Page 120 of Party Favors

“Why did you run out?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer. “I probably shouldn’t have said—”

“No, don’t. I don’t want you to take it back. I’m not afraid. Not for the reason you probably think, anyway.”

“Then why?”

“I need to talk to you, but it has to be in person. And it can’t be someplace where we’re alone and all I want to do is devour you.”

I couldn’t help the pleasurable shivers that started running up and down my back. “What if I want to be devoured?”

“That is part of the problem,” he ground out, sounding frustrated. “I’ve discovered that I’m basically powerless to resist you.”

“Then don’t resist me,” I said, only partially teasing. It was an intoxicating feeling to know that someone like Max felt like he couldn’t keep away from me. “But if you’re worried, maybe we can get together tomorrow in some neutral location where there are other people and talk?”

“I have a bunch of appointments for most of the day, and then a family dinner tomorrow night.”

“And I have that work thing tomorrow night anyway, so I wouldn’t be able to go even if you were free. What about Sunday?”

“I can do Sunday. Let’s have lunch together at Roma Vida.”

Aw, that was where we’d kind of had our first date. He was the cutest. “It’s a date. And I’m glad you called me. Shutting down and running off is not a way to deal with problems.”

“I know. And I’ll see you on Sunday,” he said. “I’ll be thinking about you every second until I get to be with you again.”

That reassured me that I hadn’t frightened him off completely. “Okay. Bye.”

When I hung up my phone, Vella was giving me a surprised face. “Newfound respect for Max Colby. Good for him.”

“But what do you think he has to tell me?”

“Like I said, all I’ve got is ‘married.’ I don’t know what else would be important for him to disclose.”

Neither did I. While I was completely relieved that he had called me and still wanted to see me, I felt more confused than ever.

My work event the following evening was the anniversary party for Ambassador Preston Wainscott and his wife, Fiona, and it was easily the swankiest event I’d ever attended. There was a lot to oversee and I could tell that Claudia was grateful I had come to help. There were so many moving parts, and the hotel was one of the most expensive ones in New York and the staff were not exactly easy to work with. A bit snobbish, even.

It also wasn’t simple coordinating tasks with the other event-planning company. Everybody was being a bit territorial, which I understood. If this were an event I had helped plan from start to finish, I wouldn’t want another company coming in at the last minute and putting their fingerprints all over it, either.

Forty different things went wrong and it took all of us to put out each of those fires. Nothing major, just a lot of small annoyances that would have upset our guests of honor if they were aware of them.

For a brief moment I wondered if any members of the Monterran royal family would be at the party. Mr. Wainscott had been their ambassador—it would make sense that he might know some of them and they might come.

A few weeks ago that thought would have filled me with eager anticipation.

But now? I didn’t need a Monterran prince. I had Max.

The guests started arriving and I no longer had an assigned task, so I just floated around, letting the other planners know that I was available if they needed assistance. I would have to stay until the very end, as I’d promised Claudia that I would help with takedown. I felt like I owed it to her since she had done it for me at Hyacinth’s birthday party.

I was also hoping to finally talk with her about my possible promotion. She had blatantly told me that it would happen if the birthday was a success, and it had been. But she had been so busy this last week with this event that she hadn’t had any free time to discuss it with me. I’d checked with her assistant to see her schedule and not a single time slot had been available.

So this would be my chance to make my move.

I was walking around the dance floor, where the DJ was setting up. I had been surprised that this couple didn’t want like, an orchestra, but apparently the DJ had been at their request, as they shared a love for 1980s hair bands and wanted those songs played.

The Elevated CEO, Topher Crawley, was here. He nodded at me and came over to say hello. I always felt anxious around him, like I didn’t know the correct thing to do or say.

“How are you this evening, Everly?”

“I’m good, sir. How are you?”

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