“Do you ever get used to it?” Joy asked him, stunned by being in the proximity of so much potent adulation.

“Not really. I thought I’d seen it all being Britney Spears’s bodyguard. But working for Everett trumped that experience—in the most interesting ways,” he said with a rueful smile.

Joy chuckled and followed him off the escalator. She could just imagine. They stepped into a crowd of well-heeled guests sipping champagne. She caught sight of Seth’s head at the far side of the lobby. There was a definite advantage to having a six-foot-four-inch-tall uncle—she could typically spot him in the largest crowds.

Kenny snagged a glass of champagne from...