“The fireworks will be starting soon,” he said, his face dark and hovering over mine. “Let your colleagues finish up for the night. Join me over by the garden.” The next thing I knew, he was gone, leaving nothing but his lingering scent behind.

“I trust Chase has taken care of you…?”

I jumped, brought back to myself by the sound of Mr. Boothe’s voice… entirely too close for comfort. The girl in silver was gone, and he looked perfectly composed, as if nothing at all had happened… He couldn’t have known what I’d seen…

“I’m… Yes… of course…,” I stumbled, grabbing a cloth and wiping at the already perfectly clean counter. I wadded the cash in one hand without even looking. “Paid in full. Thank you, sir. For giving us the opportunity…”

“My pleasure, certainly,” he replied. “Your work is delicious… very elegant, actually.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “I have something else, only in the planning stages right now… You could be just the thing…

We’ll be in touch. Soon.” His voice was strong, confident. He smiled and let his blue eyes touch my neckline. He smoothed his pale hair back with one hand and I felt a shiver run through me. “Just a word of advice, Miss Parrish. Don’t keep Chase waiting. He’s not nearly as patient as he likes to think.” He tossed the last words over his shoulder as I watched him walk away with long, confident strides.

I quickly tucked the handful of bills into the vee between my breasts, and set back to work, filling trays with crystal flutes and pouring the last of the champagne. But keeping my hands busy didn’t slow how my head and my heart were racing. I knew I’d stumbled, like an unsophisticated child, into seeing something I shouldn’t have. The whole thing had only lasted a few seconds… and Chase had rescued me from further embarrassment. I fully expected he wanted to see me again, only to be sure I would promise to keep the whole matter to myself.

“What an evening,” Tammy said, coming up behind me, startling me out of my thoughts. “That Boothe is sure a piece of work.” She shook her head, as if trying to shake away a thought. “Reese and I cut our break short… Good thing too. But we’ve got that cake sculpture sliced up and ready. Not a minute too soon.” She stopped and looked at me. “Are you okay? You look kinda flushed or something…” I choked down the knee-jerk desire to tell her everything. Tam was only two years my junior, but she was still way too young…

“Fine… I’m just fine. It’s just already been a long night, and we’ve still got more than an hour in clean up after the guests leave.” I helped her clear away the empty bottles. “But we got the rest of our money. And Mr. Boothe said something about the possibility of doing another job.” I packed away the last of the unused stemware. ‘This party could be just the beginning… more than just getting back on our feet. This could be a chance at making Sweets and Classy a real success.”

We each took a tray and headed back over to where guests clustered, waiting for the fireworks to begin. The rooftop garden was enormous and had gathered most of the crowd. I shot a look, searching for Chris’s face. I smiled politely at the guests, as they took glasses from my tray. But I also remembered that Sutton had warned me not to keep him waiting…

“Take the rest of these, would you?” I handed my last few glasses off to Tam impatiently. “Mr. Chase said he wanted a word before the evening’s over.” She gave a quick nod and headed for Reese. I made a mental note to add more to their checks than I could afford, and headed for the garden.

The trees were tall enough that it was easy to forget we were forty stories above the streets below. The last of the season’s flowers were still in bloom and a lovely cedar pergola stood a dozen yards away. I stopped for a moment, startled by the first explosion overhead. A sparkling cascade of brilliant yellow light burst in the darkness and illuminated the couple directly in front of me. She was lovely, in red. He was dark and smiling… His hand was inside the front of her dress, cupping one large breast…

I turned away just as another rocket burst and turned the sky blue and purple. It gave enough light I could see Chris’s dark head, taller than the others, his face turned upwards. I moved quickly through the maze of people and trees. He glanced around without seeing me, and I moved faster. Just the glimpse of his face had made my blood pump harder. The dark, smoky scent of him was only a few feet away…

But I pulled up short as I watched him bend down. He was holding her lightly, dropping a kiss on her cheek. She smiled at him shyly, and his dark look brightened. She was the loveliest girl I’d ever seen.