I snatched the box out of his hands and stuffed it in my pocket. The few party-goers crushed closest to us had started to eavesdrop with great interest. "Can we just get on with the plan? If it's going to fail, I'd rather it was before all the alcohol is gone."
Topher waited for me to slam my drink and then lead the way through a series of side-rooms. We stopped at the door to the portico, and Topher delighted in peeking out like we were in a spy movie.
"Does she look suspicious?" I asked.
"Um, no, everything's fine," Topher lied.
I flung open the door and walked onto the portico to see for myself. Tasha was fending off Berger and looking worried. She kept glancing around her as if someone was going to prank her from behind. I watched, frozen, as she skirted past Berger and almost made it back inside the mansion.
Stan caught her at the French doors and turned her around. He kept an arm tight around her shoulders as they strolled back into place.
"See? Everything's fine." Topher gave a sigh of relief.
I tried to catch my breath. It was now or never.
#
I thought I could handle the party without any problems, but a few minutes in the door and I was already panicking. Running into Rainer on the front steps had felt like the keys turning in the ignition of a car I wasn't driving. My heart raced along, my eyes sweeping the crowd to see him, and I couldn't believe I was so quickly out of control.
It wasn't as if I hadn't seen Rainer in the last few weeks. He seemed to pop up everywhere, and I had gotten used to the sudden moments we shared together.
Once I caught sight of his fancy sports car at the little hotel in my home town. I could have passed without seeing him, but I peeked in the windows and saw him sitting alone at a table. He claimed his work friend had just left. Two days later, he happened to be grabbing lunch at the same restaurant as me. When my lunch meeting fell through, we had a long meal together.
In fact, I hadn't gone more than four days without seeing him, so I couldn't understand why tonight felt so different. I tried to tell myself it was because we were all dressed up. Rainer looked like a heartthrob straight off the movie screen in his black tuxedo. His hair was mussed, but all it did was give him a human appeal. It made me want to tangle my hands in it as we kissed. . .
I jolted myself out of the daydream and tried to concentrate on what Berger was saying.
It didn't really seem to matter if I was listening as Berger was talking at high speed. His oddly
excited behavior made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. What was I missing?
I couldn't help but think this was some sort of hazing opportunity. I was completely exposed on the back portico. The luxurious green lawn swept up and away from the portico like a wide amphitheater, and I felt like I was on view. As Berger continued to chatter, I definitely got the idea he was going to prank me. It would be just like Stan to have to pull one more thing over on his protege before he retired for good.
"Berger, I'm sorry, but I'm going to head back inside and make sure Stan doesn't need my help," I said.
He tried to block my way, but the look I gave him made him stand down. I almost made it through the French doors before Stan himself caught me and steered me back outside.
"Isn't it a beautiful night?" Stan asked.
"Are you drunk?"
Stan chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulders. "Not yet, my dear, but it feels like a good night to celebrate, doesn't it?"
I tried to shrug his arm off. "Why are you so cheerful? Shouldn't you be complaining about the buzzards circling the dead body of your career?"
"No, I'm glad to be giving it up. It's all a game for the young, you allospecific. Now that your career is on a high trajectory, I can sit back and enjoy the simple things," Stan said.
I gestured to the lavish silk banners and delicate crystal lanterns that decorated the immense facade of his mansion. "The simple things? Like what?"
"How about young love?" Stan asked.
I stopped short and rooted my high heels to the ground. "Now I know something is wrong, Stan. Tell me what's going on. Are you dying?"
Stan hooted with laughter. "No! I might be old, but at least I'm young at heart. You, on the other hand, need to let a little more love in your life."
"Oh, God, not more dating advice. Please, Stan, can we just enjoy your retirement party?" I shivered, still convinced my colleagues were about to haze me.
Then I saw Rainer, and it was the rest of the party that turned hazy. It wasn't the elegant and sexy cut of his tuxedo, or the way his dark hair shone under the lanterns. It was his electric blue eyes as they locked onto me. In that one glance, I saw worry, hope, and something that lit a fire deep in my belly.