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I’m suddenly grateful there’s a time limit because of the play. Dain introduces me to the director of the theatre and the head of fundraising and I really try to make their names stick in my mind. Mischa and Chloe. They ooze glamorous, effortless chic. We converse about nothing very much as perfectly attired waiters offer specially curated pairings of oysters and champagne. The shellfish have been prepared in several ways. The vibe screams understated, indulgent luxury but these people don’t even blink. They’re not just used to such rare and expensive nibbles, they’re connoisseurs of them.
After a while Dain gets collared by a man wanting a quick quiet word. From dinner with his parents, I know what that means. The guy wants money. Dain glances at me apologetically but I send him a smile of reassurance. I can do this. I don’t need him. I only have to listen and smile, right?
I talk more to Mischa and Chloe, but Chloe’s gaze follows Dain. My spine prickles and I can’t help looking her over. Her dress is beautifully fitted and clearly couture, her hair and make-up sublime, she’s wearing a stunning emerald pendant and her hands are beautifully manicured. My nails are neat but only because they’re seen in my videos. Hers are stunning. All of her is stunning. She catches me staring.
‘Have you been to Dain’s island?’ she asks with a smile that makes me shiver a little.
‘Um...no. Not yet.’
What island? I didn’t even know there was an island.
‘It’s amazing.’ She nods as if she’s doing me a favour in telling me this. ‘You’re going to love it. Dain’s done such a wonderful job rebuilding the house there.’
And she knows because she’s been to stay? That’s...great, and all of a sudden I’m reminded of the water-skiing day. I’m the charity case again—the one who doesn’t really fit in.
‘You must get him to take you,’ she adds. ‘I prefer the helicopter to the jet. It’s faster.’
There’s a helicopter as well? I don’t ask. I just feel ignorant and increasingly out of place.
Our passion in the car on the way here was an ephemeral, false assurance. I shouldn’t care what any of these people think about me. Talia of a year ago wouldn’t have. But now I feel so very vulnerable. He’s more powerful than I imagined and I don’t think I can step up to this public plate and stand beside him.
‘It’s best when Dain is piloting.’ Chloe looks at me with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. ‘Did he fly you here from New Zealand?’
I know I’m not handling this well, but I’ve been around people like Chloe before. I smile and swipe out with my claws, just a little. ‘We were busy in the cabin.’
Her eyebrows lift ever so slightly. ‘With a crying baby?’
‘Actually, Lukas slept for the whole flight.’
‘I bet he’s very advanced for his age,’ Mischa says with a genuine smile.
‘Yes,’ Chloe agrees with venomous enthusiasm. ‘After all, his mother is very clever.’
She takes another sip of champagne. Inhibitions are down and tongues are looser than they were when we first arrived and even the best manners in the world can be lost.
‘You make coffee, is that right?’ Chloe asks.
I try to tell myself the snobbish tinge I think I hear is probably only in my head but her gaze on me is icier than that bed for the oysters on the bar and now the thoughts in my head are even more anxious and insecure. ‘Yes, how did you hear about that?’
‘Dain’s father said you’re a waitress and wannabe influencer. You do make little videos, don’t you?’
So Chloe knows Dain’s father and he’s disparaged me. I feel for Dain. He had to live through his parents’ divorce, he doesn’t need his own private life being dissected in public like this. Not by a parent. And I’m not going to make it worse.
‘Yes.’ I lift my chin and smile directly at her. ‘I make ASMR videos of latte art. Some people find them soothing.’
‘It’s a fad.’ Chloe shrugs. ‘You’ll have to pivot if you want to grow your numbers.’
I nod peaceably enough but inside my pulse is skittering out of control. Chloe’s right. She’s also ruthless. Most of the people here are, I realise. This is a world so far from mine. It’s his—hell, he’s the king of it. I’m a waitress. I can make a good coffee. But who am I to hold my own with people who literally run the world? Who are beautiful and accomplished and confident? Short answer is I can’t.
But I’m stuck here. I can never run away. The permanent home I long craved for is actually a prison—a gilded cage in which I don’t belong and where I’m not really wanted. Yes, we have chemistry but, no, that’s not for ever. I’m here only because of Lukas.
Two more people join us. I can’t remember either of their names. I’m a good server—I can remember the dinner orders for parties of ten or more—but there are more than eighty people in this bar and I’m off balance. I’m worried about Dain. He’s actually very private. He’s worked hard to pull his company back from the brink and overcome the destruction from his parents’ interference. Being the source of gossip now must be appalling for him but he’s putting on a brave front. Yet he can’t control their judgement of me. The undercurrent of bitchiness cements my understanding of just how out of place I really am.
I do not belong here.
My attempt to eat the freshly shucked au naturel oyster from its shell is awkward. They do it in unison, like a graceful ballet.
‘Aphrodisiacs, I’m sure you’re aware,’ Chloe says, her gaze sliding to Dain again.
