A nervous flutter hit her right in the stomach. She wasn't much of a ballroom dancer. What she and Knox had done in the past was more of a vertical-foreplay kind of thing-moves she didn't think would be appreciated by that particular crowd. Unlike at the charity dinner where they'd been a footnote, tonight, all eyes would be on them.
Fortunately or otherwise, she didn't have time to be nervous, for everyone seemed to descend on them at once. She caught sight of her parents and Lila together near one side of the room but quickly lost them as a crush of people pushed toward Knox. And her, in theory at least, but definitely Knox. For a moment, she was so completely overwhelmed she wanted to disappear through the floor, but then Knox started making introductions. Three United States senators. Cabinet members. The chief executive officers of two separate multi-million-dollar corporations. A billionaire friend of Knox's from Yale. Knox's campaign manager, Toby. And Katherine, of course, but no Rex.
Interesting, she realized, that not one person had asked about him.
Chloe waited until she and Knox were mostly alone before asking about the senator.
"He hadn't planned to attend," Knox said, looking over her shoulder as he spoke. "He said he didn't want to shift the attention away from us, but I think my mom told him the snub would draw more attention than the appearance. He's supposed to stop by."
She wasn't sure how thrilled she was about that. Rex was a powerful man, and based on his reputation alone, Chloe wasn't a fan. He'd managed to turn his son against relationships-a fact that made her want to go after him with a salad fork-and his wife, Chloe noticed, had never even mentioned his name in her presence.
Forty-five minutes into the schmoozing, she had yet to speak to her parents or her best friend. She had, however, seen enough twenty-something cleavage to last a lifetime. A few were daughters of the more distinguished guests, while a shocking percentage appeared to be there on the arms of much older men. "I don't know how you deal with this," she muttered under her breath.
"Reprieve is on its way. Those are your parents with my mom, right? Let's go say hello before we get swamped again."
She gave him a grateful smile as he took her hand and led the way. As best she could tell, her parents were somewhere between furious and really furious over her marriage, but she'd never know to look at them. They, along with Lila, stood in conversation with Katherine, and Chloe found herself exceedingly grateful Katherine would spend time with arguably the least of the many, many important guests. Once they'd passed the last potential obstacle-an older gentleman who clapped Knox on the back as they passed-Chloe went straight for her mom and gave her a long hug, then shared the same with her dad. "I would like for you to meet Knox Hamilton. Knox, these are my parents, Ava and Patrick Lochlan." It was a little odd to introduce her parents to her husband-and doing so certainly didn't bode well for their purported love story-so she did it quietly.
Knox shook her father's hand, then leaned over and whispered in her mother's ear. Ava laughed and looked warmly at Knox.
Well, that was great. She'd given Chloe hell on the phone, and here she was, falling all over Knox, like pretty much everyone else at the party. Chloe cleared her throat. "And this is my closest friend, Lila. Lila, Knox."
Knox smiled warmly. "Lila, it's a pleasure."
She responded with a knowing grin. "I heard it's been a great deal of pleasure."
"Lila!" Chloe's face flamed hot. "You just said that in front of my parents." Who were exchanging the kind of glances that made Chloe want to disappear.
Lila rolled her eyes. "You're married. Relax."
Knox cleared his throat. "Where's Rex?"
The edge to his voice-almost a wobble-offered more than a clue that Rex's presence meant more than Knox let on. He may not agree with his father's actions, but underneath it all, she suspected a part of him still wanted his approval. How would Knox feel if he knew Rex was her target? In that moment, Chloe wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
Katherine looked past them toward the door, then shifted her attention back to her son. "We're here to celebrate the two of you, not talk about him."
Chloe's heart ached. Everything she had ever heard about Knox's mother appeared to be true-she had a warm smile and a way about her that made Chloe feel at ease. She couldn't imagine maintaining such decorum in the face of such betrayal. Hell, she couldn't imagine it now, as a newly appointed wife. Doing so after decades of a marriage purportedly built on love seemed unfathomable-even if Rex's definition of love seemed a bit open to interpretation.
In less than a minute, Knox had her parents engrossed in a conversation about their Midwestern home.
As soon as Knox and Chloe's parents were occupied, Lila grabbed her arm and steered her away from the crowd. "He's even more gorgeous in person than he is in pictures. I didn't think that was possible."
Chloe followed Lila's gaze to where Knox stood with her parents. All three were laughing. "You wouldn't believe what that man is capable of," Chloe murmured.
Her friend could take that any way she wanted.
"I have to give you credit," Lila said. "You've always made it a priority to stay on top of what's hot in Washington, but who knew you'd succeed so literally?"
The effort not to elbow her was substantial. "That is my husband you're staring at, you know."
"I guess I'm now the serially single one. Does your husband have any unattached friends?"
Chloe welcomed the change of subject. She searched the crowd until she found the man she was looking for. "He's single," she said under her breath, "and a multi-millionaire. The tall one with the light brown hair.."
"Is that how people introduce themselves around here? By their net worth?"
"No. I did a little research ahead of time. I figured I had enough to worry about without needing to learn a hundred names in one night."
Lila's gaze raked him from one end to the other. "Millionaire, huh?"
"Several times over. He owns a tech firm."
"Well, something must be wrong with him, or he wouldn't be single."
"Knox was single." Too late, Chloe clamped shut her mouth. He had one terminal flaw-perhaps the worst one of all. Failure to love.
"Yes, he was single. About a week ago." Lila's brow lifted. "And one day, I'm going to get the rest of that story out of you."
"Excuse me, you two," Knox said, easing between them and saving Chloe from a response. "The choreographer lady wants us to find our seats."
Chloe looked up in surprise. She hadn't noticed the migration toward the tables, one of which sat at the head of the room, a bit more elaborately decorated than the rest. Though she'd helped Katherine make the selections, Chloe hadn't been prepared for the overwhelming presentation of it all.
Lila snorted. "The choreographer?"
"Whatever she's called," he said. "She wants us to find our seats."
"Let the games begin," Chloe muttered, pasting on her brightest smile as Knox led her across the room. Aside from theirs, one seat at the head table was conspicuously empty.
Rex Hamilton was a no-show.
Chapter Fifteen
Chloe realized when it came to schmoozing, Knox had his limits. For example, not one time that night did he allow another man to cut in and dance with her. Once he got her back from her father after the father-daughter dance, he didn't let go-not even for a visiting diplomat. After the fifth or sixth time his glare sent someone skulking off, Chloe called him on it.
"Are you afraid I'll embarrass you?" She could see that. She'd fallen into an easy routine in his arms, but any attempt at dancing with someone unfamiliar would likely have her in a heap on the floor, her two left feet inexorably tangled with her ruined effort at class.
But no, he was smiling. Broadly. "Are you kidding me? Everyone loves you."
Sure they did. She'd managed to smile and nod and look interested at all the right times-or so she'd hoped-but most of the conversation was over her head. Few people had asked what she did for a living-the expectation clearly that her sole purpose was that of wife-but those who learned she'd been anointed the Washington Tribune's home-and-garden diva had expressed equal parts surprise and interest. Unfortunately, she'd spent a lot more time memorizing guests than she had the local plant-hardiness zone, so she'd resorted to jokes when asked serious questions about her employ. That couldn't have looked good, but it sure as hell beat the truth.
"Not everyone," Chloe corrected. "Senator Pierce's daughters are trying to vaporize me as we speak, and the looks on the faces of that gaggle of girls surrounding them aren't much better."