“I’ll see you in the morning, OK, Will?” April said. “And if I hear you’ve been good, I’ll make you some pancakes.”
“With chocolate chips?”
A warm smile formed on April’s lips. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Willa pumped her fist in an adorable “victory” motion.
“Mind taking her next door?” I asked Shauna. “We’ll meet you at the car.”
“Yeah,” said Shauna. “Sure.” Her tone suggested she felt she was being left out.
“Come on, kid,” she said, taking Willa’s hand.
I planted a quick kiss on Willa’s forehead as Shauna led her out the door and Willa waved to us both as they left.
Then it was just me and April.
“You look stunning,” I said. “Absolutely stunning.”
“I still feel a little strange. I’m not used to dressing like this.”
“Well, you pull it off incredibly. More than pleased to have you on my arm tonight.”
Another series of comments that struck me as slightly inappropriate. But it was too late to go back.
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “And you don’t look half-bad in a tux yourself.”
I chuckled. “You’re too kind. Anyway, shall we?”
“We shall.”
I opened the front door for April, and we were soon out into the cool evening air, New York alive with the energy only a weekend night in the city could offer. A black limo waited in front of the house, and we came out just in time to meet Shauna in front of it. I opened the door for the two women and slid into the back of the car after they’d both gotten inside.
“So,” said Shauna. “We ready for a night as stuffy as they come?”
I grinned. “Come on—Anton’s parties aren’t that bad.”
“Not the most relaxing events in the world,” said Shauna with an easy smile. “Especially if you’re new to the whole scene.” Her eyes flicked over to April.
“Oh no,” she said. “Am I going to be totally out of place?”
“You’ll be fine,” I said. “The nice thing about rich types is if they have smartass comments they’re usually well-bred enough to keep them to themselves.”
“Not always the case,” said Shauna. “They can be…prickly.”
I wasn’t sure why she was bothering to make such comments. No doubt that April would be fine, but I already knew she was a little nervous about the evening ahead.
“Don’t worry about it.”
The driver took us through the city, eventually bringing us to the Edison Ballroom in Midtown. The venue was abuzz with activity, limos pulling up in front of the stately façade, men in tuxes and women in flowing gowns making their way up the stairs to the entrance.
When it was our turn, the limo pulled to a stop, and I was the first one out. The stairs to the front were cordoned off with velvet rope, and on the other side there were more than a few paparazzi for local gossip rags snapping photos. I heard my name mentioned a few times, but I was used to it. One of the downsides of being a billionaire was that everyone wanted to know your business. And when you were in my line of work, that was a no-go. Luckily, as far as they were concerned I was nothing more than the successful CEO of a financial company. I aimed to keep it that way.
“Holy crap,” said April as she stepped out. “Are people really taking pictures?”
“It’s a who’s-who of New York,” said Shauna. “You bet they’re taking pictures.”
“People need to find better things to do with their time than follow gossip,” I said as we started toward the doors.