I gesture to them. “You let Audrey attend tonight?”
Surprise doesn’t even begin to cover it. A big part of me has come to trust Audrey, but she’s still a Sterling, and having her here is sending waves through the crowd because you can see people whispering and staring at her.
Bobby glances at Audrey, and his jaw tightens automatically. “Bennett insisted.”
“Hmmm.”
Bobby looks at me. “What?”
“Nothing,” I answer innocently.
His eyes narrow. “Ellie.”
I shake my head. “You’ll figure it out eventually.”
He mutters under his breath about women making no sense, and I smile wider.
The night passes easier than I expected. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like I’m standing beside Bobby because I have to. I’m here because I want to be. There’s definitely a difference.
At one point during the dinner, one of the older board members looks at me and says, “It’s good seeing Mrs. Kingston back where she belongs.”
I glance at Bobby, and his gaze immediately meets mine. Instead of feeling trapped, it feels right. I am right where I belong.
I nod my head in agreement.
Later in the evening, Bobby pulls me onto the dance floor while slow music drifts through the ballroom.
I laugh softly as his hand settles against my waist. “You hate dancing.”
“I tolerate it for you.”
“That’s romantic.”
“It should be.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and relax against him. “You seem calmer tonight.”
His hand slides slowly up my back. “That’s because you’re here.”
Emotion hits me hard. This man loves me so much he shows it in everything he does. He may not always be the most romantic, but he’s made me his.
I rest my head against his chest and sway slowly with him while people move around us.
“You know what’s funny?” I murmur.
“What?”
“I thought leaving would help me figure out who I was outside of all this.”
His hand tightens slightly against my waist. “And?”
I look up at him. “Turns out I still want this life. I just wanted you to be with me in it.”
Something shifts in his expression then.
He leans down and kisses me slowly right there in the middle of the ballroom.
People clap softly around us, but I barely notice. Most of the time, I like to be in the background while my family is front and center, but with Bobby’s arms around me, this feels right.
