black shoes that will kill my feet, or the more elegant pumps?"
When Stella stood, one of each pair on either foot, Hayley stopped pacing long enough to consider them. "Sexy."
"I was afraid of that. Well." Stella took them both off, replaced the rejected pair in her closet. Her outfit for the evening was laid out on the bed, the jewelry she'd already selected was in a tray on the dresser.
Now all she had to do was settle the boys down for the night, get dressed, deal with her hair, her makeup. Check the boys again, check the baby monitors. And . . . Hayley's pacing and muttering distracted her enough to have her turn.
"What? Why are you so nervous? Do you have a date going on for tonight's party I don't know about?"
"No. But it's dates I'm talking about. Why would Roz tell Mitch to bring a date? Now he probably will, because he'll think if he doesn't, he'll look like a loser. And they'll both miss a golden opportunity."
"I missed something." She hooked on her earrings, studied the results. "How do you know Roz told him to bring a date? How do you find this stuff out?"
"It's a gift of mine. Anyway, what's up with her? Here's this perfectly gorgeous and available man, and she invites him for tonight - points there. But then tells him he can bring somebody. Jeez."
"She'd have considered it the polite thing to do, I guess."
"You can't be polite in the dating wars, for God's sake." On a long huff, Hayley plopped down on the foot of the bed, then lifted her legs out to examine her own shoes. "You know,date 's from the Latin - or maybe it's Old English. Anyway, it comes fromdata - and it's afemale part of speech. Female, Stella. We're supposed to take the controls."
Since she hadn't yet started her makeup, Stella was free to press her fingers to her eyes. "How? How do you know that kind of thing? Nobody knows that kind of thing."
"I was a bookseller for years, remember. I read a lot. I don't know why I retain the weird stuff. But anyway, it's a holiday party here - her house. And you know she'll look amazing. And now he'll show up with some woman and screw everything up."
"I don't actually think there's anything to screw up at this point."
Hayley tugged at her hair in frustration. "But therecould be. I just know it. You watch, you just watch them tonight and see if you don't get the vibe."
"All right, I will. But now I've got to get the kids out of the tub and into bed. Then I have to get dressed, and strap on my sexy shoes with the single goal of driving Logan crazy."
"Want a hand? With the kids, not with driving Logan crazy. Lily's already sleeping."
"No, you'll get wet or wrinkled, and you look fantastic. I wish I could wear that shade of red. Talk about sexy."
Hayley looked down at the short siren-red slip dress. "You don't think it's too . . ."
"No, I think it's exactly."
"Well, I'll go down, see if I can give David a hand with the caterer and all. Then I can get his take on the outfit. He rules in fashion."
Roz was already downstairs, checking details and second-guessing herself. Maybe she should have opened the third-floor ballroom and held the party there. It was a gorgeous space, so elegant and graceful. But the main level, with its hive of smaller rooms, the fires burning, was warmer and more friendly somehow.
Space wasn't a problem, she assured herself as she checked the positioning of tables, chairs, lamps, candles. And she liked throwing open the rooms this way, knowing people would wander from here to there, admiring the home she loved.
It was a clear night, so they could spill onto the terraces, too. There were heaters if it got too chilly, and more tables, more seating, more candles and all those festive lights in the trees, the luminaries along the garden paths.
And you'd think, for heaven's sake, that it was the first party she'd given in her life.
Been awhile, though, since she'd held anything this expansive. Because of that, the attrition rate on her guest list had been very low. She was going to be packed.
Avoiding the caterers and extra staff bustling around, she slipped outside. Yes, the lights were lovely, and fun, she decided. And she liked the poinsettia tree she'd created out of dozens of white plants.
Harper