Everett Holden had sworn to live the rest of his life a single man, but his plans are disrupted when he finds himself sharing an apartment with his best friend's ex - the one woman he detests with every fiber of his being yet simultaneously desires...
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MY FIRST CHARITY gala is going about as well as I assumed it would.
Well, maybe not entirely, considering I've had the woman of my dreams by my side the entire night.
As for everything else, the dinner menu was designed for socialites and the women of Los Angeles. Vegan and gluten-free options, all plated and consuming a whopping three bites. It was an effort not to laugh as Emery did her best not to make a face when she tried the steak that wasn't actually a steak.
Despite the revolting food, Emery seems to be having the time of her life, so that's really all that matters. I'll endure the useless conversations with friends of my father's, whom I've only met once or twice before if it means it'll keep that smile on her face.
"This place is beautiful," Emery says, bouncing her eyes around the ballroom in awe.
Truthfully, I haven't paid attention to the precision to detail the staff made to transform this night into a Hollywood dream. This damn dress of Emery's has distracted me entirely. With every conversation I got wrapped into with a stranger, it was an effort to keep my gaze on their eyes rather than Emery's breasts, which were spilling out of the top half of her dress since we sat down for dinner.
I should be counting down the seconds until we can leave, but despite how much I wanted to hate spending the night with my father and his uppity friends, I've rarely seen him, and this is the first time I've been anywhere with Emery alone outside the house. I know it's not technically a date, but it sure as hell feels like it. This might be the only night I'll get to experience this with her, so I'm clinging to every second.
"Having a good time?" I ask.
She nods enthusiastically, pushing the vegan steak around her plate. I make a note to grab a pizza on the way home. "Are you kidding? The fashion show was amazing, and Izzy raised over fifty thousand dollars for your father's charity at the auction. Tonight has been an absolute dream, Everett."
Before I can reply, a hand falls on my shoulder, and my body stiffens from the familiarity of it—my father. "Everett," he says. "It's good to see you."
I glance over my shoulder just as Emery sends him a warm smile. It's been rare for my dates to meet either of my parents, but if the situation occurred, they would grovel at my father's feet, and I wouldn't put it past them to try and sleep with him, too, but Emery... She doesn't seem enamored or starstruck. Maybe that's because she grew up with me and has met my parents in passing before, but it's almost a relief she's not making a big deal of it.
"It's been a while," he says to Emery.
She scrunches her nose up. "I'm surprised you remembered. It's good to see you, Mr. Holden."
Little does she know she was the main topic of conversation around our dinner table more often than not when Izzy tried to get a rise out of me growing up.
