that while she hated the heels, they looked great with the dress. She was elegant and sophisticated and longed to look this good every day.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Okay.”
“Yeah,” Izzy said, hugging her. “Okay for sure. Let’s go dazzle Garth.”
“You think he’ll like it?”
“He won’t be able to talk.”
Dana wasn’t so sure. She followed Izzy down the hall, into the living room where Garth stood talking to Lexi. He looked like a male model in a perfectly fitted tux and white shirt. Her heart gave a funny little lurch, which she ignored.
“Are you ready?” he asked as he turned toward her.
And then the most amazing thing happened. He stopped talking. His mouth hung open but he didn’t say a word. He closed his mouth, then opened it again. But there still wasn’t any sound.
Next to him, Lexi sighed. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“THE LIMO WAS A NICE TOUCH,” Dana said as they climbed the stairs to Glory’s Gate. She’d been in the house a thousand times before. As a kid, she’d spent the night nearly every weekend. There was nothing to be nervous about. So why were her insides quivering?
“You hated the limo,” Garth said, putting his hand on the small of her back, as if to guide her.
“I wasn’t sure of the purpose. You have a very nice car.”
“It was for show. This is all about how things look, not how they are.”
“There’s a philosophy to embrace.”
They reached the top of the stairs and moved toward the open front door.
Dana could see into the main floor of the huge house. Three or four hundred people milled around inside. Light glittered from a dozen crystal chandeliers. Servers in black pants and white shirts circulated with trays of expensive food while the sound of champagne corks competed with the chamber orchestra.
Nothing about this was her, she thought, knowing it was too late to turn back now.
“You okay?” he asked.
She reached for Garth’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
“Go with it.”
They walked into the party. Dana knew she was probably cutting off the circulation in Garth’s hand, but she couldn’t loosen her grip. Not when there were so many well-dressed strangers everywhere she looked. Senators, oil tycoons, movie stars. Not a crowd designed to make her feel at home.
“Garth, good to see you,” an older man said. “You remember my wife?”
His wife was a blue-eyed blonde with a face that didn’t move. Dana wasn’t sure if she was twenty-five or fifty.
“Of course,” Garth said easily. “Amanda, you look lovely. Jason doesn’t begin to deserve you.”
“So I tell him every day.”
Garth chuckled. “This is my friend, Dana. Dana, Jason and Amanda Barkley. Jason is the ambassador to Costa Rica.”
Dana smiled and shook hands with the couple. They chatted for a few more minutes, then moved on.
“Want to head to the bar?” Garth asked.
“Do I look like I need a drink?”
“No, but I do. Liquor makes the party easier to tolerate.”
“Then I’m glad we came in a limo,” she whispered, as he nodded at more people he knew.
When they’d reached the bar, Dana accepted a pale green “drink of the night” with no idea what it was. Garth asked for Scotch.
They moved through the crowd. The downstairs of Glory’s Gate had been designed for entertaining. Seemingly solid walls could be moved out of the way, creating an open space that could accommodate nearly a thousand people. There would be less tonight because there was a sit-down dinner. Dana had seen Skye plan for a big event before, but she’d never appreciated the sheer size of the major fund-raisers. Everything she’d ever been dragged to before had been tiny by comparison.
“How does this work?” she asked. “Do people pay to come?”
He nodded. “It’s five thousand a plate.”
She nearly choked. “Five thousand
“That’s nothing. Ask me about the three million she made me pay the other day.”
Dana had no idea what he was talking about but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of that much money.
“Later there’s an auction. She should walk away with a couple of million easily.”
It boggled the mind, Dana thought, taking a sip of her drink.
Nick came up and joined them. “Izzy found someone who’s actually been cave diving. She’s badgering the poor guy for details. I couldn’t listen.”
Dana didn’t want to think about underwater cave diving, either. “Do you think she’ll really try it?”
Nick shook his head. “We’re talking about Izzy. You want to take bets?”
“No.” Izzy had always been wild, although falling for Nick had calmed her down a lot. She was going back to college in a couple of months. “Maybe she’ll be too busy with homework.”
“We can only hope.”
The orchestra started another song.
Nick took her drink and put it on a small table by a pillar. “Come on, Dana. Distract me with a dance.”
The line was smooth enough and Garth gave her an encouraging push toward his friend, but everything about the moment felt strange. Rehearsed, almost. She turned to say something to Garth, only to find him walking away.
“So this was a plan,” she said, following Nick a few steps, then coming to a stop. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
“What is he up to?”
Nick sighed. “It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what
“It’s not another woman.”
“I never thought it was.” Which was true. So why would Garth want to go off on his own? A business deal?
She dismissed that. Not here. Not at Skye’s party.
“Is it Jed? Is he here?” she asked.
“Apparently he bought a ticket.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. “Garth shouldn’t be alone with him. Something could happen.”
“Don’t worry. Garth can take care of himself.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. Jed will do anything to win, including trap Garth.” She turned to walk away.
Nick grabbed her arm. “Dana, leave him be.”
She shrugged free. “Are you really going to stop me?”
Nick stared into her eyes. “No. But tell him I tried, okay?”
“Sure.”
She went in the same direction as Garth, hoping she could find him before something bad happened. Unfortunately the tiny evening bag Lexi had loaned her hadn’t been big enough to conceal any of her handguns, so
