by Jo Leigh
She headed to the elevator, amazed that she could walk so comfortably in her ridiculously high Jimmy Choos. There were three stops on the way down, on the tenth, fifth and fourth floors. She didn’t know the people, but they obviously knew who she was, because there were the traditional covert stares. Piper welcomed the guests, and wished them a good time. That seemed adequate, and it made her forget about what she was about to face.
She remembered when they hit the lobby.
The party wasn’t really supposed to start until nine, yet the lobby was packed. Everyone looked like they were going to the MTV Video Music Awards, dressed to the nines with enough bling-bling to give Tiffany’s a run for their money.
She should talk. The necklace she wore was worth a quarter of a million. A legacy from her mother, one she loved beyond words. Her fingers went to the diamonds and their cool reassurance.
Taking a deep breath, she walked into the night of her life. Waiters with trays passed champagne in the lobby, all of them looking fabulous in their black tuxes with pink ties, and of course, the pink Hush logos. Piper smiled and chatted, working it as she headed to her first stop, Erotique.
The bar was about a quarter full, but she’d wager in an hour it would be S.R.O. Champagne flowed, but most of the folks in here were ordering cocktails. The band, an extraordinary local group Eddie had discovered, was finishing their setup. She’d asked them to start at eight.
Although she wanted vodka, she made her way to the bar and ordered a soda with four cherries. It might be the only food she’d get all night.
Kelly Preston came over to say hi, letting Piper know that hubby John Travolta was nearby. Piper had done a fund-raiser with the couple, and it was a nice catch-up. But then Kelly moved on, and Piper needed her soda.
“Can I get that drink for you?”
She spun around. “Oh,” she said, looking up at Trace. “How did it go?”
He smiled. “I’ll tell you all about it later. What’s far more important at the moment is that you look sensational.”
“Trace.”
“Please.”
She sighed. Then she looked him over. A black Armani tux with a dark-silver silk shirt and tie. “Oh, honey,” she said. “I think you’re gonna get so lucky tonight.”
“Thank God,” he said.
He kissed her to the accompaniment of a flashbulb. She tried to catch the miscreant, but there were too many people milling about. It was inevitable that people would sneak in cameras. Especially now when they came in such tiny packages. She couldn’t very well have everyone frisked.
“It doesn’t matter.” Trace kissed her again. “What are you having?”
“Cherries, with some soda thrown in.”
“You wild woman.”
“Don’t mess with me.”
He caught the attention of the bartender and ordered himself a Stoli. “The place looks fabulous.”
“Everyone’s worked their butts off. I’ve been assured that it will all run like clockwork. However, I’m still reserving the right to throw up.”
“Good plan.” He got his drink and hers. “Shall we go explore?”
“We shall.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her through the growing crowd.
Back in the lobby, she found Janice, who despite the fact that she hadn’t slept for about twenty hours, still looked wonderful.
“Well?”
“The mob outside is being abnormally well behaved, so I called in for reinforcements.”
Piper laughed. “Excellent, Janice. What about the limos?”
“Not a problem. The NYPD is being very cooperative. Probably because the mayor is going to be here in twenty, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Super. Where’s Lisa?”
“Last I saw, she was in Exhibit A.”
“Thanks. Give me a holler if you need me. I’ve got my cell.”
“Great.” She turned in her pretty black dress and headed for the exit. Piper saw Mick in his tux waiting for her at the door.
“Let’s do Amuse before we head down, okay?”
“Food?”
“Yes. Food. If it’s set out. If not, we’ll sneak into the kitchen.”
It took a while to go the short distance to the restaurant. Lots of people to schmooze, lots of cheeks to kiss. Lots and lots of celebrities. Everyone from Larry King to Beyoncé. When they finally reached the restaurant, she saw that Chef had outdone himself. The hors d’oeuvres were out of this world, with delicacies like poached oysters garnished with osetra caviar and vermouth sauce, warm quail salad, boudin of lobster, shrimp and scallops with sofrito and Nantua sauce, and many other scrumptious goodies.
Trace made himself a small plate, but she was happy with her cherries. More and more people wanted to talk to her, everyone declaring their undying allegiance to Hush and promising to stay forever, but now that the worst of her jitters were over, she wanted to get Trace alone and find out what had happened with his father and hers.
It didn’t work out that way. The mayor showed up, and that was an event in itself. He was very nice, but she could tell he was sorry the press hadn’t been allowed inside. Janice quietly assured her he’d been properly treated by the hordes, and that he was simply still basking in the glow.
She made nice, he made politics to everyone within earshot, and by the time she was through, they needed her in Exhibit A.
Trace stayed by her the whole time, which was the most incredible feeling. It was amazing to have him at her back. He wouldn’t let her fall. He wouldn’t even let her trip. He was simply there, her own personal rock.
That made her think naughty things, which she couldn’t possibly act upon now, so instead, she stole a kiss on their way down to the sofa bar.
It was Eddie who’d paged, and she understood when she walked into the bar. Something was wrong with the sound system. Before she could panic, Trace took her by the shoulders, asked who was in charge, and told her he’d handle it. Boom, just like that, she relaxed. There was no doubt that he’d do whatever it took to make it right, and she didn’t have to do a thing but walk around and compliment movie stars on their wardrobe choices.
She began with Halle Berry, who was devastatingly stunning, and moved on to Edie Falco. Good lord, there were more stars than in the heavens: Matthew and Sara Jessica, Jude Law and Sienna Miller. Even Dash Black. Insanity. But great insanity.
The best thing of all though, was when she saw Lisa. She looked glorious. Not just because of her Valentino gown, which was beyond the beyond, but because she looked the happiest Piper had ever seen her. Smiling like a coquette, she was deep into major flirting with the terminally adorable George Clooney, and from this angle, Mr. Clooney didn’t stand a chance.
The sound of jazz filled the room. Not just one speaker, but all of them, from below and above and all sides. They’d hired one of the best quartets in the world, and in the first few bars they’d earned their fee.
She looked around for Trace, admiring the dancers as they spun through the room, the blue lights skimming the walls, making the guests look fabulously exotic.
As she caught sight of Trace, her spirits soared even higher. She felt like the queen of New York, and she knew, without a doubt, that she’d made the right decision. But there were still things to do.
Not with the hotel. With that gorgeous guy smiling as he made his way to her. He never even looked at the world-class women all around him. Just her.
“All better,” he said.
She put her hand over his heart. “Perfect.”
“Do you need to be in this room?”
She shook her head.
“How about a visit to the garden?”
“You bet.”
Half an hour later, they were on the rooftop. Not alone, unfortunately, but it wasn’t crowded, and they were able to scope out a private corner. It was so beautiful. All the bowers and arbors twinkled with sparkly white lights. The flowers smelled divine, and the only music was the trick
le of the fountains.
Trace found a nice bench, then pulled her down next to him. “You throw a great party.”
“Thanks. I had help.”
“We all need help from time to time.”
“Speaking of which, what happened?”
“It was better and worse.”
“Than?”
“Better than being stung by millions of wasps, worse than getting the Nobel Peace Prize.”
She laughed. “Anyone ever tell you that when you’re not being a stuffy prick, you’re very, very cute?”
“No.”
“It’s true. Now tell me.”
“Well, Dad was reasonably cool. After he finished about a half hour of telling me what a schmuck I was, and how I could have permanently destroyed his entire life, he said if I wanted to stay with the firm, I could, but only if Nicholas didn’t fire everyone.”
“Cool.”
“I thought so.”
She grabbed his hand. “What about Nicholas?”
“He’s a troubled man.”
She laughed again. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He’s having an affair with the reporter from the Post.”
“Trace.”
“Okay. He tried to give me a great deal of money to convince you to change your mind.”
“Did you take it?”
“Oh, yeah. I already ordered my yacht. I’m calling it the Irredeemable Bastard.”
“Sweet.”
“I also informed him that I was now the official counsel for Hush and Piper Devon. He, uh, tried to convince me that he could take the hotel, that it was his money that built it, but I reminded him that I’d been the one to draw up the papers on the trust and that he had no claim whatsoever. Contracts were pulled. Things were said. Frankly, I didn’t even know your father knew those words, but eventually, he conceded.”
“Wow. I guess that means we shouldn’t invite him for dinner next week, huh.”
Trace’s face lost its humor. “No, honey. I’m not saying you two will never reconcile, but it’s gonna be a while. A long while.”
“Did you see Kyle?”
He smiled again. “Yeah. He told me to tell you ‘Way to go.’”
“I’ll bet he was already celebrating. He’s now the only child he’s always wanted to be.”
“On the other hand, you have made this hotel. You’ve built something real. Yours. No one else in the world could have done it. Just you. I hope you’re not upset that I plan to ride on your coattails.”
She swallowed hard. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “There’s one more thing I thought I’d better mention.”
“What’s that?”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her gently. “I’ve kind of fallen in love with you.”
Piper’s whole body shivered. No words, nothing in her life had ever felt like this. “Oh,” she whispered.
He winced. “That’s it? Oh?”
She looked at him through her lashes. “Oh, goody?”
“Better,” he said.
Leaning in, she kissed him. A real doozy. A kiss that told him she’d kinda fallen in love with him, too. That they were beginning anew, that they were beginning together. That whatever happened, they’d be fine. Really fine.
He kissed her back. His hands pulled her tight, and she melted against him. Tongues and teeth and sighs. A joy that blocked out the rest of the world.
It was only the lack of oxygen that made them part. She blinked back tears as she looked at him. “I love you,” she said. “Always have. I just forgot for a little while.”
“That’s good to know,” he said.
“You don’t think they’d miss me if we left, do you?”
He laughed. “Uh, yeah. Sadly, I do. But tell you what. After midnight, they’re on their own. It’ll be just you and me.”
“It’s a deal.”
He kissed her again, then pulled her up to stand next to him. “Let’s go knock ’em dead, shall we?”
She nodded. “Just stay close, okay?”
He squeezed her hand. “Always.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6318-9
HUSH
Copyright © 2005 by Jolie Kramer.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19