CHAPTER 10

“Wow! Kudos for her brazenness! Her man was there and yet, she called you ‘darling’ and kissed you on the mouth… in front of him… in front of all these people,” Norah said a moment later, when they were alone.

“She is like that and everyone here knows it. She also called me ‘Leo’… Like I said earlier, all my friends and family call me that. As my lover, you should, too.”

“I see… Well, since my career was cut down, and I don’t see another future for myself, I was wondering… Should I call her agent? What do you think, ‘sir’? Should I make lemonade out of it, like she’d suggested?” Norah shot back, taking a deeper sip of her champagne than was probably wise, but the impulse to get legless drunk was very strong.

“Norah, take it slow…” he whispered.

“Why should I?” she challenged Leone. “This is a party and it is serving some good champagne. I’ve had a very hard, very disappointing day and I find that disappointment washes down easier with Dom Pérignon.”

She took another l