I found myself tempted. What would it be like to go to New York to work? To move there? I’d miss my family, for sure, but maybe I deserved a fresh start. If it weren’t for Ford, I’d probably say yes.
But my chest hurt when I remembered that he wouldn’t be in my way forever. That our marriage was temporary.
Clearing the tightness from my throat, I said, “Circle back to me in a year. I’ve got a contract I can’t get out of, but I’m interested. For sure.”
He looked pleased. “Why don’t I give you my personal number. That way you can call me directly once your contract is up.”
We exchanged our contact info, and just as Andrew was finishing up entering his number into my phone, Ford appeared out of the crowd.
The expression on his face was one I’d never seen before. He looked like a caveman, stalking aggressively toward us, his eyes shifting between me and Andrew. When he reached me, he put his arm around my waist, pulling me close.
Definitely caveman behavior.
“Ford,” I said, trying to smooth things over. “This is Andrew Apellido. He’s the editor-in-chief of a magazine in New York.”
“Oh?” Ford gave Andrew a glare, lifting his hand to stroke my shoulder possessively.
“We were talking aboutworkopportunities,” I said pointedly.
“Is that so,” Ford said, sounding skeptical.
I didn’t like my husband’s tone. I didn’t like his meatheaded show of ownership over me. And I really didn’t like how rude he was being to Andrew.
“This is my husband, Ford Malone,” I said to Andrew, hoping he would understand.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Andrew said coolly, giving Ford a terse nod.
He responded with, “I appreciate you keeping my wife company while I was busy. I can take it from here.” So dismissive. Like he was just shooing Andrew away.
Seriously?I’d been standing around by myself all night, but of course, this is what finally got Ford’s attention. Another man chatting me up. I shot Andrew a look that I hoped expressed my apology for my husband’s behavior.
“Emzee,” Andrew said with a gentle smile. “It was lovely meeting you and having a chance to talk about art. I hope we’ll connect again soon. Ford—”
“Goodbye,” Ford said pointedly, with a condescending smile on his face.
Andrew raised a brow, and I felt Ford go tense next to me.
Thankfully, Andrew excused himself before my husband could make a scene.
Still, the damage had been done. I was beyond humiliated at my husband’s behavior.
As soon as Andrew was out of sight, I shrugged off Ford’s arm and walked away.
Ford
Chapter 14
What the hell had happened at the party?
As I drove us home, tense and silent, all I could do was replay the events of the night in my head, over and over again, trying to figure out when—and how—everything had turned to such shit.
Emzee and I had walked into the gallery, which I knew for a fact she’d been excited to check out, and the first person we ran into had been my colleague Xavier from the Malone Real Estate offices across town. After chatting for a minute, I’d turned to formally introduce my wife, only to find that she’d disappeared. Which was a little awkward for me, sure, but I figured she’d just been so excited about the photography on display that she had slipped away to check it out.
I’d never had a problem flying solo at schmooze-fests such as these, so I’d taken off on my own to begin my rounds with the guests—assuming Emzee would catch up with me once she’d soaked in some of the art.
Which had reminded me, I really owed her a proper date of some kind. Newlyweds went on dates, didn’t they? Someplace cool but cultured, where Em could scratch that artistic itch of hers, get fired up about light and shadow and all that. I knew what she liked.
Soon enough, I was in the thick of it all. In my element. At some point, I guess I got so caught up in the socializing that I lost track of time, because suddenly I checked my Breitling and it was an hour later and Emzee was still conspicuously MIA. To the point where I was getting annoyed at having to make excuses for her absence to everyone who inquired about my new wife. Not to mention all the roasting I endured, the jokes about how she must be sick of being married to me already. Ha fucking ha.
