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“I’m sorry. I really am, but I couldn’t resist.” She waved the boots at me. “Don’t worry, the heels don’t match my outfit. I’m wearing the booties.”
Once she had her feet safely tucked away, we were in my car and on the way to our event.
“Art gallery grand opening,” I reminded her. “Pet project for Louisa Maddox. She and her friends are known to throw events in constant rotation. If you can get in with them, you’ll be golden. But everyone you meet tonight will be an important connection.”
She fiddled with the clasp of her clutch, opening and closing it. “Got it. Don’t make a fool of myself and be personable.”
“I’ll do the personable thing, Cupcake. You look trustworthy and tell stories about the cheese guy from France who proposed to you last year.”
“He didn’t propose—he asked me to spend the month with him.”
I shook my head. “Shoulda taken him up on it.”
“I had the whole live-in boyfriend at the time.”
“And look where that got you.”
Her sharp intake of breath was clear indication I’d gone too far.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
She smoothed her hands over her skirt before folding them in her lap. “No, you shouldn’t have. He’s the last thing I need to be reminded of at the moment.”
I probably shouldn’t have reminded her of him anyway, since she wasn’t over him. She wasn’t dating or looking. Whenever I broached the subject of Andy, she’d get this lost look about her and promptly shut me down.
Reaching across the console, I patted her hand. To my surprise, she flipped hers over and clutched mine.
“If you do a good job tonight, I’ll take you for a burger after.”
Another hitch of her breath. This time, with excitement. “Really?”
“Really.”
“I’m starving. I was too nervous to eat before you came, and these things never have anything good to eat. I could go for a burger for sure.”
“It’s a deal.”
Whether she forgot or it was purposeful, Daisy held my hand in her lap the rest of the trip, and I saw no reason to point it out.
I was only sorry when she let go.
Chapter Seventeen
Daisy
Rich women adored Miles Aldrich.
As soon as we walked into the gallery, they fawned over him. And the wild thing was, his gold plating flowed onto me. Because I was with him, as his girlfriend, they were interested in finding out my name. No one asked if I was part of that Dunham family, and if it had occurred to them, they hadn’t found it necessary to confirm since I had Miles’ approval.
He was good at schmoozing without making it feel like schmoozing. I’d felt his charisma more than once, but watching him work his magic from the outside was fascinating.
When I wasn’t watching Miles, I was checking out the space. With polished concrete floors and crisp, white walls, the gallery was chic and surprisingly expansive. There were a lot of people here tonight, but the wide-open spaces allowed everyone to spread out, pretending to check out the art while checking out each other.
“I call them meat cups,” Miles explained to a woman dripping in diamonds.
The woman giggled then addressed me. “Oh, I’m sure you adore when he does that, don’t you, darling?”
I hugged Miles’ arm and made a show of giving him a pinch. “Let’s just say he’s lucky he’s so cute.”
