“Do you want me to have her escorted off the premises?”
“No.” Gretchen shook her head. “Let’s just try and ignore her through dinner. I think Brontë has her handled.”
Indeed, Brontë was chatting cheerfully with Daphne and escorting her to the far end of the table, away from the wine and her new editor. Reese and Jonathan were watching Daphne with an amused expression, but the look on Cade’s face was sad. She knew how he felt—she wanted to cry every time she saw Daphne. She was a shadow of her former self.
“Wait,” Daphne slurred. “Where’s my sister?” She scanned the room, and then her gaze moved to Gretchen.
And then stopped on Hunter, still protectively looming over Gretchen’s side.
“Oh, my God,” Daphne said. She leaned over to Brontë and whispered loudly, “That dude is fucking hideous.”
The room grew immediately silent.
Ah, hell. Gretchen put her arm around Hunter’s waist and smiled, even though she wanted to punch her sister in the mouth. She knew Hunter had to be humiliated. “Daphne, this is my . . . boyfriend, Hunter.” Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? He’d confessed love, so she felt comfortable saying that. She hoped he didn’t mind.
Daphne just stared, blinking her stoned eyes. “He’s like a bad acid trip.”
“Daph! Stop it! You’re embarrassing me.”
Daphne giggled. “Me? What about Quasimodo at your side there?”
“That’s enough,” Gretchen said through gritted teeth. She strode forward, pushing Brontë aside and grabbing Daphne by the arm. “I don’t care if you’re my sister. If you can’t be polite, you’re out of here. I’m going to call your manager and rat you out.”
“Daphne, please just be quiet,” Audrey said in a low, unhappy voice. “Please.”
Daphne ignored her twin, wrenching her arm out of Gretchen’s grip. “Why are your panties in such a wad, Gretchen? So you’re dating an ugly dude. So what.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, I get it. He’s rich, isn’t he?”
Horror burned Gretchen’s cheeks. Oh, God. That wasn’t it at all, but everyone at this party was going to think that of her, weren’t they? “You are leaving, Daphne. Right now.” She grabbed her sister’s thin, veiny arm. Audrey grabbed the other side. “Tell everyone you’re sorry and I won’t call your manager.”
“Gee, I’m sorry everyone,” Daphne slurred as they dragged her out of the room. “Sorry my sister is being such a lame piece of shit. Gretchen was always the fun, slutty one. Guess Audrey made her boring.”
Gretchen inwardly groaned at the shocked chuckles in the room. Great. Just fucking great. Now she was a slut and a gold digger in their eyes.
Eldon escorted them down the hall, moving valuable objects out of Daphne’s writhing grasp. It took the two sisters a few minutes to drag their protesting sister to the front door, but when she was finally there, Daphne seemed to calm down. “All right, all right. I’m going.” She looked at Gretchen with a pitying smile. “If you needed money, sis, all you had to do was ask. No need to whore yourself out to fugly guys.”
“Get. Out.”
“Can I be of assistance?” Cade arrived, glancing at Audrey before moving toward Daphne.
Daphne’s drunken expression softened. “Cade. You remembered me.” She held out her arms for a hug, and he moved into them.
“It’s going to be okay, Daphne,” Cade said in a soothing voice, stroking the thick tangle of Daphne’s hair. “I’ll take care of you.” He nodded at Gretchen and headed out the door, Daphne huddled against him.
Audrey followed them, a stricken look on her face.
Gretchen waited until she was sure they were gone, then turned from the door, feeling as if she wanted to vomit. God, Daphne was ruining everything.
In the hallway, Eldon stood there, staring at her. A look of hatred was on his face. “I never liked you much, Ms. Petty, but I never thought you were deliberately cruel. I see I was wrong.”
“You’re still wrong,” Gretchen told him, but it was clear her words weren’t getting through. “I’m not dating Hunter because he’s rich.”
Eldon ignored her, clearly choosing to believe otherwise. “I am returning to the party to serve dinner,” he told her a moment later, then left without bothering to see if she followed.
This was going to be a long, long evening.
***
Gretchen paced the halls of Buchanan Manor, trying to compose herself. What a mess. She’d have to go in and apologize to everyone. She’d wanted a nice, quiet party among friends, perhaps impress her editor a little. She’d gotten a nightmare instead, and the urge to run away and not return was overwhelming. Hunter had to be miserable.