Page 105 of One Night Only
“Yes. Why?” I smooth my hands over the skirt. It’s my best one. Blue and clingy and bought on sale. Sexy but not too sexy. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Everything.”
I take a calming breath. It doesn’t work. “If you’re going to be difficult—”
“You’ll what? Send me home?”
“No one’s stopping you.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says shortly. “I canceled some very important Saturday night plans because you told me Amal Clooney is going to be there.”
“She will be. And what plans? You said you had the dentist.”
“Yes, and I intend to have him again.”
“Oh gross, Will.”
I lock myself back in my room and look in the mirror. He’s right. It’s all wrong. With a sigh, I unstrap myself and reach for my trusty black dress. It’s a slight improvement and it’s not like I have many others to choose from. Not for this kind of dress code.
I flatten the fabric against my body, nervous. Not that I particularly care about what Claire’s fancy colleagues think but Declan’s due to arrive any minute and I just…
I’d sent him a text, apologizing profusely about the whole “vomit gate” incident before segueing instantly into Claire’s request, trying to make it sound as ridiculous as possible in the hopes that he’d politely refuse if not outright ignore me. He didn’t.
And while I felt a little better when he assured meagainthat what happened in O’Shea’s was nothing he hadn’t seen before, I did not love the fact that he jumped at the opportunity to be Claire’s date. Even if it was a fake one.
“You look great,” I say to my reflection, just like my mental-wellness podcast told me to. “You look great and you deserve all you—”
“I can hear you,” Will calls.
I scowl into the mirror and open the door before I can change my mind. Will hasn’t moved.
“Well?”
He looks up from his phone. “What?”
“Is this better?”
“Oh. The other one was fine. I just wanted to annoy you.”
“Okay!” Claire says, coming out of her bedroom in her red dress and matching heels. I can’t tell if this is good or bad timing, seeing as I was two seconds away from killing him. “I’m ready.”
“No comments for her?” I ask Will.
“She looks great.”
“Are we on schedule?” Claire asks.
“Car’s arriving in five minutes.”
“And Declan is two minutes away. He texted me.”
“Did he?” Did he. “I’m getting a drink before we go.”
“I’ll have one too,” Will says. “Thanks for offering.”
I pour us both a vodka soda as the buzzer sounds through the apartment. Claire presses the button to let Declan in while my nerves increase tenfold.
“I guarantee you it won’t be an open bar,” Will says. “Rich people are the stingiest.”
