Sammy kissed her on the cheek. “I had no idea you were a fan of haute couture.”
She gave him a laugh. “A little something I picked up in Paris.”
He squeezed her hands. “Find me later for a dance.” And he joined the throng headed for the party.
“Sinclair,” came another voice, and an arm went around her shoulders.
“Mr. Davidson.” She greeted the owner of a chain of specialty shops that had featured Lush Beauty Products for years.
“This is my wife, Cynthia.”
Sinclair smiled and leaned forward to shake the woman’s hand. As she did, Wes Davidson’s hand dropped to an uncomfortable level near her hip.
“And one of my store managers, Reginald Pie.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Pie.” Sinclair shook the man’s hand.
Wes Davidson spoke up. “It’s such a pleasure to see you, Sinclair. I’ve been meaning to arrange a meeting to talk about the new product lines.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
“I’ll call you,” he said. “Great to see you looking…so…great.”
Mrs. Davidson reddened.
Sinclair gently pulled away. “Oh, look. There’s Ethan. I need to say hello. So good to see you Mr. Davidson. Mrs. Davidson.”
Sinclair slipped away.
She made a beeline for Ethan. He was talking to two of their distributors.
“But if the price breaks don’t work for the small retailers,” one of the men was saying, “you’re going to compromise your core business.”
“Hello, Ethan,” Sinclair broke in, grateful to find a safe conversation.
The men stopped talking and turned to stare at her.
“You remember Sinclair,” said Ethan.
What a strange thing to say. Of course they remembered her.
“Sinclair,” said Ron. “You look incredible.”
“Fabulous to see you again,” said David.
Then the conversation stopped dead.
Sinclair glanced from one man to the other. “You were talking about price breaks?” she prompted.
David chuckled. “Oh, not tonight,” he said. “You look incredible,” he repeated Ron’s sentiment.
“Thank you.” But that didn’t mean her brain had stopped working.
There was another strained silence.
“I’ll see you all inside?” Sinclair offered.
The men seemed to relax.
“Yes,” said David.
“Looking forward to it,” said Ron.
Ethan winked.
Sinclair walked away and immediately spotted Chantal.
She was surrounded by admirers, and she didn’t seem to mind they were focused on her looks and not on her business savvy. She was a glittering jewel in low-cut bright red, and she seemed to revel in the role.
Sinclair, on the other hand, was having serious reservations about her makeover. Men used to take her seriously. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so awkward in a business conversation.
Her cell phone rang in her evening purse, and she welcomed the distraction. She picked up the call.
“Can you hang on?” she asked, not expecting to be able to hear the answer.
She sought out an alcove behind the concierge desk, next to a bank of phone booths.
“Hello?”
“It’s Hunter,” came a welcome and familiar voice.
“Hey, you,” she responded, her voice softening, and the tension inside her dissipating to nothing. “Are you out front?” She glanced at the foyer, straining to see him coming through the main doors.
“I’ve had a complication.”
“Oh?”
He was going to be late. Sinclair tried to take the news in stride. She really had no expectations of him. At least, she had no right to have any expectations of him. But in that split second, she realized she’d been counting the minutes until he’d arrive.
“I’m on my way to London.”
“Now?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“There’s a couple of cruise ships, and a bankruptcy, and a complication in the Paraguay election.”
“I understand,” she quickly put in.
“I’m sorry-”
“No need. It’s business.” She’d been warned he’d hurt her. Hadn’t she been warned?
She heard him draw a breath. Traffic sounds came through his end of the phone.
“We only have twelve hours,” he told her.
She forced a laugh. “Another quick deal?”
“Jack’s on board this time.”
“That’s good.”
“We can get a really great price.”
“Of course.” She tried to ignore the crushing disappointment pressing down on her chest. She had no right to feel this way. He’d done so much for her already.
“You’re great,” he told her. “You’ll do fine on your own.”
“I know,” she nodded, realizing how very much she’d been counting on their last dance tonight. There was something about their relationship that cried out for closure-a closure she hadn’t yet experienced.
“I wouldn’t do it, except-”
“Hunter, stop.”
“What?”
“I knew this going in,” she pointed out, proud of her even tone.
“Knew what?”
“You. You’re reckless and impulsive. You have to fly to London. You have to buy ships. And you have to do it in less than twelve hours. That’s you. That what I lo…like about you. Have a great time.”
He was silent on the other end.
“You sure?” he finally asked.
“Do I sound sure?”
“Well, yeah.”
Her lying skills had obviously improved. “There you go. I’ll see you at the office. I gotta go now.”
“But-”
“See you.” Sinclair clicked off the phone.
She rounded the corner, taking in what now looked like a daunting mix of finely dressed people. And at the same time, she was beginning to fear her colleagues wouldn’t take her seriously. While Chantal seemed to be managing the glam persona with aplomb. And now Hunter wasn’t even going to show up.
Damn.
She had to stop caring about that.
Had she expected to be Cinderella tonight?
Had she expected he’d sweep the new her onto the dance floor, realize he’d fallen madly in love, and carry her off to happily ever after?
It was a ridiculous fantasy, and Sinclair was horrified to realize it was hers.
Her fingers went to the ruby-and-diamond goldfish bracelet-the one she hadn’t taken off in a week.
She’d thought about him every moment while she’d primped tonight. She’d worn a white, whale-boned bustier. It gave body to the dress, but it was also shamelessly sexy. She told herself no one would see it. But, secretly, deep down inside her soul, she’d hoped he would. She’d hoped they’d find an excuse to make love one more time, or
