Chapter 9: On One Knee

My father's kitchen smelled of chicken soup and Margot's perfume.

She sat in my chair with a cloth napkin in her lap, and he had given her the good spoon.

"Nina, darling," she said. "I was just telling your father how glad I am you and Elliot are working things out."

"We're not working anything out."

"You're coming to the gala. Elliot told me." She smiled at my father.

"I took the liberty of booking the wine bar, you know. Mr. Corbin's."

"Did you?"

"It seemed so thoughtful, with you working there now. You'll feel right at home."

She had known where I worked for days.

She had waited to say so in front of my father.

"That's kind," I said.

"Not at all."

I kissed Dad, took my coat, and left before my face could say what I thought.

On the phone that night Jace sounded delighted.

"She hired me through her planner. Eighteen thousand for one night, and I get to pour at the Rainers'."

He laughed.

"I'd do it for free just to see her face."

"It's a trap, Jace."

"Obviously it's a trap. She wants you in an apron where he can see you."

His voice dropped.

"So don't wear one."

On Saturday I did not wear an apron.

I wore a gold satin dress with thin straps and a long, low back, bought secondhand with my own tips.

Bea zipped me in and looked at me for a long moment.

Then she sent me out the door with her own lipstick.

The gala was in the Rainers' ballroom, under three crystal chandeliers.

There were two hundred people in black tie.

Jace had built a long bar at the back, with a hundred bottles lit from below.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Separated Rooms for Three Years, He Panicked After I Moved Out from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.