Not for the first time, Madison glanced over to Sherry in the passenger seat and took in her bare knees and slightly windblown hair. The boutique she had called last minute had done an excellent job. From her description alone, they had found the perfect dress for Sherry and delivered it within two hours.

The huge tip had been well deserved. It fitted splendidly, not only in size but also in style.

For the probably fiftieth time, Sherry tugged on the shiny red cocktail dress. “Is this really the right outfit for dinner at your grandmother’s?”

Madison rolled her eyes. “And if you ask me a thousand times, the answer will still be yes. Why do you think I’m wearing a cocktail dress too?”

She hated wearing dresses, but Grandmother Eileen insisted that Madison wear one when she came for dinner. But for once she couldn’t be angry about it. After all, Sherry filled this dress out quite nicely. Okay, maybe a few pounds more would have been nice, even if just on her chest. A smile tugged on her lips. The hairstylist and the makeup artist had truly outdone themselves. Sherry was breathtaking tonight.

Hold your horses. Yes, she’s cleaning up nicely. So what? You’re constantly surrounded by beautiful women and manage not to rant about it, so calm the hell down here.

After an uncomfortably long silence, Sherry said, “You look, um, nice.”

“You think so?”

Sherry shifted on her seat but focused on her folded hands.

She didn’t get Sherry. And why was she even trying to? Madison never cared much about what others were thinking.

They neared her grandmother’s property. Time for a last-minute reminder. “Just to be sure you haven’t forgotten anythi—”

“I haven’t,” Sherry interrupted her. “I’ll try to hold your hand or establish some other contact with you at all times. I’ll let you do all the talking, and when I don’t know the answer to a question, I defer to you or compliment the interior.”

“Exactly. And whatever you do, don’t—”

“Start any kind of political conversation.”

Madison let her tense breath escape. “Okay. I think we’re good to go.” She stopped the car in front of the iron gate, which in its closed position displayed a huge F in the middle. Pressing the button to the intercom, she said her name, even though the security team had without a doubt identified her already through the camera.

“Good evening, Ms. Fielding,” a male voice filtered through the speaker before the gate opened.

“Why does your grandmother have such extensive security?”

“Paranoia.” Madison drove up the driveway to the main building. “I don’t think she really needs it. But if you listen to her talk, you’d think there’re criminals everywhere, waiting to rob her.” She drove around the huge ugly fountain in front of the stairs that led to the main entrance and stopped.