The wine made me sway, and I paused for a minute before hurrying off toward the bathroom. As I walked, I looked down the hall and saw that there were two more closed doors, one of which had to be the master bedroom.

I was about to step into the bathroom when I heard someone speak behind me.

“Hey.”

I turned to see Meggie standing there.

“I thought you said you were doing some drawings for my sister’s apartment!”

“That’s what I thought at first,” I said. “Turns out she meant portraits of the models of Allure. For the launch.” I peered out into the living room. “You didn’t mention Emma was your sister.”

“I didn’t feel I needed to,” she snapped, and then she took a deep breath. “Sorry. Look, Patrick and I were just gossiping a little the other day. You know what I mean. Obviously, my sister has done a lot for me, so I’d appreciate if you don’t talk about—”

“Oh, of course,” I said. “I would never.”

She nodded. “Good. In fact, no need for either of us to bring up that we’ve met before. Thanks,” she said before spinning on her heel and walking away.

I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

Don’t forget why you came here tonight.

I just needed a few minutes alone with Emma to talk to her. To tell her that she shouldn’t give up ownership of her business for Ryan Asshole Hooks. I washed my hands, then opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out.

I couldn’t see anyone from the hallway, but I could still hear Patrick and Andrew talking from the dinner table. On a whim, I squared my shoulders and then took off down the hallway toward one of the closed doors. Pushing it open, I looked inside, my heart racing. It was a beautifully decorated room, with lavender accents on dark, wood furniture. I walked around for a few moments, but there were no pictures, no papers, nothing that would prove that Ryan Hooks had ever been there. I knew I was pushing my luck, so I turned and walked quickly toward the bedroom door. Stepping out and closing it behind me, I moved quickly down the hall back toward the living room. I’d almost made it back to the bathroom when Joshua appeared, moving in my direction. He frowned when he saw me.

“Doing okay?” he asked, looking curiously behind me to see where I was coming from.

I smiled. “Uh, yeah,” I said, floundering for a reason why I was at the wrong end of the hallway. I looked over to see that the bathroom door was closed again and thought quickly.

“I was looking for another bathroom,” I said with a shrug. “You know, all that white wine.”