“I happen to have a problem. My plus-one bailed on me last minute — my ex-fiancée, no less. And I’m sitting on an overpriced dinner and a bottle of champagne for two.
Waste not, right?”
I bought it for her, but guess what? She ran off with a yoga instructor instead. So I say you and I march back in there and ruin a few uptight appetites.
Sound fair?”
“Are you saying you want me to be your… revenge date?”
“I prefer ‘miracle upgrade,’” he winked. “Now come on, Mia. Let’s show these people what they’re missing.”
He led me to a guest cottage tucked behind the Ellingtons’ main house.
Inside was warm and golden, and on the closet door, that dream of a dress. Silk, deep blue, swishing like a movie star’s gown.
I took a quick shower and slipped into the dress while Ben waited outside the door, humming some cheesy tune. When I stepped out, he gave me a look that made my heart do a tiny flip.
“You look… incredible.”
Fifteen minutes later, I was back at the party — but not like before.
I glided in on Ben’s arm, head high, hair brushed back. Mrs. Ellington’s face turned the color of expired yogurt.
John nearly dropped his glass.
Ben leaned in, stage-whispering in my ear, “Wanna make them choke on their caviar?”
We spent the rest of the night laughing, dancing like two idiots who’d just discovered they had nothing left to lose. At some point, I forgot about my broken heart. Ben pulled me close and said,
“Funny, isn’t it?
How you never know where you’ll lose and where you’ll find again.”
And maybe… losing the wrong person was the first step to finding the right kind of everything. So yeah.Continue reading…
