Page 40 of Queen of Diamonds
11
Friday came, the night of the Friends of the Library Ball. Rand thought it was a little strange that he’d rather be at Aces & Eights, considering he wasn’t at all comfortable at the bar. He escorted Deidre Cummings into the Fontainebleau’s grand ballroom, wishing he’d refused to be her escort when his father had asked. Even more, he wished it was Kinsey at his side.
He’d forgotten how glittery these things were. Ball gowns sparkled with crystals sewn in the bodices and skirts, competing for attention with diamonds flashing on fingers and necks. Across the room he saw his mother chatting up one of Miami’s resident rock stars.
“Oh, there’s Jonathan and Cynthia Johnstone. Do you know them?” Deidre asked.
“I do.” He hadn’t seen the Johnstones in over a year. Not surprising since this was the first function he’d attended since Olivia had left him. Jonathan was okay, but Cynthia was all about status and how much money was in one’s bank account. He so badly didn’t want to be here.
Deidre was lovely, blonde and blue-eyed, slim and pale. But she was made from the same mold as his ex-wife, and he couldn’t help comparing her to the black-haired, brown-eyed beauty he couldn’t stop thinking about. Apparently his taste in women had drastically changed.
“Rand Stevens, you do still exist,” Jonathan said upon seeing him. He smiled at Deidre. “Hello, Deidre. How’d you get this guy to come out of whatever hole he’s been hiding in?”
Deidre smiled back at Jonathan. “It’s my superpower.”
She and Cynthia air-kissed, then Rand got air-kisses from Cynthia. The hell, he hated these things. He spied his parents headed their way, and he braced himself, knowing his mother would bestow her own air-kisses on him before she found something to criticize.
“Hello, Randall,” his mother said after almost touching her lips to first one cheek and then the other. “You’ve gained a few pounds. You should let me make you an appointment with my personal trainer.”
“Regina, leave the boy alone.” His father greeted Deidre and then Jonathan and Cynthia.
Well, that was embarrassing, having his mother chastise him in front of the others and then his dad calling him a boy. But that was the way it had always been, and he should be used to it by now. Nor had he gained weight, and was, in fact, in the best physical shape he’d ever been in due to Nate’s insisting his agents spend time at the gym.
“Mother, you look beautiful, as usual,” he said, not only because she expected the compliment but because it was true. Regina Stevens spent a lot of time and money to make sure she appeared a good ten or fifteen years younger in face and body than her fifty-five years. She graced him with a thin smile and then turned her attention to Deidre and Cynthia.
As a boy he’d vied for her attention in every way he could think of, but had never gotten more than a few words or an admonishment to behave. Somewhere around his early teens, he’d finally accepted that she didn’t love him or his father. He still didn’t understand why his dad stayed married to her, but that was a mystery he wasn’t interested in solving.
Bored with the chitchat, he scanned the room, stilling when he locked eyes with the woman who’d been haunting his mind. A smile teased her lips at seeing him.
“Uh-oh. Marguerite Fletcher is wearing the same gown as Cynthia. That should liven things up when Cynthia notices,” Deidre whispered, leaning against his arm.
Kinsey’s gaze flicked from him to Deidre, and her smile froze, then faded away. She turned her face toward the man standing next to her. It was the same man who’d almost left bruises on her arm when he’d gone to Summer Fashions. Why the hell was she with him? Rand crushed the growl forming in this throat.
He glanced at Deidre to see her eyes dancing with mischief. She really was beautiful and amusing and nice. And she did absolutely nothing for him. There wasn’t even the slightest hitch in his breath when her breasts brushed against his arm.
“So you’re predicting fireworks as a part of tonight’s entertainment?”
She gave a soft chuckle. “I’ve always loved fireworks.”
As if his eyes had a mind of their own, they drifted back to Kinsey. She was watching them, but as soon as their gazes met, she looked away again. He knew exactly what she was thinking, that everything he’d said to her had been a lie.
And why was she with that douchebag?
“Who is she?”
Rand jerked his gaze away and turned to Deidre. “Who?”
“The woman you’re staring so hard at. She’s very pretty.”
He almost said,No one.But that wasn’t true. “Her name’s Kinsey Landon.”
“I see,” she said, and he guessed she did because disappointment flashed in her eyes.
He was sorry for putting it there, but he had no intention of letting her think he’d be seeing her again. A waiter with a tray of champagne appeared, and after the others took a flute, he quietly asked for a club soda on ice with a lime. He’d learned that if he had one of those in his hand, people assumed it was a drink and wouldn’t ask him questions he didn’t want to answer.
His dad held out his arm. “Shall we go mingle, darling?” he asked his wife.
“Yes. I see Mayor Torres and his wife. We must say hello.”
