Noelle saw Cole huddled in a corner talking to Sawyer Bright. Sawyer was twirling one end of his mustache and looking up at Cole, who was blushing. Noelle definitely couldn’t kill Cole right now, as Sawyer was about to run for mayor of Advent and he’d be mad at her if witnessing a murder got in the way of his campaign. She kept scanning, trying to see the tops of Miriam’s curls over the crowd, since there was no way she’d be able to see the rest of her.

“Noelle!” came a voice behind her. She winced, but when she turned, she saw Elijah and Jason and breathed out a sigh. She loved her friends, they were at an important party she was hosting, and she was not going to yell at them for wanting to greet her. She was not that uncivilized, even if she felt that way right now.

Next to Jason was a stately woman with skin as dark as his and a dimple she recognized. Her white hair was piled elegantly on top of her head in a chignon. At the sight of her, Noelle did genuinely smile.

“Jason! You finally brought your mom around! I thought you were ashamed of us.”

“Oh, I was,” Jason assured her.

“Elijah’s mother is always bragging to me about how she’s friends with all of their friends, and I couldn’t let her one-up me,” the woman said, holding out her hand to shake Noelle’s. “I’m Vaunda Green.”

Noelle reciprocated and said warmly, “Ma’am, it is an honor. Can I get you something to eat?”

“I hear a rumor you might be having girl trouble,” Mrs. Green said, and Noelle scrubbed a hand across her face. Apparently, everyone on the East Coast knew. “I won’t bother you for a plate while you’re trying to fix things. She’s right over there, if you want to talk to her.”

Noelle’s eyes followed to where she was pointing, and she caught a glimpse of sparkling silver.

“It was such a pleasure to meet you, ma’am! I hope you’ll join us for brunch tomorrow and bring the twins. I gotta go!” she called out as she went toward her new destination. Though now that she could see Miriam, she felt a new panic.

She had absolutely no idea what she was going to say.

Miriam was standing under the disco ball Cole had insisted on hanging, its glow bouncing off her curls and her dress, making her look like the brightest source of light in the room. Her tiny silver dress showed every inch of her legs all the way up and dipped in the back almost to her butt. She could not possibly be wearing a bra underneath it.

Noelle short circuited. Her first thought, when her brain came back online, was that Miriam was wearing that dress to fuck with her.