Fritz had a hard time driving to the Prickly Pear. Traffic was crazy; cars weaving everywhere. The parking lot was no better. There were paparazzi all over the place, security guards trying to keep them back, D-list celebrities trying to get their name in the papers, while the A-listers were making their way to the open bar.

After showing his invitation, Fritz was able to drive into the main lot. Fritz gave a key to the valet and the couple made their way inside. It was easy for them to slip past the paparazzi. Sandra Bullock was in attendance and the cameras were focused on her. When they walked in the door, they were quickly escorted to a sign-in where they got their table assignment, gift bag and supplemental information about the charity.

They made their way to the coat check and then their table. Brenda looked fantastic in her red dress. Fritz couldn't wait for this thing to be over. The real party will be in our bed.

Angela had too many things to do. She was trying to make sure her chefs had everything they needed, the servers were squared away, the guests were happy and that there were no embarrassing scenes for the paparazzi to document.

She could really use the night off and a nice glass of scotch, but that would have to wait.

A limo pulled into the parking lot. Cameras were lined up, waiting to see who would emerge.

"Don't look at the camera. The flash will take your eyes out," Craig cautioned as he got ready to get up. Reality just sank in for Sharon. There were a lot of people here, a lot of cameras, and a lot of limelight. She wasn't sure if she was ready for the center stage; too late. It was go time.

The driver opened the door. Craig used him as a shield from the camera as he ushered Rusty and Sharon inside. "Relax," he whispered into her ear as they went inside. Sharon gripped his hand tightly and off they were.

The tabloids were tweeting out about the night and the photos hit the internet in minutes. Famed novelist Craig Archibald had a mystery woman and a teenage boy in tow. "Secret family?" Craig offered a flashy grin but no explanation as they made their way inside.

After making their way through the greeting station, the trio got seated to their table.

"What would you like to drink?" Craig asked his lover as he set a kiss on her cheek.

"Whiskey and soda sounds great right now."

"You got it." Craig went to the bar and grabbed three drinks, one coke, one whisky sprite and one brandy. On his way back to the table, an attractive woman stopped him.

"Long time no see," she said as she stepped into his path.

"Hey, Meredith, how are you doing?" Craig had forgotten about a potential downside to bringing Sharon to this event. A lot of his exes would be here.

After some small talk, Craig made his way back to his table. Sharon looked around. These people were rich, famous, young. She felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb. Meredith followed Craig with her eyes as he made his way back. She didn't know who the lady was with him, but she had on an exquisite necklace.

Rusty saw the tower of food and made his move. He filled a small plate with spinach and cheese pastries and some beef skewers. He took a bite before got back to the table. Oh so good! The meat was juicy, the cheese was melty, the crust of the pastry was flaky.

Gabriel had a whiskey on the rocks. Brenda saw Angela, of course looking fabulous in a top of the line dress, and went and got her attention.

"Angela, how are you?"

"Brenda, glad you could make it."

"If you have a minute, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to."

"Sure." Angela probably only had a minute before something else came up.

"Angela, this is David. David, Angela."

Oh boy, Fritz thought. Brenda was at it again. She was such a meddler.

David set his whiskey down and looked up. Angela was stunning, perfect hair, eyes, clothes.

"A pleasure," he finally said, when the words came back to his mouth. His hand firmly took hers.

Angela smiled. He was cute. "I hope you enjoy the food."

"I'm sure I will." Their eyes caught each other for a moment. Then of course, Angela's sous chef came out, looking frazzled as hell.

"What do you mean, they're having trouble with the lobster! Well, you have to excuse me." Angela smiled at David once again as she made her way back to the kitchen.

David watched Angela as she walked away. His eyes followed her until she was out of sight.

Rusty shook his head. Brenda was at it again.

A familiar-looking man in a suit approached their table. "Craig! How the hell are you?"

"Jay, long time no see." Sharon was stunned Jay Leno was standing right beside her.

"No Shit. It's like you fell off the grid."

"You know how it goes. You start writing and then you just lose track of everything."

"Since when do you write?" Everyone cracked a laugh.

"Where are my manners?" Craig started making introductions.

Rusty was amazed at how different people looked off air, without all the make-up and the lights, and the HD. Although, stage or no stage, Jay did look somewhat like a bulldog.

A woman came to the podium to say that they would be starting the program soon.

"Time for the bar," said Jay.

Craig and David followed. The speeches were sure to be dry and boring. Jay took a shot at the bar and then got a glass of scotch. Craig got himself a daiquiri and he got Sharon a mojito. David got himself a whiskey and coke and grabbed Brenda a glass of Merlot. They went back to their seats as the woman came back.

And then, it all began. A boring man appeared to introduce a slightly less boring man who introduced a somewhat interesting woman who talked her life story and how she got involved in the Make A Wish foundation. Then she started talking about some of the kids who got their dreams fulfilled because of this program, and there were a couple of aww! moments. After the applause, another woman came up talking about their goal amount, how much money they have already raised, and ways they could contribute, other than giving money which was of course appreciated.

Brenda looked ready to fall asleep. Rusty was snickering at her. Craig was wishing he had taken a shot with Jay or two. David was peering around, hoping that Angela would reappear.

Finally, it was time for dinner. The waiters came and brought the first course, salads. There was a vegan garden salad and a pear and goat cheese salad with walnuts on top. They were lightly dressed and the produce was very fresh. It had been plucked out of the ground the day before.

The chatter began again. Sharon was still stuck on how many celebrities were here. When she saw famous people, it was usually a bad sign. Someone got murdered. Some celebrity got wrapped up in it. But this was something else.

"Look at Louis," Craig whispered into Sharon's ear. The little Bullock was not amused. "He reminds me of Provenza, never smiling."

Sharon giggled. "Oh Stop!"

The waiter came around to see which entree they wanted: either salmon, filet mignon, pork confit, or the wild mushroom risotto with grilled vegetables.

Brenda got the pork, Fritz the salmon, David the steak, Sharon the salmon, Rusty the pork, and Craig got the steak.

Before the entrees came the appetizers. There were scallops wrapped in bacon, crostinis with either goat cheese and caramelized onions or tomato and olive, and spicy chicken wings. Everyone started chowing down. Everything looked impeccable and tasted amazing. It wasn't long before the appetizers were reduced to messy plates with nothing other than chicken bones on them.

The entrees came out soon after. The steak came with truffled potatoes and caramelized onions, the pork came with creamy Brussels sprouts and a spicy stuffing with apples, the salmon came with broccoli and mashed sweet potato.

"I wish I were rich," said Rusty. "I'd eat here every day."

The table laughed, but could you blame him? The food was to die for. Sharon and Craig shared their dishes together. Brenda gave Fritz a knowing look. I knew they were right for each other. Fritz stole some pork off her plate. She gave him a dirty look. How dare you?

After dinner, came dessert which was either a cheese plate, a vegan fruit crumble or chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream on the side. They put in their orders and waited.

A woman approached them. She was attractive, long brown hair that hit her mid-back and eyes, mid-late thirties and had a fake-looking smile on her face. Craig did not look happy to see her.

"Oh Craig, Why didn't you tell me you were coming tonight?"

Maybe cause he didn't wanna see your ass, Rusty thought to himself. The look on Craig's face was undeniable.

"Hi Gerry. I thought you were still in New York." Craig did his best to fake a good mood. This was one ex that he never had second thoughts about.

She looked Sharon up and down. This is who he replaced me with.

Craig slipped his arm around Sharon's waist. Don't take her bait.

"Well, the Big Apple got a little boring for me, so I came back. And this is..."

Craig reluctantly introduced Gerry to Sharon and to the rest of the table.

"Well, I'll have to have you and Sharon over for dinner sometime."

Fat Chance of that Craig thought to himself as he smiled weakly.

Eventually, Gerry went back to her own table.

Finally, the dessert came and the tension at the table dissipated. People were merry, eating, drinking and gossiping. When the plates were finally cleared, people got up and began to socialize. Craig began to introduce Sharon to his friends, who promptly ribbed him for going MIA and told Sharon she was much too good for a bum like him, all in jest of course.

Angela finally got a chance to relax. They made it through dinner service, despite her staff's ability to panic at any little thing. She grabbed a much deserved cocktail and headed out to the party. She saw David and began to make her way over to him when Gerry got in her way.

"Angela, you look fabulous, even in a dated dress."

"Thanks Gerry." Angela knew it was better to just ignore Gerry's antics.

"Have you seen Craig tonight?"

"Actually, I have."

"Can you believe he brought some random woman as a date? To think, dating a Jane Doe, in this city."

"Imagine that, Oh wait is that Ryan Philippe?"

"Where," Gerry was gone.

Works every time Angela thought as she went back to her mission.

She came up to David, actually catching him by surprise.

"I hope you enjoyed your dinner."

"Enjoyed! That dinner was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Oh Stop!"

"No I mean it. You are a wizard with food."

"I've always wanted to be a wizard. Eternal life, magic powers."

"And I'd bet you'd look great in a pointy hat! Did I say that out loud?"

Angela laughed. The two made small talk for quite some time.

Brenda noticed as she was dancing with Fritz. "They're hitting it off," she whispered into his ear.

"You need to stop. Or at least charge money if you're going to start a second profession."

Brenda leaned into Fritz's chest. "We could use the income."

"Or you could stop spending so much on clothes."

"Now what's the fun in that?"

Sharon headed to the ladies room. On her way back, Gerry cornered her.

"Sherry, let's chat, shall we?"

"Actually, it's Sharon and..." Crap! No where to hide.

"Well, Sherry. I hope things are going well between you and Craig."

"Things are great."

"They always start off that way, Dear, but Craig can be a little needy and very controlling, especially when it comes to the bedroom. He was into all kinds of weird things like..."

"Is that Matt Lauer?"

"Where?" Gerry was gone.

Sharon gave a sigh of relief.

Craig found her and lead her to the dance floor. Her hands found his broad shoulders, and they made their way around the room.

People mingled. Couples paired off. All was good in paradise. David was feeling great. Angela had a sense of humor on top of a way with food and being absolutely stunning. The two were getting to know each other quite well and everything seemed fine until they heard a clanging noise.

"I better go see what that was. Excuse me." Angela was up and went towards the back. She saw a man in a suit giving a sheepish grin as he scurried back to the party and she walked past him to see Rusty in the hallway.

"Is something wrong?"

"I need to get out of here."

"Rusty, what happened?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Do you want me to get Brenda or …."

"Maybe I should just take a cab."

"If you want to go, I won't stand in your way, but maybe we could work this out."

Rusty didn't respond, but he didn't walk away either.

"So was this about that man I saw before?"

Rusty nodded.

"How do you know him?"

Rusty shook his head.

"Whatever it is. You can tell me. I have plenty of skeletons in my own closet. I won't judge you."

Rusty took a deep breath. He skipped over most of his sordid story, but he let Angela know that he used the man was a former customer of his who wanted some more business, and the guy grabbed Rusty after he refused. Their scuffle caused the noise that Angela heard.

"What a bastard! Well you wait here, and I'll get rid of him."

Angela signaled to security and had them escort the man out. If anyone asked, he had too much to drink.

Angela came back to the kitchen and said, "now how about some more cake."

Sharon looked around. "Have you seen Rusty?"

Craig shook his head. They went to look for him, and eventually, they found him in the kitchen with a chocolate cake.

"Another dessert. You must have sweet talked the right staffers."

Rusty didn't smile.

"Did I miss something?" Craig was confused. Rusty didn't look too happy.

Angela pulled Sharon aside and explained what happened earlier. Apparently, the guy was a CEO for a local business.

Sharon sighed. She thought that this night would be fun for Rusty. Enjoy the big lights, fancy food and get away from it all. Somehow, his past just kept coming back to haunt him.