When he’d wandered off, Vivian’s glare got a lot more pointed. “Get ahold of yourself,” she muttered

“But you can’t drink that,” Jules protested.

“I’m not going to drink it. I’m going to hold it so that nobody else tries to give me anything and gets curious when I say no. I doubt anybody will notice that I haven’t changed glasses all evening.” Vivian’s eyes gleamed, as they often did when she was being clever. Light from the massive crystal cage chandelier limned the edges of her hair.

“Oh,” Jules said stupidly. “Right. That’s a good—you know, you look really nice.”

Vivian stared at her.

Jules wanted to die. She looked wildly around the room, hoping that somehow Vivian wouldn’t notice she was blushing or at least would put it down to something else. “I mean, everybody does,” she babbled. “This is—I wonder how many people are here?”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “You could always count them. What’s wrong with you tonight?”

“Nothing!” Her voice cracked. Shit. That sounded unhinged. She had to come up with something plausible. “I just feel weird in this outfit,” she heard herself say.

Vivian frowned. “Weird?”

Great. Now she was looking at Jules in her outfit because Jules had called her attention to it, almost as if she’d wanted Vivian to look.

She took a deep breath. Her breasts pressed against the low-cut fabric.

Vivian did not look at them.

“It’s different from my usual, isn’t it?”

Vivian looked away from Jules and cleared her throat. “Is it? I, ah, didn’t notice.”

What? Vivian had told her a thousand times to wear something outside her comfort zone! “Hey, you said I should—”

“Never mind what I said. Honestly, Julia, find something better to do than quibble over details. You’re not exactly the plus-one I originally intended to bring—”

Robert was, she didn’t say, and Jules tried not to wilt.

“—but you might as well make something of the opportunity. I hope I haven’t been mistaken in your ability to—”

“Vivian!”

The two of them turned as one to see a striking woman with long dark hair in a form-fitting black gown gliding toward them. She wore a wide smile. Her carmine lipstick made it look even wider. And was that necklace made of real diamonds? It could have come out of the Cartier showroom.

“Monique.” Vivian smiled, appearing genuinely pleased to see her. “Lovely to see you. I should have realized you’d be here tonight.”

“Well, of course. I’d never miss it. I come to London every chance I get.” Monique Whoever-She-Was looked at Jules. “Hmm. I know you.”

Vivian placed her hand on Jules’s elbow. She removed it a heartbeat later. That was still long enough for Jules to feel faint as Vivian asked, “You do?”