Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Sophie
One Month Later
Stopping outside the Guggenheim, they posed as camera flashes went off, and a crowd of journalists and paparazzi roared.
Sophie dusted off the skirts of the ruby red dress she wore and wrapped an arm around James’s waist. Her fingers curled around the silky material of his dashing Tom Ford suit.
For the past month, they’d been present at every charity, gala, and fundraising event that crossed either Lotus or Covey’s inboxes. A week after their fix, they attended Lina and Adam’s wedding in Granada.
As with the other events, pictures had been taken and posted in various media outlets. Although no unsavory headlines graced the front pages, it didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
What she and James had gone through would give chase the rest of their lives. But it was a crux they’d learned to accept.
“This is giving me flashbacks,” she remarked. Her skirts swished around her legs, and she blinked away the bright pops that lingered behind her eyelids.
He hummed, stopping in front of the sign bearing the table numbers. “To the last event we went to?”
She nodded. “That, and that first gala when you were still working with Covey.”
“That makes sense,” he said. “But I liked the dress from last time more on you.”
A flush crept across her cheeks as she remembered exactly how much he liked that dress.
Her heels clacked against the terrazzo floors as they crossed the room. “Yes, but it would look bad to wear the same thing twice in a row to something like this.”
Elegant lighting lit the surroundings, and classical music flowed from hidden speakers.
Sophie nodded to a few people she recognized before glancing at James, cocking her head. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“This is much better than that first gala,” he said.
Her lips quirked. “Oh? Enlighten me, Mr. Tian.”
“For starters, I get to do this,” he said. He pulled her closer to his side.
Even though they had stopped, she still tripped over her own feet. Slamming into his chest, she hastily pushed off of him. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he murmured. “We don’t have to hide it anymore.”
She smiled, tilting her head toward his. “No, we don’t.”