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was just a perk for the donors—another chance to see and be seen and get their pictures in the paper for being good corporate citizens. And she was expected to stand politely next to Connor.
    I can do that. Even if it kills me
.
    Deep down, she was afraid it just might.
    No matter how often she reminded herself how much she disliked Connor,
and
repeated her top-ten list of reasons why, she simply could not extinguish that low-grade fire in her belly that had burned all week long. It was bad enough that she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about sex, but she could at least rationalize that away because, sadly, her sex life was a bit pitiful at the moment. The disturbing thing was that she couldn’t stop thinking about sex with Connor, which was utterly and absolutely insane. She’d spent her entire life
not
thinking about sex with Connor because…well, it was
Connor
.
    Maybe once she had small talk and donors to occupy herthoughts, Connor would be forgotten—at least temporarily. She’d be able to make it through the evening then.
    A girl can hope
.
    Dress, wings, shoes, glitter. She’d have to wait until she got to the boat to get dressed. There was no way she could ride in a car in those wings. There were some serious design flaws in that outfit. She’d have to grab one of the servers or someone to help, but she’d worry about that later. She grabbed a lightweight shawl because it would be chilly on the river and carried everything to the living room.
    Lorelei sat on the couch, flipping through the paper. She looked up when Vivi entered. “You ready?”
    There was no way Lorelei knew just how loaded that question was. “I guess.”
    “There’s a great write-up in here about the work we did Tuesday.”
    “I know.”
    “And there’s a very
interesting
picture of you and Connor.”
    She knew that too. What she didn’t know was who had taken it. She was horrified to realize that not only had people witnessed their argument, they’d taken a picture—
and
the paper had printed it. So far no one had come forward saying they’d overheard anything, though, and she took small comfort in that much.
    “What were you two fighting about anyway?”
    Vivi tried to sound casual. “The shape of the earth? The color of the sky? I can’t even remember,” she lied.
    “You’re a really bad liar. You know that, right?”
    To avoid eye contact, she dug for her lipstick. “He said something about me being uptight, that I needed to relax or something.”
    “Well, he’s not wrong about that.”
    “Gee, thanks.”
    “You’re running yourself into the ground.”
    “Between the gallery and Saints and Sinners—”
    “And the dozen other organizations that lean on you to get things done, you’re busy. I know. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re letting this town suck you dry. I know you want to be useful. I know you really want to help. But you’ve surpassed every goal you set out to accomplish. Everyone loves and respects you. They’re in awe of you. So give yourself a break.”
    “I don’t have time to take a break.”
    “Let me ask you something. Do you enjoy all the stuff that you do?”
    “It’s satisfying and important stuff.”
    “Yes, but do you
enjoy
it?”
    Vivi thought for a second. The answer surprised her. “You know, not as much as I thought I would.”
    “That’s what I suspected. Now, when was the last time you did something for yourself, just because you wanted to? Or went to a party or dinner that didn’t have another purpose?”
    Vivi couldn’t come up with something fast enough to satisfy Lorelei.
    Lorelei sighed dramatically. “See? It’s Mardi Gras and this whole town is heaving with people here to party and have a good time. But not you.”
    “Drunken debauchery isn’t my idea of a good time.”
    “And you know this
how?
When was the last time you were drunk or debauched?”
    Never. Not even in college. There had always been the worry that it might come back to haunt her.