Chapter 280: Upper Class Fun
** Harper **
Harper had never heard of a venue named Garden Royale for all the four years she lived in Davenshire. Now she understood why. The place wasn’t a lounge, a restaurant, or even a nightclub, but rather an enormous rooftop ballroom overlooking the harbor and the entire city’s skyline, accessible only from the VIP entrance of the hotel below.
She took a deep breath as the maître d’hôtel led them out the elevator and through the tall double doors, stepping into a great hall dazzling with classic painted ceilings, gilded walls, carved marble pillars, and huge crystal chandeliers hanging throughout the space. A mahogany grand staircase curved down from the entrance foyer to the dance floor, where guests had already gathered in small crowds of black tuxes and beautiful evening dresses. Somewhere in the background, a duet of piano and violin was playing, the music drifting softly above muffled conversations and the clinking of wine glasses.
The sophisticated air suddenly made the scene in front of her feel like a Cinderella moment ... and Harper wasn’t quite sure if she could handle it right.
"Look up and simply be yourself, love." Eli’s voice came in a light whisper against her ear. "People’s eyes are on you, just the way they are supposed to be. You’ll get used to being the center of attention by the end of the evening, so be proud and smile."
Harper blinked, instinctively searching the dance floor in front of them for those people’s eyes. Eli was right. A few guests had casually looked up from their conversations, and when they saw the two figures at the top of the stairs, they stopped talking, examining the newcomers with impressed expressions.
She wasn’t sure if those expressions were for her or Eli, but she took it as a decent first sign. Smiling up at her companion, she squeezed his arm affirmatively, and they slowly descended the stairs to mingle into the crowd.
"Oh my goodness glorious gracious, who is this gorgeous princess over here?" A familiar voice sounded behind them, along with the fast clicking of heels coming closer by.
Harper whipped around. "Chelsea!" A grin spread across her lips at the sight of her friend. But then the grin quickly turned into a surprised gasp when the person behind Chelsea showed himself. "Wait ... Tyler?"
Last time when the four of them were out for dinner together, Eli had given Chelsea the invitation he secured for the event, which turned out to be a rare one for a main guest. Chelsea would be able to bring her own plus-one with such an invitation ... but did this mean she actually brought Tyler?
Had the match-making effort already seen its fruition so fast, after only one dinner?