Page 79 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘Only at the beginning of the thing, and I do want you there. I want you on my arm. It can be our… I don’t know, debut.’
‘Uh…’
He chuckled. ‘Or not. Either way, I would love you to be there with me.’
A tiny whimper escaped her lips. ‘How fancy will it be?’
‘Cocktail dress, maybe? I’ll ask Lena, my publicist. She wants to meet you too, to talk about the fundraiser. I’ll be in a suit. She’s got me a stylist. We’re thinking Tom Ford. But as it’s early evening, I probably won’t wear a tie.’
Sera listened to him casually talking about stylists and PR people and Tom Ford. This was way out of her league. Way, way,wayout. It was a whole other world. ‘I don’t know, Ethan. I don’t really do parties.’
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘It’ll be fun. It’s free booze and food, and a free movie. You love movies.’
‘What movie is it?’ she asked.
‘It’s that newJurassic Parkspin-off. I can’t remember the name.’
She gasped. ‘Seriously?’ Images of sipping champagne while talking to Jeff Goldblum flashed through her mind. ‘Are any of the stars going to be there?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe?’
‘Well…’ She wavered.
‘I hate to pressure you, but you have to tell me now. They need confirmed numbers.’
‘Okay. Yes!’ she said, surprising herself. Then instantly panicked. What had she done?
He whooped out a cheer. ‘Brilliant! We’ll have a great time.’
She gulped. ‘If you say so.’
Ten minutes later, she pulled up outside Linda Watkins’s house.
Her friend waved from the doorstep, her tanned, pregnant belly poking out between a crop top and a pair of shimmering yoga shorts. ‘What’s this fashion emergency?’ she asked, ushering Sera inside.
‘Ethan James invited me to a red-carpet thingy on Saturday.’
She nodded, all business. ‘Is it formal, cocktail or smart casual?’
Sera shrugged. ‘He thinks cocktail, but he’s not sure.’
Linda rolled her eyes. ‘God.Men.They’re so useless at this stuff. Did he tell you what he’s wearing?’
‘Tom Ford suit, no tie.’
Linda nodded again and gave Sera a look that suggested she was impressed. ‘Tom Ford. Classic. Okay. Let’s go raid my wardrobe.’
As teenagers, Sera and Linda had been inseparable, and borrowing each other’s clothes was as routine as sharing secrets or their crushes on boys. They wore the same size and had often pooled their money to buy one of something to share between them, like the pre-loved Dior crossbody bag they’d snagged on eBay and created an actual roster for.
Linda flung open her wardrobe, with a ‘Tah-dah!’
Sera’s chin dropped. ‘It’s a walk-in.’ She turned to Linda with saucer eyes and her finger pointing towards a dusky pink velvet bench. ‘With a seat.’
Linda laughed. ‘It’s pretty much why we bought the place. Once I saw the wardrobe, I just had to have the house that went with it.’
Sera ran her hand along a row of dresses in every conceivable colour. ‘Wow. You were always into clothes, but… this is a lot. I feel like I’m inSex and the Cityor something.’
Her friend shrugged. ‘Tom has loads of client dinners and parties and boring things like that. Before he knocked me up, we were out four or five times a week, and as a finance portfolio manager, he has to look as if he’s followed his own advice and can afford the good things in life. Which he can, by the way. Which is how we can afford to live in Freshwater.’ She sat on the edge of her bed. ‘Do you see anything you like?’
