Prologue
No one will notice if I sneak outside for a minute. Tugging at the cuff of her sweater, Lauren McDonald crossed the room to the French doors leading outside. A cold blast of air hit her head-on, a stark contrast to the warmer temperature inside the apartment, but it didn’t deter her.
Outside, she took a deep breath and exhaled as she took in the view of the city. From the balcony she caught sight of the Prudential Building, or the Pru as Bostonians called it, lit up with the official logo of the New England Patriots, who were at that moment winning the Super Bowl by two touchdowns.
I can breathe again. The thought made no sense because the penthouse apartment consisted of more square footage than her own home, but thanks to Shelia Wentworth’s overpowering perfume, she’d felt starved of air. Lauren looked back inside at the party’s other guests. She caught a glimpse of Mark Wentworth, the governor’s son, and Henry Fuller, some bigwig defense attorney and owner of the downtown Boston apartment.
When Kevin had invited her to the Super Bowl party, she’d realized it would be different from the ones she’d attended in the past. Considering the people Kevin called friends, how could it be anything else? And she’d been correct. This party didn’t have any plastic bowls filled with chips and salsa. There were no buffalo wings and pepperoni pizza from Tim’s Pizza. Her nephew didn’t keep popping into the room hoping to stay up past his bedtime and watch the game like he had the year before. Oh no, none of that for this refined crowd.
Instead, a professional wait staff served clams casino and sushi. A trained bartender mixed drinks, while fine champagne was chilled in the event the Patriots won tonight. The entire evening felt more like a wedding reception than a football party with friends.
In many ways the party tonight was more like the fundraisers and other social events she attended, thanks to her friendship with Callie Talbot. The only real difference between those events and this one was she had Callie and her family around at those times. Both the Talbots and the Sherbrookes made an effort to make her feel welcome.
With the exception of Kevin Walsh, her date, she couldn’t say the same about the people here tonight. While the other guests were cordial, they made little effort to include her in their discussions which revolved around topics she couldn’t relate to. The two women she’d been standing with had launched into a comparison of their favorite haunts in Monaco. While Callie and her family might also have favorite spots in the tiny country so popular among the wealthy, they’d find a topic that mattered to them all, including her.
Kevin was like that, too. Since their first date, he’d gone out of his way to find things they had in common. Surprisingly, they had a lot of the same interests. They liked the same music, had similar tastes in movies, and both enjoyed the theater.
Somehow, though, the behavior of the other guests didn’t bother her tonight. Although the reaction had dissipated somewhat over the past two years, usually her insides still got all tied up at events like this one. She’d become painfully aware that she didn’t belong. Tonight, however, that was not the case. With the exception of the nausea caused by Sheila’s perfume, she felt relaxed, if not somewhat bored with the other women’s conversation.
A fat snowflake landed on her arm, and Lauren glanced up. Earlier in the evening the sky had sparkled with stars and a large full moon. Now only a few stars remained visible among the clouds. The meteorologist had called for a forty percent chance of snow tonight, and it appeared as though he’d been correct. Even with the snowflakes drifting down, Lauren remained outside, enjoying a few more minutes away from the world inside the apartment.
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Kevin’s hand settled on her waist and pulled her close. “What are you doing out here? Are you okay?”
She heard the concern in his voice. The polite thing would’ve been to find him before she went outside. “I’m fine. Just wanted some fresh air and a chance to check out the view before the game starts again. The city looks beautiful from up here. We can go back in if you want.” Lauren moved so she faced him, and once again the thought that he belonged on a movie set rather than inside a corporate office struck her. She’d had the very same thought the evening he’d first approached her.
She’d accompanied Callie to a fundraiser in New York several weeks earlier. When she’d walked into the Waldorf Astoria, the last thing on her mind was a boyfriend. It’d been eleven months since her last relationship ended, and in that time she hadn’t been on a single date. Yet, when Kevin approached her she hadn’t shied away. In fact, when she saw Callie start back for their table, she’d thrown her a don’t come back just yet look. From that point on, they had talked all night. Then before she left, he’d asked for her number. When she’d given it to him, she’d half expected him not to call. After all, unlike the guests in attendance, she didn’t have millions sitting in her bank account, and he knew that. During their lengthy conversation, she’d told him she taught elementary school. Regardless, the following evening he called, and the next weekend they went out.