Men in expensive suits stood around sipping whiskey. Women in designer gowns exchanged air kisses beside the pool. Daniel laughed harder than usual at Richard’s jokes.
Inside, the entire house smelled like money and lemon polish. Even the servers moved with a kind of effortless confidence that made me feel awkward by comparison.
One woman looked at my dress, then my shoes, and offered me a smile so thin it barely qualified. I picked up a glass of sparkling water from a tray simply to give my hands something to hold.
Across the room, Daniel was already nodding eagerly at Richard, his face lit with that polished expression he always wore at work events. That was when I realized he wasn’t nervous tonight. He was invested in the performance.
Most of the evening was spent making sure May didn’t spill juice on anything worth more than our rent.
At one point, I found her crouched beside the dessert table with frosting smeared across her fingers. I sighed, grabbed a napkin, and started wiping her hands clean.
That was when Richard walked past us with his wife.
Vanessa.
Tall, graceful, beautiful in a cold and polished way. The kind of woman who instantly made me aware of every cheap thing I had on.
May looked up at her immediately. Then she smiled and pointed.
