you are.” Kate smiled. “But you’ve forgotten the most important part.”
“That is?” Irritation crept into her voice. The woman had become something of a friend over the last couple of weeks, but she didn’t know Charlie—not the way Anna did.
“He’s a man, sweetie. And all men are stupid.” Kate’s quick grin was equal parts amused and sympathetic. “I don’t know why he brought the freak shows with him, but he isn’t paying any attention to them. He watched you when he came in that room. He knew exactly where you were and when you left, his gaze followed you all the way out. So you go out there, you put on your game face and you show him exactly why he can’t take his eyes off you.”
