Susan Mallery Page 0,80

to do.

Margot didn’t know what to say—should she refute the claim? Ignore it? Say nothing? Before she could decide, Alec stepped in.

“I doubt anyone finds that of interest,” he said easily, before taking a sip of his champagne. “Mother, there are some people I’d like you to meet.”

Brandon grabbed Bianca’s hand. “Don’t go. Please. Just a few more minutes.” He grinned at her. “Don’t take this wrong, but I had posters of you on my wall when I was growing up. You were the sexiest woman I’d ever seen and you still are.”

Bianca preened as her smile turned flirtatious. “Oh, stop. You’re embarrassing my son.”

“I’m used to it,” Alec murmured quietly to Margot. He raised his voice back to conversational level. “If you’ll excuse us, please.”

Bianca shot him an annoyed look. Margot stepped between them. “It’s just this way,” she said, pointing across the ballroom.

“Fine.” Bianca sighed. “It was lovely to meet you, Brandon.”

He nodded, looking stricken at the loss of her company. “Could I just kiss your cheek?”

Bianca smiled. “Of course. I’ll even do you one better.” She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the mouth. “There. Dream about that tonight.”

“You know I will.” He stared into her eyes. “I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars if I can touch your ass. No, wait. I’ll give fifty thousand dollars to your favorite charity. Anything. Kids, pets, those cow people. You name it.”

Alec took his mother’s hand and pulled her away. “That’s it. Nice to meet you, Brandon. Have a good life.”

Margot stepped around to Bianca’s other side as they walked across the crowded ballroom.

“That was a surprise,” she said, not sure what to make of Brandon. Regardless, she was going to have to come up with a lesson plan that dealt with middle-aged men with lingering Bianca fantasies.

Bianca smiled. “It’s been a long time since a man wanted to pay me to touch my ass. I still have it.”

“You’ll still have it a decade after you’re gone,” Alec told her.

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” She turned to Margot. “I’m sorry for teasing you back there. I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You’re in your element. I completely understand.”

Margot was less concerned about the crack now that she knew Alec wasn’t embarrassed or upset by it. She had to admit—Bianca always kept her on her toes.

They circulated through the crowd for another half hour. Bianca chatted with a few more people, making pleasant small talk and avoiding any subject the least bit controversial.

Margot glanced at her watch. “The speeches are due to start in twenty minutes. I assume we want to leave before then?”

“Absolutely.” Bianca finished her glass of champagne. “We do, indeed. It’s enough that I bought tickets to the event. I’m not willing to stay and listen to a bunch of politicians.” She smiled at Margot. “I’ll have plenty of that when I marry Wesley.”

“Shall we go?” Alec asked.

“I’m going to duck into the ladies’ room,” his mother told him. “I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.”

“Would you like me to go with you?” Margot asked automatically.

Bianca rolled her eyes. “I can make it to the restroom and back without incident. Of that I am sure.”

She walked away.

“So the evening was a success,” Alec said.

“No, no. Don’t say that.” Margot pressed a hand to her chest. “Not until we’re officially in the car and driving away. I don’t want to jinx anything.”

“Hello, Alec.”

Margot turned toward the low, sultry female voice and saw it belonged to a stunningly beautiful brunette standing behind Alec. The woman was of average height and nearly as curvy as Sunshine. Her gaze, both predatory and possessive, locked on Alec.

“Merelyn.” He sounded surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing as you.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” He turned to Margot. “This is Merelyn. She was my decorator for the house. Merelyn, this is Margot.”

Merelyn barely acknowledged her. She moved close to Alec and put her hand on his forearm. “It’s been a long time.”

“It has. Two or three years.”

Merelyn’s gaze locked with his. “I still think about you. About...the decorating project.”

Margot did her best to maintain a neutral expression when she really wanted to roll her eyes and point out that Merelyn wasn’t being the least bit subtle. Obviously she and Alec had been more than decorator and client. Much more.

Margot started to excuse herself to give them privacy or possibly to pout, she wasn’t sure which. Before she’d even taken a step, Alec put his hand on the small of her back, as if asking her