abstract work of art. I copied the fork Nick used and ate the lot, pleasantly full even though dessert was still to come. As I shifted on the chair, the water I’d been drinking with my wine made its effects known.
“Do you know where the bathroom is?” I whispered to Mack.
“Sure, it’s over behind those drapes.” She pointed to the far corner of the room.
Gosh, so far away. I set off, trying not to fall off my pumps. How did all these women walk so elegantly? I wasn’t the only girl wearing five-inch heels, but for sure I was the only one waddling like a duck.
CHAPTER 19
I’D JUST LOCKED myself into a stall when the outer door to the bathroom opened. The click of footsteps on tile headed for the mirrors on the far side of the room, and I heard a zipper being undone followed by a woman’s nasal voice.
“Who is she?”
“I’ve got no idea. I’ve never seen her around before. Maybe she’s from LA? He has a house there, doesn’t he?”
“Don’t worry, Katya. I’m sure she won’t last long. They never do. Except for Emerson, obviously. I wonder where she is tonight.”
“Hopefully she’s jumped off a bridge, the annoying bitch.” The woman sighed, but it came out as more of a hiss. “You’re right. The new girl’s probably a five-minute fancy. Her face hardly fits, does it? Nick’s normally got better taste than that.”
Oh hell, they were talking about me, weren’t they?
And that meant I was the one whose face didn’t fit. I held my breath and sank down onto the closed toilet lid, drawing my feet up. I doubted they’d take too kindly to me eavesdropping, but I could hardly walk out in front of them.
The other girl, the one with the saccharine voice, laughed. “I can’t believe how short she is. And she’s hardly the sample size either. I’m sure the novelty of dating a little round dumpling will wear off soon.”
“And I’ll be there when it does.” I heard the determination in Katya’s tone. “I don’t understand why he didn’t call me when he needed company rather than scraping the bottom of the barrel for something like that.”
“Does he have your new number? Maybe he couldn’t get ahold of you?”
“I’m positive I sent it to him, but I guess he could’ve forgotten. I’ll make damn sure he’s got it before he leaves.” There was a pause, and a make-up compact snapped shut. “Or perhaps I’ll leave with him if I can convince him to ditch the troll.”
The door clicked as they left, cackles hanging in the air behind them. A tear leaked down my cheek. Why on earth had I agreed to come? I should have listened to my instincts and spent the evening curled up with a novel. Even in the most expensive dress and the flashiest jewellery, it was still apparent I didn’t belong.
I dabbed at the corners of my eyes with a piece of toilet paper, trying not to smudge my mascara. But it didn’t work. As I washed my hands, I caught sight of myself in the mirror, looking like a charcoal portrait of a panda.
And I still had to get through dessert.
“Don’t you like crème brûlée, Lara?” Mack asked.
I’d made it back to my seat with only one small stumble to find the most calorific dessert imaginable set out on the table. Normally, it was my favourite after tiramisu, but not tonight. I was already a warthog in a room of gazelles, a jellyfish swimming with sharks, and I didn’t want to make things worse. Billy had always told me I should cut back on the sweeter things in life, but I’d stuck my head in the sand. I should have buried the rest of me instead. But no more. My diet would start right now.
“I’m not really hungry,” I mumbled.
Nick started to say something, but the compère on stage interrupted him. “Ladies and gentlemen. It’s time for the highlight of the evening—the charity auction. Are you ready to open your wallets?”
I could open mine, but there wasn’t much available for ten dollars and a piece of lint. Nobody else seemed to share that problem, though, and the bidding for a weekend in Aspen soon reached five figures.
Carmen nudged Nate as the dinner she wanted came up, and he opened the bidding at six hundred dollars. Six hundred dollars. It seemed a man on the other side of the room was hungry too, but a minute later, Carmen sat back