Which, I realized, was the point.

She looked at Daniel.

Then at me.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is having to explain you to my friends?”

I started to respond.

Then the wine spilled across the front of my dress.

Red wine.

A dark stain spread instantly across the fabric.

A few people near the doors laughed.

I looked up.

My mother was standing behind Madison.

And she smiled.

Not like someone surprised by an accident.

Like someone satisfied by what she had just witnessed.

Daniel immediately handed me a napkin.

“It’s okay,” he said softly.

Not because what Madison had done was okay.

Because he didn’t want her behavior deciding mine.

Madison returned inside.

The glass doors closed behind her.

The music continued.

Daniel and I sat beneath the inadequate canopy while the rain fell around us.

Finally, he asked,

“Do you want to leave?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

I pressed the napkin against the stain.

“You’re not embarrassed?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He looked at me.

“Of them.”

A smile appeared on his face.

“That’s the right answer.”

For a while, we sat quietly.

Then Daniel looked through the glass.

“I should probably tell you something.”

“What?”

“There are people inside who know me.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I got a message earlier. James Hartley is here.”

I knew the name immediately.

Anyone who had worked in finance would.

James Hartley was one of the most influential investors in the industry.

“He’s here?”

Daniel nodded.

“He’s a business partner of Preston’s father. I saw his name on the guest list before we came.”

I stared at him.

“You knew this might happen?”

“I thought I could stay out of the way.”

Then he glanced toward the ballroom.

“But he already saw me through the window.”

I looked inside.

Daniel continued.

“When I walk in there, people are going to recognize me. And things are probably going to change.”

He turned toward me.

“But I want you to understand something first.”

“What?”

“I would have stayed right here all night.”

I felt my throat tighten.

“The rain, the leftovers, the bins—I don’t care.”

He took my hand.

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