Page 41 of Striking the Match (Redwood Bay Fire #3)

I realize that her good approval is important to me. My own family hasn’t met Cassius yet as it’s all been too tense with my damn brother’s troubles. Trust him to spoil my first proper Meet The Parents moment on top of everything.

I catch myself before I lose myself down that train of thought. Being unkind won’t change his past behavior or do anything to improve the current situation. I always swore that I’d be better than him in that regard. When he’s hurtling toward rock bottom isn’t the time to sharpen my claws.

The timing just isn’t the best right now. I’ll be able to introduce Cassius to the rest of my family soon enough. In the meantime, I’d like to know Mrs. Bloom’s first impression.

Because it seems she genuinely had never heard of him before. “Oh, darling,” she’d said to me the other day when I’d invited her to this very party. “I don’t have any time for watching sports, nor the inclination. It’s all a little savage to me.”

Back in the present moment, I look over at Cassius and so does she.

“He’s certainly a looker, Mr. Foster,” she says in admiration.

“I am enamored by his smile and by his generosity. And I don’t just mean his wallet.

” She arches her eyebrow at me. “Money is easy to part with when one has plenty of it. But it’s clear he’s generous with his time, and that’s not something easily bought. ”

It’s like I can feel the sun breaking through stormy clouds inside my chest. “I think you’re right,” I murmur.

She gives me a little hum. “I know I’m right, dear. People of great fortune always want to spend time with others swimming in wealth. It makes for a very superficial crowd a lot of the time.”

Trying not to be obvious, I glance over at her, but she’s safely still watching Cassius.

She doesn’t often talk about her late husband, and I certainly have no idea how he came into his money.

I’ve always thought it was through something either extremely boring or extremely illegal.

I can’t see how it could be anything in between.

Because she spends more of her time fussing over Miss Margot or cooking and baking for the One-Thirteen, I think I’ve made the mistake of underestimating her real power.

But as I look at the enormous diamonds glittering around her throat and how she’s analyzing the room of people like a shark, I ponder for the first time if she inherited her riches at all.

“I’m not sure if I belong here,” I say before I’ve even consciously formed the thought. However, I guess it’s true. Mrs. Bloom appears to be in her element.

I feel like a kid who’s been invited to his parents’ very grown-up party.

Mrs. Bloom scoffs before turning her head toward me. “That’s the secret, my darling boy. Nobody belongs at events like this. They’re all a fantasy. That doesn’t mean they can’t be fun. Their very purpose is to convey an illusion. Have you ever been to Vegas?”

“Las Vegas?” I ask before realizing how stupid that sounds. Of course that’s what she means. I was just thrown by the apparent non sequitur. “Um, no. I haven’t ever been.”

She shakes her head. “It’s a terrible place full of loud noises, flashing lights, dreadful heat, and enough glitter and sequins to destroy the whole planet.” She flashes a devilish grin at me. “I love it.”

“You do?” I ask in surprise.

“Oh, yes,” she says, sipping on her drink.

“The entire place is utterly false, but everyone’s in on the game, and that’s what makes it such a delight.

You don’t go to Vegas for enlightenment.

You go for escape. And that’s just what parties like this are all about.

For one night, every person here, be they rich and famous or modest nobodies, can put on their clown make-up and join the circus.

We’re all dancing to the same tune, bathed in Champagne with stardust in our eyes. ”

“Whoa,” I say, blinking and looking around the room with a slightly adjusted focus.

That’s basically what Cassius and I had wanted from this evening, among other things.

For everyone to feel equal. But it hadn’t occurred to me that the staging was actually part of how that worked. “What a beautiful way to put it.”

Mrs. Bloom plucks an hors d’oeuvre from the tray of a passing waiter and bends at the waist to offer it out for Miss Margot to eat. She has the grace of a dancer, and I yet again find myself wondering what kind of life she’s lived before we knew her.

“Don’t you dare ever let anyone believe you don’t belong in a room, Theodore,” she says as she straightens up once more, brushing crumbs from her palms. “Unless you lack the necessary qualifications. Waltzing into an operating theater and demanding to be handed a scalpel is one thing. But don’t ever let money hold you back.

I’ve known many a buffoon who just happened to land on his feet financially. ”

“What about experience?” I ask, my age always on my mind.

She shrugs. “Time is the only thing that can give you that, I’m afraid. But again, don’t confuse experience with wisdom. Young souls can still be wise, just as one can live a long and fruitful life, yet still be as ignorant as a pig in a palace.”

I snort into my Champagne flute. “Mrs. Bloom,” I say, slightly scandalized. Only she could find such a colorful way to call someone dumb as fuck.

She just smirks at me, entirely aware of how naughty she is.

“I think I made my point,” she says slyly.

“There are some people in this room, Mr. Foster, who work tirelessly for the good of their community and get paid very little. And there are also people who happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right face who earn millions for doing very little. These can all be good people or, quite frankly, terrible people. If you judge others on their merits then hopefully they will do the same for you. If they don’t…

” She shrugs again, but there’s a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Well, forget them. Move on. When one light goes out in Vegas, they just screw another in, don’t they? ”

I take a moment to absorb what she’s telling me. Which I think is not to give my power away to people just because I’m assuming they’re better or more important than me. We’re all here playing the same game.

And this is my party just as much as Cassius’s. We’ve both invited guests we know from our different lives, bringing them together to dance under the same twinkling lights to the same jaunty tune.

Perhaps I’ve convinced myself that if I protect everybody, if I save everyone in trouble, it will spare me from being judged as too young or not good enough.

The exact way my brother Nate has always made me feel.

Even if I rescued him from his current predicament, though, his attitude toward me wouldn’t change.

There’s no reason for me to be intimidated by the people in this room.

They’re our guests. Maybe some of them are wondering why the hell Cassius Garda would choose to be with a guy like me when he could have his pick of the elite.

Maybe they’ll change their minds when they meet me.

Or maybe they’ll continue to look down on me.

In which case…I’ll let them.

There are going to be countless strangers out in the world who have nasty things to say about me, Cassius, our families and friends, the choices we make, and the things we do.

The world will keep spinning regardless.

Mrs. Bloom is right. I should treat stepping into Cassius’s world like going to Vegas and embrace the madness and the make-believe.

Because when everyone leaves and the house is back in order, it’s only Cassius and I who will still be here with Miss Kiki.

That’s the real world and the one I want to protect.

I know my friends at the station will always have my back, and so does my family.

I don’t have to try and put out every fire—be it physical or metaphorical—by myself.

If Nate wants to hold onto his childish resentment and prejudices toward me…

well, it’s his life and he can be miserable in it if that’s his decision.

I am the author of my own happiness, and right now, I think I’m pretty fucking content.

“Mrs. Bloom,” I say, holding out my arm for her.

“Would you do me the pleasure of letting me introduce you to Cassius Garda, former all-star quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks and current very excellent boyfriend to the youngest and brightest star of the One-Thirteen firehouse?” I glance downward at the Shih Tzu on her sparkling leash.

“If that’s all right with Miss Margot Fonteyn, of course. ”

Mrs. Bloom grins, picking up her tumbler from where she placed it, and accepts my elbow gracefully.

“I thought you’d never ask, Mr. Foster. Lead the way!”

That’s exactly what I intend to do from now on. No more holding myself back for fear of failure. Cassius is waiting for me. I’m done thinking I’m not worthy of him.

We can both be each other’s heroes.