“Hi,” she said, and offered her cheek for him to kiss, but he was too busy taking in the Venus dress. “Very nice,” he murmured, and then he added, “Thank you.”

He knew she'd worn it for him. Well, of course he did. He knew women. For a second she felt like a fool—one who needed to put on some more clothes. But then she looked into his eyes and there was something there that made her feel as if she really were naked, and it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Rose straightened up a little more, just in case he'd missed something, and took him by the arm.

“Your timing is perfect,” she said. “Come mingle.”

For the first ten minutes, he didn't leave her side. She introduced him to George, and Lu's agent and producer. She introduced him to Lu. He was charming, he was funny, he was delightful. He didn't even mention that he was a writer and a composer. When people asked him what he did, Bobby said he was a clerk at Hershemer's Music Store. Then Rose left him to circulate on his own. She didn't watch to see who he was talking to. She'd find out later.

The party was in full swing when a girl in a tacky yellow print dress appeared at the door. The dress—from the thirties or the forties—had probably been purchased in a vintage shop in the Village, and the girl had chosen to wear a slightly moth-eaten black fur jacket with it. It was that Lower East Side look that had been pioneered by some new singer—Rose didn't remember her name—but like most of those who tried to copy it, this girl couldn't carry it off. She looked like a waif, and not a particularly adorable one, as she stood in Lu's grand foyer scanning the living room, obviously looking for someone.

When George and Davy swooped down and rescued the girl, Rose figured that she was another one of the strays Davy was always befriending, and forgot about her. So she was surprised a few minutes later when Davy seemed to be leading the girl—sans the moth-eaten fur—in her direction.

“Antoinette is just dying to meet you,” Davy said happily. Davy was always happy when he could do something nice for someone. That was why savvy, clever George stuck with him even though Davy wasn't exactly a genius. “Antoinette is one of Lu's biggest fans, and she—”

“Hey, Landovich,” said a voice at Rose's side. She turned to see Bobby standing next to her. He was grinning, but there was something wrong. Something in the air between Bobby and the girl that Rose could feel. Above his smile, Bobby's eyes were glittering with an anger Rose had never seen before, and he was pale. There was defiance and a little fear in the look Antoinette shot back at him.