Page 51 of Tuxedos and Tinsel

“I asked about the next step. Now that people know we’re…that is, you know…”

“A couple,” Lewis supplied. The word felt oddly normal.

“Exactly. What do we do now?”

Good question. According to his list, step two was to be seen at a few more formal events. Fundraisers with the proper people to establish his new social circle.

And he knew exactly the event. “How do you feel about the Kew Gardens?”

“In general? They’re lovely. What does that have to do with us?”

“We’re going to make our first official appearance there,” Lewis told her. “This Saturday night. I hope you have a formal cocktail dress in your closet.”

“I think I can rustle one up,” she replied.

He had no doubt. “In the meantime, I’ll talk to Michael about keeping up the momentum.”

There was a pause on Susan’s end of the line. He imagined her pretty pink lips drawing into a frown. “What does that mean?”

“Keeping us in the public eye, luv, of course,” he said. “If all goes right, it’ll be a fun week.”

The next few days were unlike anything Susan had ever experienced. It was like she’d changed identities overnight.

“What’s he like?” became a common question.

Along with “Is he as wild as they say?”

The photo from the basketball game—with help from Lewis’s agent, no doubt—had set off a domino trail of publicity. A couple of local radio personalities had seen the story and it had become fodder for one of the morning talk show segments. That, of course, had led to more articles.

One, rehashing Lewis’s past romantic rendezvous, she found uncomfortable to read. Another focused on her, with the article playing up the fact that she had ties not only to Collier’s Soap, but to former sex kitten Belinda Quinn.

Thankfully, as she told Lewis, her mother was filming some island reality show in the middle of nowhere and was unreachable, saving them from having to deal withthatparticular crazy.

Susan felt like a rock star.

The best part? Courtney and Ginger were practically apoplectic with jealousy. Was it petty and childish of her to take pleasure in their envy? Yes, but she was enjoying it regardless.

The two women spent the first couple of days after the “Kiss-mas” article appeared whispering behind her back. Mostly disbelief that Susan was the woman Lewis had chosen to date.

Like he would have dated either one of you, Susan longed to say.

All right, given they were both gorgeous, Lewis probably would have dated them, but she bet he wouldn’t have remembered their names. Lewis would always remember hers.

And Lewis had kissed her. It might have only been for the cameras, but it was still a kiss—something Courtney and Ginger couldn’t claim.

It wasn’t until Day Three that their whispers became more pointed. And louder.

“A friend of mine used to tend bar at Narcissus and he said his credit card was always getting turned down for lack of funds.”

Susan was walking back to her office when she heard the comment. Glancing at the cubicle of her admin, Freema, she spied Ginger and Courtney hovering by the doorway. There was no doubt about whose credit card they meant.

“Ginger,” she called over to them. The blonde’s spine straightened the second she heard her name. “Shouldn’t you be working on our upcoming media buys? You, too, Courtney?”

Two wide-eyed, gaping expressions greeted her. At least they had the good sense to be embarrassed over getting caught. “We, um…were just chatting,” Courtney finally managed to spit out.

“Well, I suggest you save your chatting for your lunch hour and let Freema do her job. And…” Because she could, she took a couple steps closer for dramatic effect. “I’ll remind you—once—that my personal life is none of your concern. Do I make myself clear?”

Ginger’s red cheeks said it all. “Yes.”