by Lisa Daniels
“Yes, Mr. Cedrus knew that and wanted to give you a pleasant surprise.”
“Oh, that was very thoughtful of him.”
“He is quite thoughtful, especially when it comes to friends and family. If you will follow me, the party started a bit ago, but I thought it best not to rush you.”
“Do you know if Serenity is here?”
“Yes, madam, she is here and has been receiving as much attention as Mr. Cedrus. It is almost like he is stepping back to let her shine.”
“That is the effect she has on most people.”
“I think tonight she will find that she is not the only woman who shines.”
“That is very sweet, Gerald, but even looking like this, I do not compare to her. But the gap between us will be a lot smaller than I am accustomed to it being.”
“Speaking as a man, I think that you are underestimating your own charms.” He held out a hand and opened the door. “Mr. Silas will take you the rest of the way.”
A tall, incredibly attractive young man stepped forward. “Oh please, Gerald, there’s no need to—” His jaw dropped when his eyes fell on Eva. He quickly recovered, “no need to be so formal. You must be Serenity’s friend, Eva. We have heard so much about you, and I have been eagerly waiting to meet you.” He held an arm out to her, and she slipped her arm over his. “As Gerald said, I am Silas. Don’t tell my girlfriend I said this, but I think you are the most stunning woman here. Your taste in fashion is a real credit to people from the east coast.”
Eva blushed furiously, “There is no need to go overboard complimenting me. You know that Serenity is my best friend, right? I know my place, and I am perfectly content in it.”
Silas cocked his head to the side, an uncertain smile on his face. “You clearly underestimate yourself. If I had met you a year ago, I would have exploited that, you know.”
Eva giggled, “That is very sweet, but I don’t usually look like this.”
“You will have to forgive me for disagreeing with you, but you clearly are a poor judge of both your own appearance and how others perceive you.”
He opened a door that she hadn’t noticed was there. Leaning over, she looked at the hinges. “The door really blends in with the wall.”
“That’s because we are sneaking in from the side. Alaric’s request. He said you aren’t comfortable with a lot of attention, and this will keep you from being stared at when you walk in. But I dare say you will find yourself with plenty of admirers, making escaping attention pretty much impossible for the whole night.”
“You underestimate my ability to blend in with the wall.”
Silas laughed, “That dress will not blend in with anything.” With that he pushed open another set of hidden doors and they entered a very brightly lit room that was far livelier than Eva had been expecting. The parties she attended were usually pretty muted and dull. This celebration was more like the college parties she had gone to, but the people were dressed considerably fancier than the college students. There was an area where people were dancing quite vigorously, and Eva made a note to steer clear of the dance floor because she did not know any of the moves happening on it.
Silas watched her for a moment. “You aren’t even wearing makeup. That’s absolutely incredible. And it gives me hope that I can convince Naomi that she doesn’t need to waste so much time on it. I swear, it takes up about 30 minutes every day, and it is just so unnecessary. She’s incredibly beautiful without it.”
“Naomi?” Eva looked up at her escort.
“Yes?” A pleasant voice came from behind them, startling Eva. Silas quickly turned and beamed at a beautiful woman with long black hair that shone in the lights of the chandeliers. “Wow, you must be Eva. Serenity has talked about you, but she never said you were such a knockout. Do all people from the east coast look like models?”
Eva extended her hand, “You are right, I am Serenity’s friend.” She made sure to avoid saying her last name out of habit. “And you are way too kind.”
Silas leaned over and whispered something into Naomi’s ear. She giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek before coughing and turning back to Eva. “It is a real pleasure to finally meet you. I am Naomi Yi, and my claim to fame here is that I am Silas’ girlfriend.”
“Oh, yes, Serenity said that Silas finally got a girlfriend. You are a medical student?”
“Yes, it’s been my lifelong goal.”
“So you started planning early on?”
Naomi smiled, “Yes, it seemed like the right direction to go.”
Eva didn’t press further because Naomi didn’t seem interested in talking about her reasons for going into medicine. “I know some people who might be able to help you when you start your residency. They sponsor doctors and surgeons around the world, so I’m sure they can help you all the way out here.”
“Really?” Naomi looked surprised and her eyes met Silas’ for a moment before she turned back to Eva. “That would be amazing.”
The trio moved over to the food table, but before they could get too deep into conversation, a man stepped up to them and introduced himself. His eyes and attention were clearly focused on Eva, and she found herself blushing and looking away. The attention made her uncomfortable, something that Silas seemed to pick up on pretty quickly.
“Look, Trevor, Alaric just walked in. Now would be a great time to go talk to him about the idea you had. You know what happens if you wait too long, especially after the last party. And after tonight, it’s going to be nearly impossible to get him to listen.”
“Thanks, Silas. My lady,” he picked up Eva’s hand and kissed it. “I will be back as soon as I can.”
As soon as Trevor stepped away, Silas pulled his phone out and began typing furiously on it. Eva barely noticed as her eyes fell on Alaric. He was wearing tailcoats and carried a cane which he handed over at the door. Something caught his attention, and Alaric reached into his pocket. He checked his phone, and his eyes immediately began to scan the room.
Silas stepped in front of Eva, blocking her view of Alaric. “Sorry about that. I think we will find—”
Before he finished, a pair of men tapped Eva on the shoulder. They bowed low and introduced themselves. She could hardly pay attention to them as another man tried to get her attention to her right.
Eva soon found herself being encircled by men she didn’t know, and she began to panic. If this was what it felt like to Serenity, it wasn’t at all what she wanted. Her breath began to get shallow, and she felt a panic attack building up in her.
A hand gently wrapped around her upper arm. “You must be Serenity’s friend.” Her eyes turned and met a pair of gentle black eyes. The man was just as handsome as Silas and nearly as good-looking as Ryland. For a moment, Eva was unable to say anything.
Then a bubbly voice spoke up at her elbow. “Good God, Serenity didn’t say you were more stunning than she was.” Eva’s eyebrow arched as her eyes met a smiling woman who was several inches shorter than her. The young woman had platinum hair that was in a pixie cut. It was the first time that Eva had ever found platinum to enhance a person’s features instead of making them look older. “I’m Cora, and this is my boyfriend, Emery.” If not for the smile, it would have sounded like Cora was making sure Eva knew that the handsome man was taken. Cora threw her arms around Eva, pulling her down into a hug. “Looks like I was right. Silas was the wrong person for the job. We are here to get you out of here,” Cora whispered into her ear. Pulling back, she said loud enough for the men around them to hear, “You have got to see the sculpture. If you gentlemen will excuse us, I promise to bring her back as soon as she has had a chance to give me her opinion on whether the artwork is worth the asking price.”
The men nodded and stepped back a little.
Emery wrapped an arm around Cora. He leaned over so that Eva could hear his soft voice, “There’s an adjoining room that is far less crowded where you can hide out. Serenity fled to the room a while ago. She seems pretty anxious to see
you, saying that she needs to apologize or something.”
Eva could only nod and got as close to the couple as she could. Silas and Naomi joined her, standing on either side. The four of them chatted very loudly, keeping all others from coming close to them. Eva tried to keep up with what they were saying, but they were talking about their plans over the next few days. Apparently everyone was looking forward to camping, but she still had no intention of joining them. Hopefully Serenity would be able to break it to them that Eva did not camp.
Once they were in the room, Emery shut the door. Ryland and Serenity were in the corner, standing far too close. His face was hidden, and it looked like he was kissing her neck. Eva couldn’t help the spark of jealousy and anger at the sight, but she quickly pushed it down. They were engaged, so the behavior was completely understandable. It’s not like she ever expected love or happiness out of marriage. Dating was as close as she would ever come, and those men were never serious about her, nor she about them. Trying to shake it off mentally, Eva stepped forward. “Hi, you two.”
Serenity immediately started blushing and Ryland pulled back, a guilty look on his face. It would have been funny if it had been anyone else.
“Hi, Eva. I was just—” Serenity turned to look at her, but stopped in mid-sentence. “Eva?” The shocked look on her face was almost an insult, but Eva knew that it wasn’t meant to be an insult. Considering how long they had known each other, Serenity knew that she never wore that kind of dress, so the shock was probably more from the dress than the way Eva looked. A smile quickly spread across her face as she hurried forward. Grabbing Eva’s hands, Serenity gushed, “Oh my God. I would be so proud of you if you got a picture in this and posted it to your homepage.”
Eva laughed, “Yeah, you know as well as I do that is not going to happen.”
“If you step outside of this room again, I don’t think you will be able to stop others from trying to get pictures with you.” She snapped her fingers, “Oh, that’s the angle. Dressed like that, you can completely replace all of those nerds, future politicians, and future executives for a whole new crowd. I think you will find they are far more entertaining on dates than what you are accustomed to.”
“And I’ve told you that I am not moving out here. Much like posting a picture of me in this. Coming out west is about spending time with my best friend, not pissing off—” her eyes darted to the other people in the room, “not in pissing off the people back home.”
Serenity rolled her eyes, “We’ll see. Someday you are going to get over it. I swear I will make sure of it. Anyway,” she brushed a stray lock out of her face, “I owe you an apology. Well, I thought I did, but clearly Alaric was really underselling his abilities.”
“Wait,” Ryland stepped up behind Serenity. Wrapping a hand around her waist, he looked critically at Eva. “Alaric picked that out?”
Silas chimed in, “That’s not possible. That guy has the worst taste in clothing.”
Serenity looked at Silas, then Ryland. “I know Eva, and there is no way she would pick that out.”
Emery’s soft voice cut in, “Well, we know Alaric, and there is no way he could choose anything remotely this elegant.”
Ryland was eyeing Eva again, this time with a different expression. His eyes flicked up behind her, “Actually, that’s not entirely true, but um…” he looked over at Serenity.
“No, absolutely not. He promised me, so what you are thinking is definitely wrong.”
“Oh,” Eva turned and looked at Silas as he spoke. “Well, Serenity, it might not be all bad. I mean if you really feel sorry for something, I can’t imagine a better way of trying to make it up to her.”
Serenity glared at the young man, “Don’t be crass, Silas.”
Cora laughed, “You have got to stop trying to control people, Serenity. There are some things that you can’t do anything about. This may be one of them.”
“No, he promised and I—” She looked at Eva. “Excuse me. I need to go find him.” With that she hurried out of the room.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Emery’s gentle voice spoke up next to her, “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t come all the way across the country for their drama. Naomi, will you team up with her?”
A brilliant smile lit up Naomi’s face. “Of course.”
“Wait, why not me?” Cora looked upset.
Emery gave her a disarming smile, “Because right now you want to gossip, and I don’t think that will do any good. You and Silas can go get it out of your system, and when you are ready, you can join the adults.”
She stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend, but took Silas by the arm. Ignoring his protests, she dragged him out of the room.
Naomi laughed as she walked past Eva. “I’ll explain the rules, but I have to say that we are certainly out-matched. Those two have been playing this since childhood, which means they have an unfair advantage.”
“Oh, Bocce ball. I love this game, but I’m afraid that it’s going to be a bit harder in a dress. Could we do croquet instead?”
Emery, Naomi, and Ryland looked at each other before Emery looked at her, “Sure. I should have realized Bocce ball was probably a bit much. I think that it is set up on the lawn. Here.” He held out his hand with a clip in it. “You can use that to keep your train from dragging.”
They played for about 45 minutes before switching to Bocce ball. As Ryland said, after a couple of sound thrashings by Eva with some lucky shots by Naomi, the men wanted to have a bit of an advantage. Cora, Silas, and Serenity joined them about 30 minutes later. Having fared only slightly better at the second game, the guys were ready to move back inside.
“I can’t believe that you beat Ryland so badly. He has always been the best one, and you made him look like a novice.”
Ryland just smiled at Eva. She smiled back, knowing that he was keeping her family a secret, even if it would have made him look a little less pathetic.
“Seriously?” Silas looked almost ecstatic. “Someone can finally beat him.”
Naomi was holding his hand as they walked. “Don’t listen to Emery. The score wasn’t that bad. If it had been just Ryland and Eva, it would have been a lot closer. Emery was dragging him down.”
“Hey!” It was the first time Eva heard the quiet man raise his voice. “You know that I really don’t play those games.”
“And that’s why you wanted to play on a team with Ryland.” Cora was holding his arm and stroking his back. “It’s okay, you are great at other things. You don’t need to try to beat the newb.”
Emery sighed and looked away. Even his girlfriend wasn’t sticking up for him.
Eva looked at the grandfather clock as they walked into the room. “Wow, I cannot believe how late it is. I thought we would have at least seen a few minutes of Alaric. Then again, it is his party.”
“Oh, shoot. We are going to be late.” Ryland leaned over and kissed Serenity on the cheek. “We will be back in about an hour. Just hold tight, okay?”
She nodded. The other men shared short kisses with their girlfriends, with Silas being the most aggressive. He pulled Naomi to him, and it was only when Ryland grabbed his arm and pulled him away that Silas finally let go. The actor’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he said, “Let’s go, Casanova, or we will tell Alaric why we were late.”
“Hey, it wasn’t just me.” He kissed his hand and blew it at Naomi as Ryland dragged him out. Emery was shaking his head as he went through the door. It was almost closed when he stuck his head back in, “Cora, pink.” His voice was husky as his eyes said everything that his words didn’t.
The other three women looked at her as the door closed. Cora was beaming and her cheeks were bright pink. Eva commented, “Why do I get the feeling that wasn’t what he meant by pink?”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s play poker while we wait, unless you guys want to risk going back out there.”
Serenity and Eva vigorously shook their heads. Both Cora and Na
omi laughed. Cora elbowed her friend, “It must be hard being so gorgeous that you have to hide.”
“You would know, Cora. The only reason men don’t flock to you is because you are like an electron, bouncing around everywhere. They don’t have time to gather before you are zooming off somewhere else.” She fixed her glasses as she spoke.
“And the reason they don’t swarm you is because you give off this mysterious vibe that makes you nearly unapproachable. I swear, all it would take is you smiling at a couple of them, and you would not have any more space than either of these two.”
Serenity cut in, “Cora, where are the cards?”
“Oh, right, you haven’t been here before. To be honest, I’ve only been here a handful of times, so...” she slipped a hand into a pocket in her dress, “I brought them.”
“Good thinking.” Serenity smiled and the four women moved over to a table to wait for the men to return. They had to teach Eva how to play, but she learned quickly and was able to bluff them into losing money for the first 30 minutes of the game. Once everyone caught on to the fact that she was not only willing to lie but very good at it, they started to play more aggressively.
Nearly two hours had passed, but the men were yet to return. Eva stood up. “I need to use the restroom. Do any of you know where the closest one is?”
The three women looked at each other. Cora finally spoke up, “Um, if you want to avoid the guests, I think you will need to go through the room over there. It’s down the hall towards the end on the left. I think it is the third door from the end. Go through the room, and push open the hidden door in the wall. That should be the bathroom.” Eva gave her a look, and Cora stood up, “I can go with you if you like. This place is huge.”
“No, that’s okay. You guys can stay here and talk. I’ll be alright.” She smiled and moved to the door.
Once in the hallway, she replayed Cora’s directions in her head. Walking to the third door on the left from the hallway’s end, Eva opened the door and walked to the other side of the room, where she looked for the small pressure point to activate the door. Her hand found it and the door swung open a little. Stepping through the door, she closed it and then turned around.