“Do you even know what charity this ball is raising money for?” April asked.
Vicki shrugged. “Something about sick children?”
“Not even close.”
“I have to say, you’re the last person I’d expect to see here.” Vicki’s eyes flicked down April’s body and back up again. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”
“I’m here on library business,” April said. “I’m filling in for Lexi. I should probably get back to work.” April didn’t actually have anything to do, but being around Vicki while she was looking as devastatingly sexy as she was right now seemed dangerous.
“Wait,” Vicki said. “Come mingle with me.”
“Mingle? I’m not a guest. And no offense, but this isn’t my kind of crowd.”
“They’re not all bad. Besides, there’s something I want to show you.”
“What is it?”
“Come with me and you’ll find out.”
April’s curiosity was piqued, but this seemed like a bad idea. “What if someone sees us together? I don’t want anyone to think I’m your date. Because of work, I mean,” she added hurriedly.
“Nobody knows who you are here,” Vicki said. “And everyone is too drunk and self-absorbed to notice you. Besides, between your mask and that wickedly sexy dress you’re wearing, even I barely recognized you. You’ll just be another face in the crowd.” She drew her fingers through her hair. “Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself.”
April fidgeted with her mask. It was tempting. To get lost in the crowd with Vicki, to pretend, just for a moment, that they weren’t at opposite sides of the battle over the library.
“So? What do you say?” Vicki held out her hand, her eyes speaking a command Apr
il desperately wanted to follow, one she had given April so many times before. Give in to your desires.
“Okay,” April said. “But only for a little while. Then I’m going back to work.”
April took Vicki’s hand, and Vicki whisked April away into the crowd. As a waiter passed them, Vicki snatched up a couple of glasses of champagne and handed one to April. “Consider it camouflage.”
April sipped the drink, the smooth liquid warming her chest. “This is good.” In all the years she’d organized the ball, she’d never actually tried the champagne. She’d never stood in the hall like she was right now, in the midst of all the people, doing nothing but soaking in the glitz and glamor. The grand old hall seemed so alive.
They continued through the crowd, Vicki greeting people here and there. Occasionally, Vicki would stop and chat with some of them about everything from gossip and small talk to business. April couldn’t see a pattern to the people Vicki talked to. But they all had too much money and too much power, both of which they threw around thoughtlessly. It only proved to April that these were not her kind of people.
As Vicki had predicted, no one took any notice of April, which was fine with her. She simply stood there silently, sipping champagne, until Vicki dragged her off to talk to someone else.
April was beginning to wonder what the point of all this was when they were approached by a pair of women. One of them, a tall dark-haired woman, looked familiar to her, but her elaborate half mask made it difficult for April to place her.
Vicki greeted them both. “April, this is Mel. You’ve already met Vanessa.”
Right. April had briefly met Vanessa that night at Lilith’s Den. The other woman, a slight brunette, was looking at Vicki with an expression on her face that could only be described as hostile. Was this the girlfriend of Vanessa’s that Vicki had “caused trouble” for?
“We meet again, April,” Vanessa said, shooting Vicki a look.
“I’m not with her,” April blurted. “I just mean, we’re not-”
“We didn’t come together,” Vicki clarified. “We just happened to run into each other.”
“What a coincidence,” Vanessa said.
“I’m actually working tonight,” April said. “I run the library that’s sponsoring the ball.”
“The library on Oakmont Street, right?” Mel asked. “I heard that it’s getting shut down. It’s too bad. I work for a non-profit legal service downtown. A lot of our clients use the library. It has some great resources.”
“Yes, it does,” April said. She glanced sideways at Vicki. “It’s a real pity.”