Meeting Sam for a film.
Blech! Boring! But he wasn’t a bad-looking boy, and that made me not dread the evening as badly. I’d also discovered he was tall and would be able to wear heels, thank God, unlike my last charade where the guests were terminally short. I was forced to wear flats that night.
“Done!” Katy said, obviously proud of herself.
When I looked up, I saw that I looked as I always did. Impeccable.
“Thank you, Katy,” I said drily. “Settle with Matilda, I’ll ensure she includes a generous tip.”
“Oh, of course, Miss Price. Thank you.”
I stood, not bothering to see them out, and entered my dressing room. My closet was compartmentalized according to color and event. If I didn’t do that, I’d never find anything. The thousand-square-foot room was filled with clothing from floor to ceiling save for a small step to the massive wall mirror. My shoes were housed below the large island in the center and the counter held my jewelry and hats.
“Let’s see here,” I told no one. I made for the not-too-formal section of my wardrobe and chose a couture Chanel gown. Black and white. Gasp. Shocking, right?
I dressed and was downstairs in half an hour, awaiting the guests in the library where my father brought all his guests before dinner.
My mother walked in five minutes later. “Sophie,” she said, barely acknowledging me. She leaned over the mirror beside the door and examined her makeup.
“Hello, love,” my father laid on thickly for my mother when he entered the room. He kissed her with such fervid mania, I had to clear my throat to alert my presence. Disgusting. The lust poured off them. “Sophie,” my dad spit out, still looking at my mother.
“Asshole,” I said under my breath, but he didn’t hear.
Finally, the doorbell rang and I heard the clamor of feet in the marbled foyer. Our Steward, Leith, lead the Rokul family into the library. “The Rokul family,” Leith formally announced before swiftly exiting.
“Henry! Harriet! Devon!” My dad said jovially, hugging each like he wasn’t the giant prick we all knew he really was. “This is my lovely wife, Sarah, and my daughter, Sophie.”
I plastered the most genuine smile I possibly could and made my way their direction, taking each hand after my mother did.
“What a lovely family you have, Robert,” Henry complimented.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he told Henry, grabbing us each by the waist.
I absently recognized that that was the first physical contact I’d had with my father in more than six months.
Harriet and my mother sat together on the tufted fainting couch and the men, except for Devon, observed the grounds from the window. This left poor Devon shifting near the door.
“So, I hear you attend Harvard?” I approached and asked him.
He seemed to soften at my question. “Yes, I study business.”
“What else?” I asked, not realizing how rude that was until it was too late.
A soft smile reached his lips.
“I’m so sorry that was incredibly boorish of me.” I needed to patch it up before my father found out. “I meant that it would only make sense you’d study business seeing who your father is. An unerring sense of business must be inherited.”
“And she recovers flawlessly,” he teased, making me smile genuinely.
“Dinner is served,” Leith said, interrupting the room.
Devon offered his arm and I took it. My dad winked at me in approval and I wanted to gag. Dinner was served in the more intimate dining room, as there were only six of us. Devon pulled a chair out for me at the end of the table then sat next to me, two full seats separating us from our parents.
“Thank you for this,” I secreted in his ear.
“My pleasure,” he flirted.
Devon was a complete gentleman throughout dinner and I found myself unbelievably attracted to him. I mean, of course, all the boys in my circle were utter gentlemen. It was a product of their breeding, but Devon seemed genuinely interested in being courteous just for the sake of being courteous.