I took a deep breath. “Can I ask—why wasn’t he here tonight?”

She blinked and looked up at me. “Oh, um…he’s super busy…with work and everything,” she said. She leaned forward. “But he’s taking some time off next month, and we’re going on a little trip.”

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To Sonoma. He has a little villa out there. We’re just going for a long weekend, but I can’t wait.”

“That sounds great,” I said with a smile.

And as I sat there watching her hold her eyelashes between her fingertips and talking to me as if we’d been friends for years, I felt a wave of guilt rush over me.

I cleared my throat.

Now or never. This might be my only opportunity to tell her that she needed to reconsider selling the business and taking Ryan up on his offer of being his assistant. I hadn’t prepared well enough and finally just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I can tell you really love Allure,” I said.

It must have been too abrupt, because she frowned a little and tilted her head.

“Yeah, I do,” she said. “It’s brought Meggie and me closer together, so that’s been great.”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled sadly. “We’ve never had a great relationship, and it got really bad when my mom died seven years ago,” she said. “Meggie is a strong, independent woman, and I’m so proud of her. We just operate so differently. I think she finds me a little controlling, which I can be, but I’m her big sister. I’m supposed to be. Before our father died, he asked me to watch out for her, and if that means being a little bit more controlling than she likes, so be it. But in the last year or so, the clothing line has been a real common ground for us.”

“Where do you see the company in five years?”

Emma flinched, just slightly, but then the smile was back on her face. “Um, growing to have customers all across the world.”

“Maybe starting in New York?” I asked.

She frowned. “Yeah, maybe,” she said. “What’s gotten into you? Is this an interview?”

“No, nothing,” I said with a smile. “Sorry, it’s just really inspiring to see someone following her dreams, that’s all.”

She smiled, and I detected a hint of sadness behind her eyes. “I think something has gotten into you all right,” she said. “And we’ll need to get some more in you.” She stood up and walked over to the dining room table and picked up a bottle of wine. “Where’s your glass?”

• • •

The next thing I knew, I was lying on my side, and there was carpet in my mouth.