Where was Luc? Had he changed his mind about coming? Become distracted and lost track of time? Even if he was shooting for fashionably late, he should have arrived by now. She wished he was standing beside her already. Wished it with a strength that surprised her. The party had started less than an hour ago, and already her head throbbed with a tension headache. Taking in the crowd, she searched for a person she actually wanted to talk to. There was no one. Her mother stood with a group of her friends on one side of the garden, showing off the egg-size engagement diamond Harold had given her, while Harold stood with a group of men on the opposite side. Each time Diane’s laughter rang out over the music of the string quartet, Harold glanced over at her. The look of adoration that softened his pock-marked face twisted Chloe’s heart. In the past, she’d longed to protect her mother from heartache. This time, she worried for the groom-to-be. That war on her emotions had had her avoiding Harold all evening.
