They glanced at each other for a long moment, the music and laughter from the other parts of the yacht fading. Then Grey nodded, once, and stepped back. Jaya swallowed a lump in her throat. They’d never speak like this again. Of that she felt sure. Before she could change her mind, she turned and hurried after Daphne Elizabeth.

Daphne Elizabeth’s legs were quite a bit longer than Jaya’s. Standing at the bottom of the metal stairs, Jaya saw the skirt of her burgundy dress disappearing into the top floor. Cursing softly under her breath, she ran up the stairs, dodging couples and their various twenties accessories.

The warm upper level was crowded; it was where the items for the silent auction were arranged grandly on a table: a ski trip for two to Aspen, an all-expenses-paid stay at a Tuscan villa, a collection of gilded Fabergé eggs. Jaya would catch sight of Daph’s burgundy dress only to lose it again as she wove in and out of the swarm of people milling around in the middle, considering what they might bid on, or clustered around the edges by the windows, taking in the glittering view of Aspen across the water.

Then she saw Alaric’s head—bobbing above the rest of the crowd as usual, his thick blond hair gelled within an inch of its life. Jaya began to push her way through the crowd, really digging in with her elbows when people wouldn’t move. Amma would be aghast at her unseemly behavior, but this was important, dammit.

“Ouch!”

“Excuse me!”

“Hey, where’s the fire, darlin’?”

Jaya ignored all the indignant shouting and kept her sights focused on Alaric’s stupid, tall hair. She could not believe Daphne Elizabeth. Jaya was never, ever giving anyone relationship advice ever again.

She pushed her way through the small bubble of people congregated in front of Caterina and Alaric just in time to see Daph stride up to them, her head held high.

“Caterina, we need to talk,” Daph said, but neither of them heard her. They were both deep in conversation with Alaric’s lackey, Lachlan, and another senior girl, Spencer, Alaric’s hand resting lightly on Caterina’s lower back.

Jaya lunged forward and grasped at Daph’s arm, but it was too late. Daphne had already said, in a louder voice, “Caterina. We need to talk.”

It worked. Caterina and Alaric turned. Alaric’s smile slid off his face at the same time his hand slid off Caterina’s back. Caterina’s expression cooled a few million degrees. “Please excuse us,” she said graciously to Lachlan and Spencer, who exchanged glances and went on their merry way, probably to spread the news that there was A+ gossip fodder sprouting on the upper level.