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Al and his wife seemed satisfied with that and turned to interrogate the people on their other side.
I stabbed my fork into the potatoes on my plate, and while chewing, I saw Paula look at me and nod approvingly. It appeared I handled the inquisition well from her perspective.
I ate the rest of my food as quickly as was polite. More time had passed while I talked to Al and his wife than I realized. It was past time to check on the band, auction, and everything else that needed my attention.
I moved around the room, knowing that time for ignoring Hayden was drawing to an end. I had forgiven Hayden for the llama prank. I can’t pretend his caretaking hadn’t more than made up for it. That said, we had barely seen each other this week with me being up to my ears in gala planning. It also wasn’t entirely clear why he hadn’t told me he was the donor. Why the big reveal?
The bar on the far side of the room called to me. Half a glass of wine more couldn’t hurt, right? I’ll call it the Hayden tax. I smiled at the bartender as I approached. “Half a glass of sauvignon blanc, please,” I said, as he placed a napkin in front of me. I picked the navy-blue paper up, twirling it in my hands while I waited for my wine. I felt his presence on my left side before I smelled his familiar cologne.
“Hi, Charlotte, fancy meeting you here.”
Chapter
Fifteen
Hayden
“Are you just going to stare at her all night, or are you actually going to go talk to her?” Preston ribbed from his seat next to me.
“It’s called choosing your moment, Prez. C’mon, is there no romance in your life?”
“Oh, so you want romance with Charlotte now, huh?”
Shit.
“Friendship can have moments too. So can roommates.”
“Uh-huh, sure. Smooth.”
“Why do you think she hasn’t come over here to say hi to me yet? I mean, I, well, Brandt Investing International, did help save the gala after all.” I could hear the uncertainty in my voice, taking a sip of my drink to try to settle my nerves.
“Probably because you’re giving off really humble energy right now. And besides, I may not know romance, but I do know that women don’t necessarily love it when you show up unannounced as a secret donor at their major important galas.”
“You’ve been talking to Duncan, haven’t you?”
Preston snickered into his drink.
I looked back at Charlotte’s table and noticed she wasn’t there anymore. With slightly more flailing than what could be considered cool and collected, I turned my head every which way, trying to find her. I knew Preston’s razzing was in part to get me out of my head. But I had imagined a million ways tonight could go, but none of them had involved her avoiding me this long.
“She’s over by the silent auction. Want to go flash more of your money around?”
“Last time I bring you as a date to anything, Preston, I swear to God.”
Preston took another drink of his old-fashioned, presumably to smother another laugh. Smart move. I wasn’t above making up a story to security to get him kicked out in front of all his colleagues from Congress.
“Okay, but seriously, Hayden, what’s your move?”
“I’m just waiting for a chance to talk to her one-on-one, and we’ll take it from there.”
“Winging it—that’s worked always in the history of ever.”
“Speech writer for a senator, aren’t you, Prez? I can see how with that sort of logic.”
“Fuck you, these drinks are strong and dinner is still settling. Also, you’re missing your moment yelling at me.”
I followed Preston’s gaze to the bar set in the far corner of the room and saw Charlotte standing there, presumably waiting for a drink.
“Well, brother, opportunity knocks.”
