“Yes, well, really it was difficult fitting it in to my extremely busy social life, and I was going to say no, but after all you are my best friend so I thought maybe I should make the effort. It’s bound to be a drag—swanky parties get sooo boring after the first dozen or so.”
“Well then, luckily you’ve still got eleven to go. Did you come on your own?”
“Actually, I came with Pete. We thought we could give each other a little moral support.”
“You did? That’s great.”
“He’s really cut up about this, Lia.”
Lia shifted uncomfortably. “You know there’s never been anything like that between the two of us.”
“I know that, you know that, unfortunately Pete’s always been a bit confused on the issue. But don’t worry—this is probably the best thing that could have happened to him. Maybe he’ll take his eyes off you now and look at someone else.”
Lia narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure it’s moral support you’re after here, Kel?”
Kelly grinned. “Let’s just say I’m hopeful. Now, where’s this mystery man of yours? I’m dying to see him. I couldn’t get any details out of Pete.”
Lia knew exactly where he was. Across the room, he stood talking to a small group of people. The side with the scar was away from her and he was perfection personified, his black silky hair brushing his collar. As if sensing her stare, he turned from the people to face her. He raised his glass, his eyes on hers, and a slow, sensual smile curved his lips. The party vanished.
“Earth calling Lia, earth to Lia.”
Kelly prodded Lia sharply in the side when she continued to ignore her.
Lia shook her head. “What?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Mystery man?”
“He’s there.” Lia waved a hand toward Luc. He’d turned back to the group and stood in profile. Kelly followed the gesture.
“Wow,” she muttered. “In fact double, triple wow. Well, it’s easy to see why poor Pete’s had his nose put well and truly out of joint. So how did you meet him?”
Lia studied her feet, avoiding Kelly’s gaze as she answered. “We ran into each other, and it was just like you said—a whirlwind. I couldn’t help myself. Neither could Luc.”
When she looked up, Kelly was scrutinizing her, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She reached forward and lifted Lia’s hair to peek underneath. Lia winced.
“You’re lying,” Kelly said. “Your ears are bright red.”
Lia sighed. “Actually, they feel like they’re on fire. But I can’t tell you any more right now. Soon I hope.”
“Pete said you were getting engaged. Is it true?”
Lia shifted uneasily. “Sort of.”
“What does ‘sort of’ mean?”
Lia held out her hand, and Kelly grabbed hold of it and stared at the enormous sapphire ring on her finger. “At the risk of sounding repetitive,” Kelly said, “wow.” She inspected the hand more closely. “And look at that manicure, a bit better than my stick-ons.”
“Some friends of Luc came over and helped me get ready.”
“What sort of friends?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Oh yes, I do.”
“Hard luck, because I’m not telling.”
“You’re no fun.”
They both turned back to stare at Luc for a long moment. Kelly sighed dramatically. “He’s absolutely gorgeous, Lia, but do you know what you’re doing?”
“No.”
“Are you sure you aren’t in over your head?”
“No.”
She obviously sounded so mournful that Kelly laughed. “That’s okay then. As long as you’re quite aware that you’re in deep, deep trouble, there’s probably hope for you. Anyway, I plan to enjoy myself.” She looked around the party and shook her head. “This is out of this world. It’s just so…” she seemed at a loss for words.
“Out of this world?” Lia said.
“Well, it’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen. In real life, anyway. Look over there.” She grabbed Lia’s arm and pointed. “That woman, I don’t know who she is but I’m sure she was in last week’s Hello magazine. It’s like a fairy tale. Maybe not a fairy tale, but definitely like a spread out of a magazine.
Lia glanced over at her friend with some amusement. She had never understood Kelly’s preoccupation with the lives of the rich and famous, but now she was going to make her day. “I think they might be here.”
“Who?”
“Hello magazine.”
Kelly went still. “You’re kidding me?”