Page 3 of Picture Perfect Love

Joshua

As Lucas and I got out of the limo in front of the ballroom we booked for the Heartstring Gala, I was bracing myself for the moment I knew would come just before we went inside.

We started down the red carpet, with our sisters Jada and Camille trailing behind, each of us stopping to pose for the cameras. Just as I predicted, after we reached the top of their stairs and made our final pose as a group, he stopped me in front of the big ornate double doors.

“All you have to do is stay relatively sober and charm the guests. That’s it. Don’t try and make a show of anything. Just remember… you’re on damage control. Don’t fuck this up,” he hissed.

I forced a smile and followed him inside. Big crystal chandeliers lined the middle of the enormous vaulted ceiling, sparkling across the marble floors where the guests mingled and the wait staff scurried back and forth. Everyone stopped, turned, and applauded our entrance. Lucas stepped forward to bask in it all like he was the man of the hour. Nevermind that this was a family business, and that this whole party was supposed to celebrate the success of all of us.

“He still pissed at you?” Our youngest sister, Jada, appeared at my side.

“Oh yeah,” I sighed.

She snagged a glass of champagne from one of the passing trays. “Hang in there, brother. If you behave, he’ll eventually get over it.”

After she slinked off into the crowd, Camille took her place next to me. I didn’t expect much sympathy from her. She was just as uptight as Lucas was.

“Lucas gave you a rundown of what we expect from you this evening?” she asked.

“To be present, but also mostly invisible,” I quipped.

Looking unamused, she shot me a death glare and then slipped out onto the ballroom floor with everyone else. I was quick to arm myself with my own alcoholic beverage and hang back on the sidelines to scan the room. It was a shame I had to be on such good behavior, because there were plenty of hot chicks at the party with plunging backs and necklines on their dresses. There was enough hint of skin floating around the room to give me a hard-on, but as long as I kept my drinking in moderation… I would manage to contain myself.

Or so I thought, until I saw her. Except the young brunette in question wasn’t a guest at all. She wore the same black and white attire as the rest of the wait staff, yet she stood out like a diamond in the rough. It didn’t take long for her to catch my eye. Her short, bouncy ponytail swayed behind her as she rushed around the room, tending to her job. She had flawless fair skin, big gorgeous blue eyes, and a smile that could slay any man. And it seemed to be carrying its weight, as I watched countless guests of the old-man variety slip bills into her pockets as tips.

A while later, the party was in full swing. Everyone began clinking forks on their glasses as Lucas took the stage. Camille joined his side, but Jada and I opted to stay in our seats at the front row table reserved for us.

“Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming,” he started, flashing his most charming smile. I loved my brother, but sometimes he laid it on so thick it was nauseating.

I needed another glass of champagne to stomach it. No, actually what I needed was something stronger. Like a whiskey neat. I was contemplating how scandalous it would be for me to sneak off to the bar in the middle of his speech. I turned in my seat to judge the distance from our table to the bar, but the timing of me inserting my foot out from under the table was unfortunate.

Just as I turned, the brunette waitress was walking past with her arms full of trays of food. My foot managed to obstruct her path in just the right way to send her flying across the floor. Shrimp and sushi and every other manner of hors d’oeuvres plopped down all around her.

Lucas froze along with the rest of the room, except for me. I leapt up and raced over to help her. With her hands in mine, she climbed back onto her feet and stared deeply into my eyes.

“Thank you,” she smiled, showing off her endearing dimples.

I was taken back for a moment by the current that seemed to surge between us, but before I could process it she was already dashing off to clean up the mess. The other waitresses jumped into help, and within no time it was like the whole thing never happened. Aside from the teasing snickers of some of the guests every time the brunette walked by. Poor thing. And it was all my fault.

Lucas recovered and finished his speech. Everyone clapped and the evening went on. But I was fully distracted by the brunette, and was painfully aware of her every move. It was like there was some kind of siren on top of her head that alerted me to her presence everywhere she went.

After downing that whiskey neat, as soon as I was able to obtain it, I decided I had to know her name at the very least. She deserved an apology for me tripping her and embarrassing her in front of everyone.

I noticed her in the far corner of the room, scanning the crowd for anywhere she might be needed. I made a point to stroll over and corner her before she could be summoned again.

“Sorry about earlier,” I said with a smile.

She laughed and shrugged, “Things happen. Don’t be sorry. That is, unless you did it on purpose.”

“Well if I had, I wouldn’t admit it.”

“Then I’ll just cling to the hope that it was all a happy accident,” she grinned. “That kind of thing happens all the time, anyway. There’s not a waitress in this room that hasn’t fallen and made a fool out of herself at least once. It’s bound to happen with as much as we rush around. There’s only so much running around you can do before the odds of a fall are against you. Only the rookies let it get to them.”

“I take it you’re not, then. A rookie?”

“Goodness, no. I’ve been waitressing for five years, going on six. It’s just to put me through school, though.” Her eyes flickered across my face. “I’d ask what you do, but I already know.”

“Oh do you?” I raised a brow.

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