Page 49 of A Private Affair
“Not every woman needs a man, Mom. We’re so beyond that in this century.”
“You need love. I don’t care what anybody says, you will always need love. Whether it’s from a man, woman or alien, you need to feel like you’re loved and respected for something other than the job you do. You need to feel that you, just being you, is enough to be celebrated.”
Riley had only felt that way once, or rather each time she was with Chaz. He never looked at her as Riley Gold, daughter of Ron Gold and his uncle’s archenemy. He’d told her from the start of their affair that they were not the feud.
“I pushed him away.” The admission that had burned in her throat for the past few days came in a soft whisper and Riley looked away, blinking furiously to keep tears from falling.
Marva released her hands, touching a finger to her daughter’s chin and turning her head so that she could look into Riley’s face. “Go back and get him.”
It was a simple statement...one that echoed in Riley’s mind like her mother had shouted it through a bullhorn. But that was impossible, at least right now. Her father and brothers were headed their way and the celebration in the old historic building they’d rented in NoHo for the show was about to be jumping with the Gold after-party.
An hour later, loud music combined with three glasses of champagne had given Riley another headache that she wished would go away. The party was in full swing and she’d managed to find a quiet corner to hide for a few moments.
She’d already spoken to fashion editors, posed for pictures with some of tonight’s models and nibbled on whatever hors d’oeuvres her mother had whizzed by and popped into her mouth.
“Be gracious. Keep smiling. Sell the product.” Ron had kissed her on the forehead in between giving his instructions. “And remember that I love you, my daughter. No matter how foolish I can be it’s just because I love you.”
Riley recalled the moment her father had found her after his walk on the runway and it made her smile. Her father was always going to have her heart.
With that thought Riley reached for another glass of champagne from the tray held by a server. She took a small sip and was grateful for having something to hold in her hands, which hadn’t stopped shaking all night. Her mother’s words played on loop in her mind. Those and the words Chaz had said to her that day he’d left her standing in her office.
Lights continued to shift with the beat of the music and the hundreds of guests they’d invited to the show danced and ate and drank their way into Fashion Week bliss while Riley stood by watching. That was when she saw him.
He walked through the door across the room wearing a dark-colored suit and button-front shirt open at the neck. One of his hands was in the front pocket of his pants as he stood there looking around the room, and Riley immediately pushed away from the wall where she’d been leaning.
Her heart beat to the rhythm of the fast-paced music and her fingers gripped the stem of her glass. He was here. Chaz had come to the RGF after-party when he hadn’t received an invitation.
She could leave now. Her clever little hiding place was adjacent to the exit door. All she had to do was take a few steps, push the bar on that door and she’d be free. But she didn’t do that, because freedom wasn’t waiting on the other side of that exit door; it was just more time in the shelter she’d created for herself after believing she wasn’t worthy of love.
Riley took a step forward. She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly, reminding herself that she could do this. She’d proved herself to her family and the fashion world tonight, surely she could walk across this room and talk to one man. She took another step and a server almost bumped into her. Riley set her glass on the tray this new server carried and continued her trek across the room.
Chaz had walked down the few stairs from the entry and was now moving in the opposite direction. He seemed to be looking around the room, searching for someone. Riley’s heart beat faster and she picked up her pace, pushing past the people cluttering the floor until she saw Chaz walk into the lounge. She excused herself and hurried toward that space, fearful that Chaz would find another exit and leave.
She bumped into a photographer seconds before stepping into the lounge area and he held on to her waist to keep her from falling.
“I’m sorry,” Riley said, her hands going to the guy’s shoulders.
“No problem,” the guy told her and turned them around so that she was now standing in the lounge area and he was headed to the dance floor.
Riley was just about to resume her search for Chaz when she felt him right behind her. It was that heat that only they shared that warned of his proximity. The smoldering hunger that always started in the pit of her stomach before spreading throughout her body.
“Hi, Riley.”
His voice draped over her like a warm blanket and Riley turned slowly.
“Hi, Chaz.”
“Can we talk?”
“Definitely.” And because neither of them moved for the seconds after that brief exchange, Riley grabbed Chaz’s hand and pulled him through the lounge area and out into the front foyer.
There was significantly less noise and fewer people here.
“I was wrong,” Riley said the moment they stopped walking.
She released Chaz’s hand and looked at his surprised expression.
“I knew you wouldn’t steal from me and I should have spoken up. I should have been adamant about that and about who you are. But I was afraid. I thought it was happening all over again. The betrayal and the scandal—I felt like it was all coming back and I didn’t know how to handle that.”
