Chapter 6: Every Dollar

The Aldous house on Beacon Hill had a doorman and a chandelier.

It also had forty people, and all of them looked at the door when I walked in.

I wore my one good black dress and Wynn's heels, which were a half size too small.

Ephraim wore a black suit that fit him.

I noticed it and assumed he'd rented it somewhere good.

"Breathe," he said into my ear.

"I am breathing."

"You're doing it like someone holding a grudge."

I laughed in spite of myself.

His hand rested lightly at my waist, not at the small of my back, and I felt every finger.

A woman came across the marble to greet us.

She was slim and pale with straight blonde hair, in a cream suit that probably cost more than my rent.

Selena Aldous was twenty-eight, and I knew it because Lawson had told me once, as though it were a credential.

"Hallie," she said. "How brave of you to come."

"I was invited."

"You were." She looked at Ephraim and her eyes narrowed a degree. "And this is?"

"Ephraim," he said, and shook her hand. "A friend."

"A friend." Selena smiled without any warmth. "Lawson said you'd bring one."

I could feel the room's attention gather.

Lawson appeared at the foot of the staircase with a champagne flute, glowing with it.

He put his arm around Selena's shoulders.

Then he tapped the glass with a spoon, and the party went quiet.

"Thank you all for coming," he said. "Raymond, Selena, my future family. Tonight is the best night of my life."

People clapped.

"I also want to acknowledge someone who wouldn't want me to skip her."

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