Page 74 of Caper Crush
“Do you have everything you need?” He doesn’t look at me.
“We’re all good,” Miju says. “No need to worry. You relax and enjoy your party.”
“Great,” William says. He’s wearing this soft-gray, V-neck sweater, and his sleeves are rolled up. The softness of the sweater fabric alone makes me want to rub it. And not because I know his chest is hard muscle underneath. Definitely not.
I empty a bag of ice into the ice bucket. “I’ll finish setting up the bar now that the finger food is ready.”
“Yes, you should tend bar with me for the first half hour to get over the initial crush,” Lena says to me, “and then pop back here to help Miju with serving. Based on our experience, people don’t usually want food at first.”
Lena and I set up the rest of the bar as guests arrive. We work well together, and I barely even have time to check out William’s friends as I serve. They look much hipper than a bunch of accountants. They’re all sleekly dressed in black. He managed to invite about thirty people. I catch glimpses of him laughing with different friends. He no longer gives me Secret Service vibes.
I ask Lena questions about her finances and art, trying to determine if she has any motive to steal the paintings. But she seems rather clueless. She models on the side. She’s about to quit this job with Star Catering, but she’ll keep doing it for this other company because she feels like she owes the owner, Kimberly, who hired her when she’d just arrived in New York and didn’t know anything. Her affection for Kimberly seems sincere. Another dead end.
“Do you want to keep doing the bar and I’ll help Miju serve?” I ask.
I join Miju in the kitchen.
“You were right about William being taken. And I don’t want to mess with her,” Miju says as I open the refrigerator.
“I was?”
“He’s with the very pretty woman on the couch.”
I stare into the refrigerator.What tray was I grabbing?
William never mentioned he had a girlfriend. Granted, we’re just colleagues, co-detectives; it’s not like we’re dating. I’ve never been interested before. He could have said something on the subway. Just because I felt some flicker, a spark of electricity. Like when he was worried about me going alone. Like when he unbuttoned my dress. Like when he wanted to make sure I knew how to defend myself.Does he see himself as my big brother?
“Are you coming?” Miju asks.
The grilled rice balls. I’m supposed to serve them. I shiver. He has a girlfriend, and here I am circulating, serving food to his friends as the help. I can’t believe he didn’t even mention it. But I never thought to ask. It’s always the quiet ones who don’t reveal important facts. Does he think it’s classified? I huff out a disbelieving breath.
I circle around the party with my tray of grilled rice balls. But I avoid William.
William joins the woman on the couch. She is very attractive. She bursts into laughter, covering her mouth. William smiles.
Back in the kitchen with Miju, I ask, “How do you know he’s taken?”
“After she passed, he said to another guy, ‘And you’ve met my omiai fiancée,’” Miju says. “Omiai meansarranged match, which I know from Japanese dramas. One of my favorites isOmiai Kekkon. Although Korean dramas are still the best.”
A fiancée. My stomach drops.Is that why he’s always pulled back?
She asks, “How’d you know?”
I pull out another tray from the oven, giving myself some time to come up with an answer. “I think he mentioned it when I first arrived.” My voice is low, gravelly.
“Usually there are photos around the house, but I haven’t seen any.”
I haven’t seen any photos either, but then when I was here before, I wasn’t focusing on that. Uncle Tony should’ve mentioned it. Not that I’ve ever shown any interest in William before. But as a matter of family news, it should have come up. I should be interviewing Miju about her motives, but she’s already disappeared back into the room with the quiches. I take the other tray of quiches. Unfortunately, this time I’ve got the side of the room with his fiancée.
I serve her. She says thank you graciously. She’s not wearing a ring.
I’m surprised she and William are not hanging out more. I mean, it’s not as if they’ve seen each other much the past week, given that I’ve been hanging out with him the entire time. Maybe she gives him his space to get his work done. And space to go hang out on Fire Island with another woman and her friends. She’s very secure. But if William sees me as some “relative,” then there is nothing to worry about.
As I head back into the kitchen, William is waiting for me in the hallway.
“Any revelations?” he asks.
A huge one.I’m afraid that if I look at him, my eyes will reveal how sad I am. I need time to process this. I wasn’t supposed to fall this hard for William.
