The Taming of a Wild Child (16 page)

Vivi pulled the pillow away. She did not look happy, either. “Obviously. Now, please continue.”

“I got totally hammered at your reception.” Vivi’s eyes narrowed in disapproval. “And spent the night with him. It just kind of went from there. A little fling.”

“Keep talking. You’re still not to the ‘ashamed of him’ part.”

Lorelei hated being put on the defensive like this. “You can’t deny that if I suddenly announced I was dating Donovan St. James heads all over the Garden District wouldn’t explode.”

“I won’t deny that. But that doesn’t make the exploding heads right, either.”

“I worked so hard for months, trying to get people to take me seriously—”

“What for?”

Lorelei sighed. “Vivi,
cherie
, I love you, but being your sister really sucks sometimes.”

Vivi nodded in understanding and reached out to squeeze her knee. “I know. And I’m sorry.”

“I just wanted people to see
me
for once, to take me seriously, and you being gone was the perfect opportunity for that. I’ve been working toward a goal, and it was finally in reach. Everyone was so happy that I was finally acting like a LaBlanc. Mom and Dad were so proud, new opportunities were coming my way … there’s no way I could drop the Donovan bombshell on all of that. I had too much at risk, too much to lose. So, no, I didn’t want anyone to know. I was ashamed of myself, of him, of what we were doing …” She dropped her head back again. “It doesn’t really matter. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

“I don’t know. Like I said, I never would have thought to put you two together, but now that I do think about it I can totally see it.”

That had her sitting upright again. “What?”

“I, too, had my reservations about Donovan, but after I got to know him a little I got past all that. Connor’s done work with him, I’ve sat with him on boards—hell, we invited him to the wedding. You don’t see people’s heads exploding, do you?”

“They are—just not where you can see. You and Connor can do whatever you want. You’re established and way too powerful to mess with. No one would ever risk taking you two on. Now, me? I may be a LaBlanc, but I’m not. Well, that’s just a whole different story.”

Vivi was shaking her head. “You are not just a LaBlanc. You’re Lorelei LaBlanc. Unique, fantastic and the envy of many. Including me, sometimes. Nothing will change that, and I never knew you thought there was some standard to meet or mold to fit in order to be judged worthy
of something. I’m glad you’re feeling stronger and more sure of yourself. I’m glad that others are finally starting to realize how awesome you are. But you should never distrust yourself or deny your own happiness because you’re worried about what others think of you.”

It was an impassioned speech, one that made her feel proud and loved, but Vivi wasn’t exactly the audience she sought to impress. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“Why wait until next time? It’s obvious you really like Donovan. You wouldn’t be so miserable otherwise.”

“At first it was just hormones and chemistry and sex, but, then … Yeah.” She’d been refusing to admit it to herself, but she couldn’t deny it any longer. Good God, she was such a bad liar she couldn’t even lie to herself. “I’m crazy about him. I just didn’t realize that until after.”

“And you haven’t talked to him? Apologized and tried to explain?”

“No. I’m not a glutton for punishment.”

“And you think it’s too late now?”

“I guess it’s never too late for an apology, but I don’t think it can be fixed. It started off in the wrong place and just kind of stayed there. And I did say some really mean things. So did he, of course. Not all of which were untrue. But it leads me to believe that while he may want me, he doesn’t really like me all that much. I’m not the only one who considered this a dirty little secret.” That hurt to admit, but if she were going to be really honest with herself, she needed to face all the facts. “Maybe it’s better to just let it go.”

It was Vivi’s turn to sigh. “I wish you’d told me about your grand plan sooner. I could have made things a lot simpler for you.”

“I know, but I wanted to do this myself.”

“And Donovan?”

“I think that was just doomed from the beginning.”

“I don’t think it was or is necessarily doomed, but I will respect your decision. Just know that whatever you decide, I’ve totally got your back. Nobody messes with my little sister.”

It was a strong, comforting statement from someone she loved and respected. But she didn’t need—didn’t
want—
Vivi to fight her battles for her.

Especially since the battle seemed lost already.

The following Wednesday, Donovan picked up a newspaper on the way home. His oldest niece had placed second in the city-wide spelling bee and, according to the excited text he’d received that morning, a picture of the top three with their trophies was in the “Wednesday Pages.”

He got himself a drink and unfolded the paper. The glossy society magazine slid out. On the front there was a picture of Michael LaBlanc, Lorelei’s father, and a headline about his retirement.
The big bash
, he thought.
Lorelei’s big moment
.

He flipped through, scanning, looking for the spelling bee, and ran straight into the write-up of the LaBlanc party with full-color pictures. A group picture of Lorelei’s parents, two other older couples he assumed were business partners, Connor and Vivi—and Lorelei. Lorelei looked regal in a silver and black cocktail dress, her hair pulled up to show off her elegant features—the image hit him hard.

So hard, in fact, he didn’t see Jack Morgan hovering over Lorelei’s shoulder like the Hindenburg at first. It seemed Lorelei had buckled under the pressure after all and let herself be paired off with her mother’s Mr. Right selection.

“Way to stand strong, Princess.”

He turned the page. They deserved each other. As he located the picture of his niece he thought of the invitation that had arrived yesterday, inviting him to a party at ConMan Studios exclusively for the donors to Connor’s pet charities like the Children’s Music Project.

That was going to be awkward. Connor and Vivi must not know about his and Lorelei’s little fling or else he wouldn’t have received an invitation, donor or not. He knew he wouldn’t extend an invite if the roles were reversed.

He had to assume Jack would be there—even if, as Lorelei claimed, he’d donated pocket change. It had been bad enough watching Jack hover over her previously, but now …?

Even as angry as he was, he still felt the loss of Lorelei like a knife in his gut. The one thing he’d come to realize recently was that the hurt ran deep because he’d allowed himself to get used to her. The anger was much easier to deal with than the betrayal and hurt, so he focused on that.

Lorelei’s complete disappearance from his life only proved his accusations correct. And she’d very obviously moved on; he hadn’t heard anything from her since the night she’d left. Based on that picture, she wasn’t exactly suffering from the loss.

He’d wanted to call her; he nearly had a dozen times. But he’d finally deleted her number from his phone to remove the temptation altogether. He wanted her. He missed her. No one made him laugh—or jerked his chain—quite like Lorelei. He hadn’t realized how used he’d become to having her around until she wasn’t there, and his house felt a little empty. So did his bed.

There was also an empty, hollow place in his stomach.

He might as well accept the facts. Lorelei lived in a different world, and that world had no place and no tolerance
for him. And since she wasn’t willing to jeopardize her place in that world for him. Yeah, he just needed to accept that. Acceptance would help him move on. Move past Lorelei. His brain was on board for that, but getting his heart and body to agree was tough.

Lesson learned. Move on
.

He thought about that for a minute, then grabbed his phone and called Jess.

L
ORELEI WAS ABOUT
to pull her hair out. Someone needed to explain to Connor that the title “rock god” was not literal. He could
not
simply decide to throw a major party for over a hundred people and assume it would simply come to pass because he wanted it to.

Obviously Connor thought that catering just
happened
.

She was in the uncomfortable position of being both family and employee. The employee wanted to quit in a fully deserved huff, but as family, she hadn’t quite ruled out strangling him in his sleep. The only thing keeping her from doing either was her pride and the fact that Vivi would probably be mad at her.
LaBlancs love a challenge. This is just a challenge
.

This event was going to happen one way or the other, by God—even if Lorelei had to call in every favor she’d ever been owed. Pride was definitely driving her. She was a LaBlanc, and party planning and hostessing were in her DNA. She’d peel the crawfish herself before she let this event be anything but perfect.

However, deep down she was rather glad she had plenty to focus on and frustrate her. She’d been thinking about calling Donovan, going to see him—
something
—just to see if there was a way to repair the damage, but she’d chickened out every time. It had been a tough couple
of weeks. Callie’s romance had flamed out and she was around a lot more, alternating between feeling sorry for herself and cursing her ex’s name. Since Callie had no idea that Lorelei had ever been with Donovan in the first place, Lorelei had to suck it up and pretend everything was just fine instead of joining her in misery.

Pretending was very hard to do, since she missed Donovan like crazy. She kept picking up her phone to call or text him random things, but then she’d remember that look on Donovan’s face and remember she couldn’t do that anymore. And it made her sad. He’d been the one person who’d been there for her through all of this, and now that she had accomplished her goal she didn’t really have anyone to share it with who could really appreciate it.

So the party was a good thing. Focusing on it, however frustrating, was actually keeping her sane. Or sane-ish.

But tonight would definitely be a test. She’d designed and ordered the invitations, but the receptionist had been the one to get the guest list, mail the invitations and record the RSVPs. She hadn’t even thought to look at the list until yesterday.

She’d been prepared to see Donovan’s name on the list. She hadn’t been prepared to see him RSVP in the positive, though. And she’d
really
been unprepared to see that he’d included a plus-one.

That had been a bit of a blow.

Obviously she’d left and he’d simply called, “Next!” She told herself she shouldn’t be surprised, but it still hurt. The fling that wasn’t supposed to be anything had turned into something. At least for her. She’d just realized it a little too late. After all that time worrying about what other people would think, she now only cared what one person thought.

It didn’t seem as if he was thinking about
her
much at
all. She wished she could say the same. It had been the sight of “and guest” that had driven a hard piece of knowledge home: she was in love with Donovan St. James.

Unfortunately she’d come to that realization only after it was too late.

And now she’d have to face him—and the woman he’d replaced her with so quickly—and not let that knowledge show. It was a challenge she was not looking forward to.

Lorelei made one last check of the studio’s reception area. The scent of fresh flowers filled the room. Caterers were setting up appetizer stations, and bartenders in matching uniforms looked ready to go. A loop of recordings made here, at ConMan, over the last few months played softly over the speakers. Security was already watching the doors, and Connor and Vivi were sneaking in one last canoodle in the sound booth before the guests began arriving.

Everything was as ready as it could be. Except for her. She still needed to change and gather herself.

Upstairs, in Connor and Vivi’s bedroom, Lorelei slipped into her new dress. It was a beautiful deep scarlet that showed plenty of leg and quite a bit of cleavage. It would be totally inappropriate in most settings, but tonight she was here as Connor’s assistant, not Vivi’s stand-in. She could go a
little
wilder, and after weeks of guarding herself, it felt quite good to let a little bit of her back out.

And it gave her confidence. Confidence she was really going to need if Donovan was going to be here. With a date.

That knowledge made her take a few extra minutes touching up her make-up and hair. After slipping on her shoes, she stood in front of the mirror and examined herself
critically from every angle. It would have to do. She took a deep breath and braced herself.

The elevator had to be turned off during the party, so Lorelei came down the back stairs through Connor’s office and into the crowded reception area.
Wow
. How long had she been gone? Hadn’t these people ever heard of being fashionably late? A quick look around told her that everything seemed to be under control, so now she needed to mingle and make nice with the guests.

She felt a hand at her elbow. Vivi was pulling her back into Connor’s office.

“I need to tell you something.”

“What?” she said as Vivi shut the door behind them.

“Donovan’s here—”

“I know. I can—”

“With Jessica Reynald.”

That was a real blow to her ego. She swallowed hard. Somehow that seemed personal, although rationally she knew it couldn’t be. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“It gets better.” Vivi’s tone did not match her words, and Lorelei braced herself. “Jack just arrived.”

“I knew he would. I can’t seem to shake him off.”

“You’re going to have to be clear and direct.”

That was the same thing Donovan had said
. “But just not here, not tonight, in front of all these people.”

Vivi frowned. “I’m pretty sure he’s doing it on purpose. On the other hand …” She paused and brushed Lorelei’s hair back over her shoulders. “Having Jack around might counterbalance Donovan and his date.”

“I’m okay, really. He’s moved on. I get that. I’m an adult and I can handle it.”

“I know you can.” Vivi squeezed her shoulders in support, then opened the door. Music and conversation rushed in to fill the silence.

For the next forty-five minutes Lorelei worked the crowd with every ounce of energy and personality she possessed. Connor had three pet projects, all music-related, and this crowd was the money that funded them and the talent that supported them. The energy in the room was amazing. So much talent, a shared love of music—and, of course, the money that supported these and other projects. Lorelei couldn’t quite quell the rather hollow feeling in her stomach and the dread that sat on her shoulders, but she was able to hold it at bay and put on a good game face.

Then she turned and found herself face-to-face with Donovan. Her stomach tied itself into a knot, but she forced the smile to stay steady and even. Donovan wasn’t alone, and she would not make a scene. Even if it killed her.

“Glad you could come, Donovan.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

He introduced her to the people in his group: the front man of a zydeco band whose Cajun accent was so thick he was barely understandable, a white-haired blues guitarist who looked to be about a hundred years old, and a tall, sultry jazz singer who made her feel downright dowdy. Jessica, she noted, was nowhere around.

The presence of the others made it a little easier, but every time she looked at Donovan, her heart ached a little. When he laughed, it made the knot in her stomach tighten. She concentrated on being a good hostess, participating in the conversation, but she was dying a bit inside. Donovan’s eyes were uninterested; they flicked over her and then dismissed her. There was no special, knowing smirk on his face.

She’d been right not to call him. It was bad enough coming to terms with that here, where he couldn’t actually say anything to make her feel worse.

Was that even possible?

“Could you all excuse me? I need to check on a few things.” It was a perfectly normal excuse for someone in her position to make, but she felt like a coward as she retreated. A relieved coward, and one who needed a break, but a coward nonetheless.

Just in case anyone was watching, Lorelei gave a cursory glance over the food and made sure that there were no empty dishes or dirty glassware sitting about, but the catering staff were on top of things and there was nothing really for her to do. She got a club soda from the bartender and stepped back near the fichus tree, out of sight, for a small breather.

There was a couple on the other side. The woman had her back turned, so Lorelei couldn’t tell who she was, but Troy, one of the sound engineers, was definitely flirting.

She silently wished Troy luck as she started to move away and give them some privacy, but the name “Donovan” froze her feet in place. A split-second later she recognized the woman’s voice: Jessica.

“I’m just arm candy. When Donovan called, he said he needed company. I wasn’t about to turn down a chance to come to this party.”

Feeling silly, Lorelei took a step back to hear better.

“I do
not
want to get on Donovan St. James’s bad side,” Troy said.

Smart man
.

“All he has is a bad side right now. He’s grumpy and angry at something.”

That might be my fault
.

“Even if he hadn’t made it very clear I was just here to look pretty,” Jessica continued, “he’s so foul-tempered I nearly backed out.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Troy was definitely moving in, hoping to score.

“Me, too.”

Troy lowered his voice then, and Lorelei couldn’t hear what he said next, but she’d lost interest anyway. That changed
everything
. Donovan hadn’t turned straight to Jessica to replace her; he hadn’t brought her as anything more than a showpiece.

To make her jealous, maybe?

That knot in her stomach released a tiny bit.

The foul mood was probably her fault, but it could easily mean he was just still angry over the whole mess. She could hold out the hope that maybe,
maybe
, he was a little miserable, too. That maybe he felt the same way about her that she felt about him.

That gave her hope.

And since Jessica wasn’t really in the picture she had no ethical reason not to suck it up and apologize. She wouldn’t be poaching on anyone else’s turf.

With all these people around Donovan wouldn’t—or
probably
wouldn’t—make a stink if she told him she wanted to speak with him privately, and Connor’s office would be private enough.

I’m going to do it
. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she’d think on her feet, make it up as she went along. As long as she was honest, she had to believe the right words would come.

It was a big risk, but it was a risk worth taking. She had no idea what Donovan would say, but she had no problem groveling if she had to. She just wanted him, and she’d suffer whatever humiliation he wanted to dish out as her penance.

And if it was too late? The damage too extensive? She
didn’t want to think about that. It would make this harder, but LaBlancs didn’t back down from a challenge.

She actually felt better than she had in days. Her chest felt lighter, her head clearer. Quietly easing out from behind the fichus, she handed her glass to the surprised-looking bartender and scanned the room, looking for Donovan.

She thought she heard his voice and spun around—right into the waiting hands of Jack.

“Hey, sweetheart, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Oh
,
merde
.

Donovan regretted giving in to the impulse to bring Jess. After less than an hour, she’d informed him that his attitude sucked, and if he was going to be grumpy and evil, he would have to do it without her on his arm.
She
was going to go and find people who actually wanted to enjoy themselves. He hadn’t seen her since, but he really couldn’t blame her.

He really had no reason to be at a party. Even a good party like this one.
Especially
this party. It might be Connor’s name on the invitation, but this had Lorelei’s stamp all over it, which only added to his already evil mood.

He shouldn’t have come at all. He could have declined. He just hadn’t realized how petty he actually was. He’d known Lorelei would be here, and with all the maturity of a ten-year-old, had decided he’d show her how little it had all meant by showing up at her party and being just damn fine. Bringing Jess had been to rub it in.

He hadn’t counted on the plan backfiring on him. He might be putting on the face of being fine, but Lorelei was reveling in it. She circulated like a social butterfly, a huge smile on her face. That smile had been muted slightly when she’d put in her appearance in front of him,
as required by the rules of etiquette, but no one, not even him, would be able to tell that they’d ever been more than polite acquaintances.

That had only made his bad mood worse. That red dress had every one of her curves on tasteful display, and the sound of her voice had stoked him like a furnace. He’d been soaking up her presence like a thirsty plant in a rainstorm as she charmed everyone in the crowd, then been left unsatisfied as she moved on.

And it wasn’t as if he could ignore her. Whether it was that dress, or the sound of her voice or something more intangible, he could feel her in the room, and he found himself looking for her out of the corner of his eye.

This time when he located her, she was in Jack’s arms. The feeling he now recognized as jealousy clawed at his guts. He was going to have to recommend that St. James Media find a new law firm to represent them, because he was
not
going to be gracious about this.

Jess could stay if she wanted to;
he
would probably be better served by getting the hell out of here. He scanned the crowd to see where Jess was, and his eyes landed on Lorelei and Jack again. Only this time Jack was wearing a frown instead of that possessive, smug smile. Lorelei also looked peeved, and her eyes kept darting around as if she was trying to make sure no one was watching them. It was definitely one of those whispering-type fights.
Trouble in paradise already
. He couldn’t dredge up much sympathy, though.