Miguel tugs my hand. “Gorgeous, come on. You have to mix and mingle. You can make goo-goo eyes at Leo anytime. Here’s some champagne, small sips only.”
I stumble after Miguel, with Leo at my back which is where he stays almost the entire night. Only twice is he pulled away but he’s still close. Whether he’s talking with Dmitri, and Drake or having an intense conversation with Renee. When he’s not at my side, Elise and Ria are, and I’m kind of falling for these women. They are so freaking nice I want to cry. They fend off intrusive questions about Leo and me with humor and cutting comments. Their humor about the women and men in the room have me laughing.
The night passes in a sweet, happy blur, leaving me a little sad it went by so fast. Elise gives me a hug, “That’s exactly how my wedding felt. All this build up until the big day then it was just a whirl of flowers, and champagne, and smiling faces I didn’t even know. I’m sorry I have to leave so early. Gone are the years of late nights. If I yawn again people are going to think it’s a review of tonight not that I’m a mom of four and haven’t been out after nine since the second kid.”
“I’m so happy you came. Thank you,” Leo is only a few feet away saying his goodbyes to Dmitri, “for everything.”
“I just spoke the truth, of which we will meet up to talk about soon. I’ll be calling you. We will be having lunch soon.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Elise, come.” Dmitri’s hand is possessive on his wife’s waist. “Alexa, you did well tonight. You should be proud of yourself.”
Dmitri has never paid me a compliment before, the ice-cold billionaire still intimidates the hell out of me. I know for a fact he didn’t pay many people compliments. I’m still standing stunned after he’s gone. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“Did Dmitri Markhoff just give me an actual compliment?”
“Yes, he did. He was right, you earned it.”
“Has he read my books? Was that what he was talking about?”
“Dmitri does not read anything that is not a financial report or the news. He was talking about the way you handled yourself tonight. Ninety percent of the truth is perception and tonight you were the intelligent, witty, impressively articulate author on the precipice of breakout mode. You missed his best compliment though, if you were stock, now was the time to buy.”