I plucked one off the tray, and took a bite.

“Hmmm. Divine.”

“Want another?” she grinned. “For the road?”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

I took one more (okay, two more) and headed over to the bar to get myself some wine.

Brad was still at the bar, slugging down his drink, his hot young girlfriend at his side. The lovely Amber looked bored. She’d seemed a lot more animated when she was talking to Eduardo.

“Hi, Brad.” I flashed him a smile, but he just stared at me blankly. The guy clearly had no idea who I was. Or if he did know, he didn’t care.

“I’m Jaine Austen, SueEllen’s writer.”

“Whatever.”

He took another slug of his drink and muttered: “That bitch. She screwed me out of my Ferrari. I hope she chokes on one of her own hors d’oeuvres.”

I assumed that the bitch in question was SueEllen.

Amber wrinkled her perfect nose in annoyance. “Brad, cool it on the booze, will you? You’re getting obnoxious.”

Getting? I’d say he’d hit obnoxious three drinks ago.

I scooted away as soon as I got my wine. Something told me Brad wasn’t in the mood for my company. And neither was anybody else. I wandered around with a friendly smile on my face, but aside from Heidi and the blonde waitress with the lamb chops, nobody at the party seemed the least bit interested in talking to me.

Heidi was still busy chatting with the middle-aged couple, so I decided to head outside to the terrace and gnaw on my lamb chops without any Emily Post types giving me dirty looks. I stepped out through a pair of magnificent French doors onto a magnificent terrace, under a magnificent moon, no doubt ordered by SueEllen especially for the occasion.

I plopped down onto a chaise lounge with a cushion as thick as a mattress, and tasted the chardonnay. Lovely. No Screw Top Specials at Casa Kingsley. Then I sat back and gnawed at my lamb chops until the bones were white. Utter heaven.

Eventually my bliss was interrupted by the sound of laughter. A slim young Armani couple joined me on the terrace, waving their wine glasses, giggling over some private joke. They caught sight of me on the chaise and quickly looked away, saying nothing. These two were clearly not interested in making friends. They continued whispering and giggling until I felt like an unwanted chaperone at a high school prom.

I looked inside and saw Heidi, now busily chatting with another couple. I had no real desire to go back to the party, so I grabbed the remains of my lamb chops and started strolling the grounds.

The moon was full and the grass was like velvet under my feet. I headed towards the back of the house where, for the first time, I saw the Kingsleys’ pool. A lovely turquoise thing, it glittered in the moonlight like a Home Shopping Club aquamarine ring.

Just beyond the pool was a charming cottage, obviously the pool house. I decided to walk over and check it out. I made my way past some designer deck chairs to the cottage door, which was partially open. I heard voices coming from inside.