OLIVIA’S POV
I did not look at Adrian again.
Not once.
I made that decision the moment I turned away from him and I kept it the way I kept most decisions lately. Quietly. Completely. Without negotiating with myself about it.
Instead I turned my full attention to the women beside me and let the conversation become the thing it needed to be.
Mrs Thompson found me first.
She appeared at my side with the warm unhurried energy of a woman who had been at a thousand events like this one and had long since decided to enjoy them rather than perform them.
She looked me over with the open appreciation of someone who did not believe in keeping compliments to herself.
“My dear.” She touched my arm lightly. “That dress. I mean it sincerely. I have been watching you from across the room trying
