Matching the gleam in Judy's eye, Margo smiled. "She wasn't invited."
"Really?" Judy leaned closer to Margo's ear. "That'll burn her ass."
"I do like you."
"In that case, you won't mind putting that flora minaudiere aside for me until I can get in to pick it up?''
"The Judith Leiber? Consider it yours. There's a matching lipstick case, and a compact too. It makes a really fabulous set."
"Your middle name's Satan, right?" Judy tossed up a hand. "Put them all aside for me. I'll be in next week."
"We appreciate your patronage." She laid a hand on Judy's shoulder as she eased by. "Oh, and don't forget to save something to bid on the choker. I heard it screaming your name."
"You are the devil."
With a laugh, Margo moved on to the next group. "So nice to see you. What a gorgeous bracelet."
"She's a natural, isn't she?" Susan murmured to her son. "No one would know there's a nerve in her body."
"See the way she's running her fingers up the stem of her glass. She can't keep her hands still when she's tense. But she's pulling it off."
"So well that I just had Laura put aside two jackets, a bag, and a jeweled snuff bottle for me." Tucking her arm through Josh's, Susan laughed at herself. "They were Laura's jackets, for God's sake. I'm buying my own daughter's castoffs."
"She comes by her excellent taste honestly. Except in men."
Susan patted his hand. "She was too young to know any better, too much in love to be stopped." Laura was older now, Susan thought, and hurting. "You'll keep your eye on her and the girls once your father and I leave, won't you?"
"I guess I haven't been doing my brotherly duty very well lately."
"You've been distracted, and you've earned your own life." Her eyes, sharp and maternal, scanned the room until they found Laura. "I'm a little worried that she's holding up too well."
"You'd rather she fell to pieces."
"I'd rather be sure that if and when she does, someone's there for her." Then she smiled, watching Kate and Margo grab a quick moment with Laura. "They will be."
"We've got to make some sort of list," Margo whispered. "Otherwise, we're going to be promising the same things to different people. I'll ne
ver keep it all in my head."
"I told you to keep the cash register open," Kate grumbled.
"It would be tacky."
She sent Margo a withering look. "It's a store, pal."
"Margo's right—you don't go ringing up sales and making change at an affair like this."
"God save me from delicate tastes." Kate blew out a breath that fluttered her bangs. "I'll duck into the storeroom and log the promised merchandise. What the hell was it you said, a minatoe?"
"A minaudiere," Margo said with a superior smirk. "Just put down 'jeweled evening bag.' I'll know what it is. And don't start playing with the computer. You have to mingle."
"I'm mingled out. Except there's this one guy. He's kind of cute." She craned her head, zeroed in. "There, the one with the moustache and shoulders. See him?"
"Lincoln Howard." Laura identified him easily. "Married."
"Figures." Muttering, Kate walked off.
"You ought to make her keep that dress," Laura commented. "I've never seen her look better."