Page 60 of Surfside Sisters

When Juan had texted Keely about the party, he’d added:I’m not merely inviting you. I’m ordering you. You will meeteveryonethere. So go out and buy something fabulous.

At nine o’clock on New Year’s Eve, Keely met Juan at the foyer of a penthouse on Park Avenue. She wore an expensive white T-shirt hanging almost to the hem of her ripped gold sequined short shorts, topped with a gauzy orange cardigan. And five-inch Manolo Blahnik stilettos that killed her feet. At Juan’s insistence, Keely’s glossy brown hair had been professionally piled high on her head with strands painstakingly teased to hang carelessly down. Her nails and lipstick were a deep burgundy and the eye shadow over her topaz eyes was noir. Her only jewelry was a heavy necklace of geometric metal links. Juan assured she looked rad, but secretly, Keely thought she looked like a bit of an idiot.

“Darling,” Juan exclaimed. “Such a party!” Taking her arm, he escorted her up the elevator and into the room, already a crush of people and laughter.

“You must meet Keely Green,” Juan said to a Botoxed woman weighted down with jewels. “She’s a rising star in the bright young writers’ scene. I’m sure you readRich Girl.Poor Girlwill be out this summer.”

The other woman nodded to Keely, looking overwhelmed by Juan’s rush of information.

Keely said, “Hello.”

Juan said, “I’m off to get us champagne.”

Keely knew by now that Juan was off to gethimselfa glass of champagne and then to find his friends. She made polite talk with the other woman, then excused herself and slid away through the crowd to the bar.

She wandered aimlessly here and there, holding her glass of Dom Perignon so it wouldn’t spill, feeling desperately lonely. She talked with—yelled at—the few people she knew: another writer, a minor TV personality who had interviewed her, a reviewer for a popular blog.

Right now on Nantucket, there were parties and dances and dinners with friends, but at any moment of the evening, you could drive out to one of the beaches where the sea shushed and seethed into the sand and it seemed as if you were at the secret heart of the universe.

Here in this room, the laughter and chatter was getting to her. It was so loud it came at her like a solid thing, buffeting her and making hearing impossible. For sanity’s sake, she gave herself a break from networking and wandered into another, quieter room. It was obviously a library, with walls of books on shelves and more books towering from coffee tables.

The silence was a relief. It would be nice if she were with a man right now, because it was twenty minutes until the stroke of midnight, and she had no one to kiss. She told herself that really, that was fine. She was a big girl now. She knew how to be alone. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t happy at a fabulous party and she wasn’t happy alone.

She stationed herself at the corner of the wide wall of windows in the quiet empty room, casually leaning against the adjoining wall. Regarding the world from this height always gave her vertigo, one of the prices she paid for growing up on an island with no buildings higher than three stories. The view here was spectacular. Far below, lights from the cars on the avenues glowed like rivers of gold. Stars of light shone from hundreds—thousands?—of buildings, so many lights, so many stars, it seemed as if she were in a separate sky. Well, she supposed she was.

A man entered the room. He almost ran into the room, glanced at Keely, and said, “I’m not here.”

Then he threw himself behind one of the large burgundy sofas.

Keely glanced at the windows. They did not reach floor level, so they did not mirror the hiding man.

A few minutes later, a tall redhead stalked into the room. She was blazing with diamonds and her face was pinched.

“Did a man come in here?” she demanded. “Tall guy, brown hair, tux.”

If the woman had been even a little less imperious, Keely might have sided with her. Instead, she looked the redhead right in the eyes. “No.”

“What a shit,” the woman said. “I thought he was going to propose to me tonight. But he just disappears? If you see him, do me a favor and kick him in the balls.”

“Will do.”

The redhead stormed from the room. Keely went to the door leading into the hall. She saw the redhead take her fur coat and slam out of the apartment. Keely returned to the library.

“She’s gone. Left the party,” Keely announced.

The man who rose from behind the sofa didn’t look like the cowardly type. He was tall, dark-haired, and slender. His tux fit him perfectly, a slide of black elegance. His eyes were a pure green.

He was really handsome.

“Thank you,” he said. “You just saved my life—and I know what I’m talking about because I’m a pediatric surgeon and save lives almost daily.” He held out his hand. “Gray Anderpohl.”

“Keely Green,” Keely replied. In her mind she made gagging noises at the way he introduced himself. She threw his attitude right back at him. “I’m a novelist and I write books that make thousands of women happy almost daily.”

Gray slapped himself on the forehead. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I? I didn’t mean to sound like a pompous ass. The sorry fact is that I’m socially challenged. Please let me start over.”

Charmed, Keely laughed. “Of course. I’ll start over, too.”

From the other room, people began counting down. Ten…nine…eight…

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