Page 33 of Shattered Crown
I turned. Evie stood beside me, a plate of appetizers balanced in her hands. She'd found thepupustation, apparently. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright.
"Are you having fun?" she asked.
"It's a charity event." I accepted my fresh drink from the bartender. "I'm having as much fun as one can have at a charity event."
Evie's eyes narrowed. She glanced across the room, then back at me. "You've been staring at Miss Kealoha."
I went very still. "I have not."
"You have. Like, a lot." She tilted her head, studying me with that particular perception she'd developed lately. "Are you mad at her again?"
Was I mad at her? I wished that was it. Anger, I understood. Anger, I could manage. This was something that confused me and made me want to act out of the ordinary.
"I'm not mad at anyone," I said. "I was simply... observing the event. Making sure everything is running smoothly."
"By staring at Aria?"
"I wasn't staring."
"Dad. You were definitely staring."
I needed to redirect this conversation. Immediately. "How's the food?" I gestured to her plate. "Did you try thekaluapork sliders? I heard they were from a local Hawaiian restaurant."
"They're really good. Priya showed me how to bid on the silent auction. I put in a bid for the spa package, but then someone outbid me by like five hundred dollars, which is crazy because who needs a spa that badly?" She popped something into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Are you even listening to me?"
I was. I was also watching Aria accept a glass of champagne from a waiter, her fingers wrapping around the stem with elegant precision. She said something to the man beside her—Congressman Holloway, I recognized him now—and he laughed too loudly, leaning in close.
Did he have to get that close to her? What did he possibly have to say that required such proximity? The music wasn’t even that loud. I’m sure she could hear him just fine if he just moved a few inches away. In fact, that might be best, considering…
"Dad?"
I blinked and dragged my eyes away from Aria. "Yes. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." I glanced at Aria again. Congressman Holloway had moved even closer. What were they even talking about? "Have you seen the main auction items? There's a vacation package to the Maldives that looked interesting," I said, just because I didn't want to seem too obvious to my daughter.
Evie was watching me with that sharp gaze again. "You're being weird tonight."
"I'm not being weird."
"You are, though. You're all..." She studied me further. "Weird. You keep looking around. And then when you look at Aria, you get this face."
Busted. "What face?"
"I don't know. Just... a face." She shrugged. "It's fine. I'm going to go find Priya. She said she'd show me the donation tracking system."
She wandered off before I could respond, leaving me alone with my whiskey, my thoughts, and the inexplicable urge to cross the room and insert myself between Aria and the congressman who was still standing too close.
I didn't move. I had more control than that.
The lights dimmed slightly. A woman in a black dress stepped onto the small stage at the front of the room, tapping the microphone to get everyone's attention.
"Good evening, everyone. If I could have your attention, please."
The crowd began to settle, conversations dying down, bodies turning toward the stage. I moved to a better vantage point near the side of the room, where I could see without being in the center of things.
"As many of you know, our bachelor and bachelorette auction is a beloved tradition at the Kealoha Foundation gala. This year, we have seven incredible individuals who have generously volunteered their time for a dinner date with the highest bidder. All proceeds go directly to our mobile health clinic expansion."
Seven people filed onto the stage, all of them dressed to the nines, wearing numbered cards around their necks. Six of them I didn't recognize. The other one was Aria.
She wore a cardboard placard with a large"5"written on it. Her chin was lifted, her smile fixed in place, but I could seethe tension in her shoulders. She didn't want to be up there. She was doing it because it was her foundation, her event, her responsibility.
