And she was proud of herself for the job she’d done that day. Between the endless press releases, the media calls, Lorelei’s TV appearance, and this party, Wendy had also managed to enjoy o**l s*x with Daniel, meet him for a marriage license, run a few more errands, and purchase a party outfit for Sarah. With her hair swept up and her makeup done correctly, Sarah was as beautiful as any plastic starlet who’d scored an invitation to this party. Her tiny dress hugged her athletic body, and her gold sandals were exactly right. This makeover was the crowning achievement of Wendy’s day. She honestly believed her bosses were fools if they fired her. That knowledge would be cold comfort if she did get axed, but it was something.
She made her way into the club, which was quickly growing crowded. After that, her sense that she had a handle on her life and command of her job faded into a blur of sequins, laughter, and vague dread. Lorelei and Colton arrived together as planned, with Daniel close behind. Lorelei was photographed by a legitimate entertainment mag while having an animated conversation with a rock legend who’d been close friends with her mom and had nevertheless survived. This was a publicity coup, but Wendy found herself standing in a corner, smiling vaguely at the scene as it unfolded in front of her, and in her head yelling at herself to wake up. She wasn’t drinking, but she felt besotted with worry about what she was about to do with Daniel.
She did return to reality for a moment when Sarah and Tom hugged her good-bye before snagging their bags from their rooms and hurrying for their flight. Sarah had drunk more than usual during her short stay at the party. She leaned into Tom as they left. In the last glimpse Wendy caught of them as they exited the club, Tom was laughing and putting his arm around Sarah.
Poor Sarah. This was what her marriage should have looked like. Wendy couldn’t picture Sarah with Tom. The two of them seemed to have the same type of sibling relationship that Wendy enjoyed with Tom. But Sarah deserved to dress up. She deserved to go out. She deserved to have the arm of an adoring man around her, happy that she was having fun, rather than a husband who never wanted to do anything with her and, on the rare occasion when he gave in, acted like the night was all about him. Wendy sighed across the room and into the empty doorway where Sarah and Tom had been.
The chill that wrapped around her bare shoulders wasn’t caused by Sarah’s plight, though, or the club’s air conditioning system. It was about Wendy herself. She deserved to dress up and go out and be valued like this, too. At some point, though, she’d forgotten. She’d given up. So she might as well get married to a professional acquaintance for business purposes.
One she’d completely fallen for, she thought with dismay as she spotted Daniel in the shadows, coming toward her. Her heart sped into overdrive. Her brain woke up, hoping for the chance to joke with him, like a kid in grade school about to be let outside onto the playground. She tried to back herself down. He didn’t consider her the highlight of his evening. He needed to find her and discuss a PR matter with her so he could check it off his list.
But when he stopped very close to her, he didn’t sound businesslike at all. He eyed her up and down and murmured, “Is that what you’re going to wear?”
“I know,” she said, feeling herself blush. “Tacky for a wedding. But changing clothes or wearing something that didn’t look right for this party would draw attention we don’t want.”
“It’s not tacky,” he said. “It’s completely appropriate for you to get married in a red sequined minidress.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“You look stunningly beautiful,” he whispered. “You always do.” He reached out to touch a tendril of her hair. “When we were talking about the wedding this afternoon, we forgot something. Rings.”
“I didn’t forget,” she said triumphantly, opening her purse. Looking past him to make sure his body hid her hands from a nosy crowd, she pulled out the cheap, pre-engraved gold ring. She’d bought it on a whim from a cart in the middle of the mall food court as an ironic protest.
Handing it to him, she said, “It has a message on the inside. I wanted to get you one that said, ‘Happily ever after for at least a few weeks,’ but they were all out.”
He held it between them and peered at the tiny letters in the dim light. “ ‘Happiness,’ ” he read. “Thank you, Wendy.” He cracked his gorgeous smile.
But just as quickly, an awkward silence settled over them. Wendy dropped his ring back in her purse.
“Oh, I got you one, too.” He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and held the ring out to her.
Her lips parted, but she was so surprised that she couldn’t even gasp at the enormous diamond on a delicate band. She had hardly any breath to choke out, “Is that real?”
“Of course it’s real!” If he’d had facial expressions, she would have thought he was almost offended.
“Did you expense it?” she squeaked.
“No!” He hid it in his pocket, then took both her hands in his. “Everything we do from here on out is real.”
She stared at the lapel of his coat, where the ring had disappeared. She should have bought him a real ring instead of a toy. Or should she? They stood in a rushing river with their former lives as corporate enemies on one bank and a future as lovers on the other. Every time she made a decision to head one way, he turned in the opposite direction.
“Wendy,” he said. “Are you still with me?”
She nodded.
He watched her for a moment more, looking for something in her eyes. Whether he found it or not, she had no idea, but he let her hands go. “Now we need to tell Lorelei and Colton that we’re getting married and we want them to be witnesses. Remind Lorelei we work for rival companies and we have to keep it secret. That way, she won’t squeal in the middle of the party.”
“I know,” Wendy said. “We went over this before.”
“Just making sure.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t look well.”
Right. She needed to get over her sentimental squeamishness. She still had a job to do.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “See you at the limo.”
* * *
“Would you like to say a few words?” Elvis asked Wendy.
She glanced at him, then over his shoulders at the massive display of plastic calla lilies on the dais where they stood. Daniel waited in front of her.