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“Harper Quinn,” he introduces me, “my fiancée. She’s not any latest,” Gabriel educates the man. “She’s the one.”
My heart skips at that.
The one?
Does he mean that? Is this all part of an excellent, Oscar-worthy performance? My stomach flutters when he presses his lips to my cheek, and I feel a flush of pride when the bald man looks embarrassed. It doesn’t help that his scalp turns red, too.
“We should get going,” Gabriel excuses us, and we keep moving.
I counted twenty initial gasps from twenty different people in the first hour, five doubtful looks, and a million jealous glares. With each envious glance, I cling to Gabriel tighter, and he turns to smile at me. It doesn’t matter if his smile is part of the act because it puts the glances to rest.
At some point, Gabriel catches someone he wants to speak to, leaving the hall hurriedly.
“I’m sorry,” he says, “I’ll be back soon. He’s one of the reasons I’m here.”
I wave my free hand. “Go on. I won’t get lost without you here to guide me.”
He chuckles. “Is it a bad thing if I say that I wish you would get lost so I’d be the one to find you?”
“Just go,” I push him lightly.
He turns again and kisses me swiftly on the lips before hurrying off. The kiss has me fanning myself as I grow hot and searching for where to get a drink. I spot a waiter with a tray and begin plowing through the crowd when a woman blocks my path.
Silver-colored hair, stunning green eyes, and a figure that begs to be noticed. Her dress is also eye-catching, and the combination, for me, spells trouble. Is she one of Gabriel’s admirers, and am I about to get into a bitch fight?
As I brace myself for impact, she stretches her hand out. “I’m sorry we had to meet like this. I’m Chelsea Evans. Nice to meet you.”
The name rings alarm bells, and I recognize it in seconds. My eyes narrow as I ignore her hand.
“Are you here to spy on Gabriel?” I ask curtly, letting her know I have no intentions of being civil.
She shakes her head. “No. I know you two must hate me right now, but I promise I didn’t mean any harm.”
I fold my arms as I chuckle sardonically. “You didn’t mean any harm? You were going to sell him out.”
Wait…I’m going off on his ex when I mean nothing to Gabriel. Chelsea doesn’t know about the project, so she must be wondering why I’m uptight, right?
“I promise you I was going to give them the basics, nothing more. They offered me some money, but if I’d known you two were engaged, I would have backed off,” she explained.
Right.
We are engaged. The news must have spread by now, and she likely saw us together. I’m finding it hard to believe her, though. While I refrained from digging anything up on Chelsea as I didn’t want to come off as the jealous girlfriend, I heard a few things from Mira, who heard them from Caleb.
She sees the doubt on my face and smiles a little. “I have the worst track record, don’t I? I wasn’t the best partner to Gabriel, although,” she sucks her teeth, “I wouldn’t say we were partners. More like bed friends.”
“What are you doing here?” A harsh voice says, and I turn to see Gabriel looking like a storm is brewing on his face.
I raise a hand to keep things from escalating, then narrate what Chelsea told me. Gabriel doesn’t seem to believe it either.
“Tell them whatever you want,” he hisses, “but don’t come close to Harper or me ever again. You are someone I used to know, nothing more.”
He takes my hand a little forcefully and pulls me away. I don’t say anything as we go through the side exit, out the doors into the large corridor, and his hand falls from my wrist.
“You don’t believe her,” I say.
Gabriel snorts. “I’d be crazy to believe anything she says, and I don’t want you to, either. Chelsea is a master manipulator. She says one thing and goes behind your back to do another.”
I can see that he is visibly upset, but I don’t know how to calm him, so I stand there and do nothing. I don’t feel good either because now I think I have a target on my back.
