“Why are you standing there?”

Several of her friends turned around to glare at me, but I still had no fucking idea what was going on.

“Um—you want me to take this?”

A few of them giggled behind her as they looked at me, and I felt like I was transported back to middle school. She rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, Charlie Brown. You’re hopeless.”

The glass was ripped out of my hands so violently, that her manicured nails actually scratched me. I yelped in pain and finally Luke swept in out of nowhere, quietly stepping in to save me.

“Is there something wrong?” he looked at my face and back to her.

“This one doesn’t seem to be doing her job.” She gestured towards me with contempt laced in every syllable.

Doing her job—what? Then I realized it with a horrible, sinking feeling. I was dressed so poorly, that this woman thought I was the help. My face felt like it was on fire. I turned away and bit my lip viciously. I wanted to die.

“This is Jessica, my girlfriend,” he said with a little anger in his voice. “She’s not an employee.”

“Oh, I had no idea. I’m so sorry—”

Realizing her blunder, she reached out towards me, her claw-like fingers patting me awkwardly on the shoulder. She couldn’t see my face, or my eyes, which were shining with tears. Luke did, and he steered me away from them. “It’s fine,” he called over his shoulder.

We shoved through a throng of people and headed towards a glass door. I hoped no one had seen the exchange.

“Let’s just go outside.”

I choked as soon as we stepped outside. We were in a small, side garden. It was lit up beautifully with golden, paper lanterns. I growled in frustration as tears leaked out of my eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to hold it together.”

“No, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Luke sidled up against me and stroked my arm.

My lips were shaking as I looked at him. “I’m so embarrassed. I don’t belong here at all.” I couldn’t erase the expression on her face from my mind. “She looked at me like I was—trash.” The hopeless feeling that I felt at school was overpowering. I used to be bullied for wearing used clothes from the Salvation Army, and it was the exact same feeling.

“You can’t let it get to you. I get ripped apart every day in the press. You just have to let it roll off your shoulders.”

I bent down as the glare from the porch lights illuminated the ugly marks on my shoes. I scrubbed them with my fingers, but they refused to come off. “That’s different. They’re your family. I care about what they think about me.”

“I don’t even like my family. What does it matter?”

His hands encircled my forearms and tugged, but I refused to budge. “Stop it, I’m not finished!”

“Jessica.”

The kindness in his voice made me want to cry. I thought of how stupid I looked, hunched on the cement in this cheap dress, scrubbing at a spot on my shoes. It wouldn’t make any difference. Even if I spent thousands on a wardrobe, I would never be like them.

I stumbled as I stood back up, supported my Luke’s firm grip. I felt like he was always holding me upright.

“I don’t care what they think, why should you?”

The dark blue and gold garden blurred. I blinked away the tears. “But you do care. We changed my background story so that I would fit in—but I don’t.”

He sighed. “It would influence my father’s opinion of you in a bad way. That’s the only reason why we did that.”

His fingers slipped down my bare back and I curled into his chest, sliding my hand inside his jacket to grip the muscles in his back. His chest swelled into my back and I closed my eyes, thinking only about how safe I felt in his arms. A vicious heat seared up my core as his fingers moved in tantalizing circles on my bare skin.

“Just stay close to me, and it’ll be over soon.”

And then we’ll be alone.

A loud buzz filled my ears and I jumped in Luke’s arms. It was coming from my purse. I opened it and snapped open my phone:

Call me now -Nat

I blinked at the message, curiosity burning in my stomach, but I stowed it back inside my purse. Whatever Natalie had to tell me would have to wait.

“Ready?”

I nodded and we walked back towards the brightly lit house, the noise and light spilling into the garden as he opened the glass door for me. I spotted the hag who had bitched at me and felt a strong surge of anger, but I kept my eyes fixed forward.

“Let’s find my uncle.”

My guts twisted as I nodded glumly. I wiped my hand surreptitiously before I took Luke’s again. He led me through a succession of rooms towards the sound of piano playing. We walked into a living room with a huge ceiling. A crowd of people was gathered around the white grand piano, where an older man sat, his fingers flying over the keys.

He was a thin, reedy man with a wiry black mustache. Domenico jumped from the piano seat as he saw Luke approach. “Luke!” He grabbed his nephew by the shoulders and kissed both of his cheeks.

“Happy Birthday, Uncle Dominic.”

“Thanks. I’m so happy that you could make it.”

I was shocked by his display of affection. His uncle gripped his shoulder, unwilling to let go of his nephew. Luke introduced me with a wave of his free arm.

“So, this is the girl I’ve seen in the papers.” He winked at me and shook my hand. “We’re so glad you could come.”

“Nice to meet you,” I beamed.

“When did you fly in?”

“Today, actually.”

“Jesus, you must be tired.” The fabric on Luke’s shoulder bunched together as his hand tightened. Domenico’s face crumpled as he wheeled him away from the crowd of people. “You haven’t seen your dad yet, have you?”

I tensed as a frown creased on Luke’s forehead. Please don’t blow up at him.

“We did.”

He nodded seriously. “He’s taken a sharp turn for the worse. I found out from James that he tried to fire you.”

Luke made a sound that might have been a laugh. “Yes, he did.”

“Listen, I blocked it. He may be a board member, but he can only work in a limited capacity and it’s clear that his judgment is off his rocker. You’re a great employee, no matter how many soccer fans you beat up.” He smiled warmly. “The San Francisco deal you got for us is brilliant and you’ll always have a job at Pardini Worldwide. It’s your birthright and I won’t let him do this to you.”