Annihilate Me (Vol. 4) (The Annihilate Me Series) (15 page)

Within
an instant, I heard Alex’s name called from within the crowd, and suddenly we
were bathed in staccato rhythms of light.
 
My heart started to quicken.
 
I wore a smile for the cameras, but I could see nothing, which terrified
me.
 
I reached for Alex’s hand and
held it firmly in my own.
 
We stood
as casually as we could while our photographs were taken, and then Alex lifted
his hand in a quick wave to the photographers, and we went through the door and
into Peachy’s mansion.

“We’re
good,” Alex said to me.

“That
scared the hell out of me.”

“Are
you OK?”

“I’m
fine.”

“Make
sure you check your phone as often as possible.
 
I’ll do the same.”

I
looked at the crowds ahead of us, and saw that the turnout was massive.
 
Peachy promised two hundred people, and
she delivered.
 
There must have been
seventy people on the first floor alone, all moving toward the grand staircase
that would take them to the second floor where cocktails were being
served.
 
When she saw us, her face
visibly brightened.
 
She smiled and
nudged her husband Robert, who was about as stoic as they came.
 
While Alex spoke with him, Peachy took
my hands in hers.

“Oh,
my dear,” she said, admiring my dress.
 
“Marc Jacobs.
 
I saw it on
the runway in Paris.
 
And when I saw
it, I knew I could never wear it—it would reveal things I’d rather not reveal,
thank you very much.
 
But you?
 
You’re a vision, my dear.
 
And your hair—sublime.
 
Blackwell always knows what to do with
you.
 
And I assume Bernie
helps?
 
Yes, I thought so.
 
He always has been her go-to person, and
why not?
 
He’s fabulous.
 
He’s done my hair many times.
 
As I said to you the last time you were
here, I need more people like you at my parties.
 
Half of the people here are so old, that
they are probably wondering where they are.
 
But you?
 
You are chic.
 
On trend.
 
You and Alex lower the median age.”
 

She
pulled me toward her to give me an air kiss that wasn’t really an air kiss at
all.
 
In my ear, she said in a low
voice, “All is going to be fine.
 
Try to relax—I can sense your tension from here.
 
Have one cocktail to rid yourself of
that, but just one.
 
You need to be
on point tonight.
 
Tank and his team
are so professional—I was able to see them in action over the past few
days.
 
Incroyable
.
 
He showed me how he can view the
exterior and the first two floors of my house with his spy equipment.
 
I feel like I’m helping James Bond, for
goodness sake, and I’m happy to do so.
 
Robert and I hope that tonight finishes this ridiculous madness.”

I
was infatuated with her.
 
“I’m so
grateful to you,” I said.

“Think
nothing of it.
 
He might not know it
for all sorts of complicated reasons that come down to how his mother treated
him, but that man of yours had my heart as a boy, and he has it now.
 
You do, too.
 
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for either
of you.
 
Know that.
 
Let’s pray that tonight makes everything
you’ve been going through go away.
 
Then, we’ll have you and Alex over for a private dinner.
 
Just the four of us.
 
Oh, and Tank must come.
 
Last time, I promised him dinner because
I didn’t have a seat for him.
 
Is he
seeing anyone?
 
Six for dinner would
be grand.”

“He’s
sort of seeing someone.
 
It’s questionable
at this point.”

“Do
you like her?”

“She’s
my best friend.”

“Well,
then.
 
Let’s get to work on
him.
 
That young man deserves a good
companion in his life.
 
And if she’s
your best friend, that’s all I need to know about her.”

“Thank
you so much, Peachy.
 
I can’t tell
you what this means to us.”
 
I
pulled back and hesitated.
 
“Is she
here?”

I
was referring to Adrianna Bomba.
 
Peachy knew it and she nodded.
 
“Oh, she’s here.
 
In fact, I
think she can’t believe that she’s here.
 
When Alex took over Bomba Cosmetic, the invitations stopped coming for
that one.
 
Let’s just say that she
gushed all over me when she arrived.
 
If we find out it’s her, I’ll need to have my hands clinically scrubbed
because she wouldn’t stop shaking them.”

“I
think you and I are going to become friends.”

“We
already are friends.”

“I
mean real friends.
 
Not society
friends.
 
Something deeper.”

She
appraised me with new eyes.
 
“I
think I’d rather like that.
 
We
could lunch, though Blackwell would be jealous.”

“Blackwell
could join us.”

“I’d
adore that.
 
You know how I feel
about her.
 
I think she’s a
force.
 
If you can manage it….”

“I
can manage it.”

“Then
we’re on.”
 
When we drew away from
each other, her voice raised a bit, and our secrets vanished as she became the
Peachy others knew.
 
Or felt they
knew.
 
“Now, take this gorgeous man
of yours—yes, Alex, I’m talking about you—and have a wonderful
evening.
 
I hope you enjoy it all,
and I hope that we can connect tomorrow to see how things went.”

*
 
*
 
*

When
we were on the second floor, which was teeming with people, Alex turned to me
and said, “Champagne?”

“Not
strong enough.
 
Martini for me.”

“I
hear you.
 
I’ll have the same.
 
Let’s go to the bar.
 
A waiter will take too long.
 
I need a drink right now.”

“Ditto
on that.”

We
started to move forward, but he hesitated.
 
“And already it begins,” he murmured to me.
 
“Here comes Tootie Staunton-Miller and
her husband, Addy.”

“I
love Addy.
 
Can’t say the same for
Tootie.”

“Nobody
here can.”

“They’re
going to get in the way of our martinis.”

“At
least we’ll get to talk to Addy.”

“If
she let’s him talk.”

He
laughed at that, and it was good to hear him laugh.

I
watched them move toward us.
 
Tootie
was wearing a black evening gown and a look of surprise mixed with relief on
her face.
 
She brought her hand to
her chest and I faintly heard her say Alex’s name as she closed the distance
between us.
 

I
hadn’t seen her in months, and I absorbed her as she drifted forward.
 
She was fiftyish, though her face had
been molded and pulled into something that stretched toward fortyish.
 
Her blonde hair just touched her
shoulders, and she wore understated jewels at her throat, wrists, and
fingers—all of it tasteful.
 
None of it too much.
 
In her
form-fitting dress, which would betray more mature curves on others, Tootie
Staunton-Miller looked trim and terrific.
 
With just one quick glance in my direction, I could already tell that
she was about to dismiss me again.

Alex
looked up at them as they approached.
 
“
Tootie,
” he said.
 
“Good to see you.”
 
He gave her a peck on each cheek, and
then held out his hand to Addy, who shook it.

“Alex,”
Tootie
said.
 
“Thank God you’re back.
 
When Peachy mentioned that you’d be here
tonight, Addy and I cancelled our dinner plans with the Bitworths and
immediately decided to come here instead.
 
It’s been too long, but look how tan you are.
 
Was it true what I read?
 
You were on some random island
somewhere?
 
Alone?”

“It’s
my island, Tootie, and I wasn’t alone.
 
I was with my fiancée, Jennifer.
 
You remember Jennifer, don’t you?
 
Of course you do.”

She
nodded at me.
 
“Yes.
 
Right.
 
Hellohoware?”

“Finethankyouverymuch.”

“Sogoodtohear.”

“
Jenevousaimepasnonplus
.”

Her
eyes widened.
 
“Come again?”

I’d
just told her in French that I didn’t like her, either.
 
I waved a hand as if it didn’t matter
and turned my attention to Addy while she had at Alex.

“Hi,
Addy,” I said.
 
And when I said
hello to him, I could see in his eyes that he knew exactly what I just
said.
 
I started to flush, but then
he winked at me.

“Looking
as smashing as ever, Jennifer.”

“Addy—”

He
put his hand on my shoulder.
 
Our
eyes met.
 
And then one of his
eyebrows shot up.
 
“No, really.
 
You do.”

Did
he feel the same about his wife?
 
Maybe.
 
At least that’s what
I was sensing from him.
 
I
remembered that Alex told me that he was gay and that their marriage was one of
convenience, which made me sad because I liked Addy.
 
He deserved a real partner, not a
sham.
 
Oh, how I hated our society
sometimes.
 
I took a breath and
collected myself.
 
“It’s the Spanx,”
I said.

“I
doubt that.”

I
leaned forward and gave him a kiss on each cheek.
 
“I’m happy to see you here.”

“And
I’m happy to have you back in New York.
 
You spice things up.
 
And
I’ve been concerned.
 
Any news?”

“Unfortunately,
nothing.”

“Something
good will come from this.
 
It will
end, Jennifer.
 
There’s a reason for
everything.
 
I have a feeling that
your bond with Alex is closer than ever because of this.”

“It
is.”

“There
you have it—the silver lining.
 
I hope it ends soon.
 
Now,
let me see the diamond.
 
If I know Alex,
he gave you a proper one.”

Why
couldn’t his wife be as unaffected as he was?
 
Who knew?
 
Who cared?
 
What I knew is that I adored him.
 
I held out my ring to him and fluttered
my fingers.
 
“Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Just
perfect.”

“May
I see?” Tootie asked.

So
you can shit on it?
 
“Of course.”

She
studied it for a moment, and then leveled me with a glance.
 
“Haven’t
you
done well?”

If
I’d had my martini, I would have thrown it in her face.

“I
believe I’m the one who should be saying that, Tootie,” Alex said.

She
smiled warmly at him.
 
“Yes, of
course.
 
Isn’t that sweet of you to
say.
 
Young love and all that.”
 
She looked at my dress.
 
“Is that Valentino?” she asked.

“It’s
Marc Jacobs.”

“No,
no.
 
I’m certain it’s Valentino.”

“Sorry,
but it’s Marc Jacobs.”

“Anyway,
it’s so form-fitting, don’t you think?
 
It leaves nothing to the imagination.
 
Goodness!”

“I
think it
’s beautiful,
”
Alex said.