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Avery
Standing alone, sipping my champagne, I gazed around the room. Jack, my new friend and only other ally, had left already—something about an early flight and a trip to Belize. My eyes narrowed as I noticed Clarissa talking to Ethan, placing her hand on his arm. Jealousy raced through me, despite knowing that Ethan had no feelings for her, but I decided not to go over to them this time. He needed space from me. I’d seen the look in his eyes. Ethan needed to be in control at all times, and it appeared that somehow, his control was slipping around me.
I wanted him.
Yes, it was probably a bad idea, since I was so far from his type that nothing could ever come of it, not to mention the whole boss/employee awkwardness. But this whole weekend so far—pretending to be his girlfriend, the looks, the touches…I knew that if he gave me the green light, I’d be all in. I shivered, thinking about the feel of his hard length pressed against me.
“Attention, everyone.” My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud screech of feedback from the microphone up on the stage. “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain-Rees.” The familiar opening notes to “Angels” by Robbie Williams began playing as Victoria and Ralph walked to the centre of the dance floor, and I heard a groan come from next to me.
“So cliché.”
I spun around to face the speaker and recognised him as one of Ralph’s ushers. Tall, debonair, with light brown hair flopping into his pale grey eyes, he looked at home amongst the elegantly dressed people.
“Cliché?” I raised a brow.
He gave me a rakish grin, his eyes sweeping over me appreciatively. “The song. Complete cliché.” We stood, watching as Ralph twirled Victoria around the dance floor, the diamonds in her ears and at her throat sparkling under the spotlight. “I’m Derek, by the way. Derek Chamberlain-Rees. Cousin of Ralph.”
“Avery Jenkins. Girlfriend of Ethan.” I held out a hand, and he brought it to his lips.
“I know.” At my questioning look, he added, “People have been talking about you. Between you and me, these people are the worst gossips I know. Nobody can believe that Ethan brought you here. You’re very different to his usual type.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
“Oh, it’s not a bad thing, by any means. Half the men here are jealous of Ethan, and the other half aren’t interested in women.”
I laughed. “I doubt that, but thank you.”
The song ended, and Ralph led Victoria from the dance floor to the sound of applause. The band segued into “You and Me” by Lifehouse, and my eyes were drawn across the room to Ethan. My pretend boyfriend, who was leading Clarissa by the hand onto the dance floor.
I let out a small gasp, drawing Derek’s attention.
“Ah. We can’t have that, can we?” He leaned closer to me. “Do you want to know a secret? I’m hopelessly in love with Clarissa. Have been since we were children.” His words were accompanied by a heavy sigh as he stared at them, his expression a mix of frustration and lon
ging.
“Clarissa?” The shock in my voice was clear.
“We can’t help who we fall in love with.” He shrugged, resigned.
“Hmm,” I mused. “I guess not.” We both watched as Ethan and Clarissa began to move gracefully. They made such a gorgeous couple, both tall, her pale blonde beauty contrasting with his dark hair and eyes. I felt a stab of painful jealousy arrow straight through me as Clarissa wound her arms around Ethan’s neck. “It hurts to watch them together,” I admitted in a whisper.
“I know. I’ve had to suffer through years of Clarissa with other men. We had a brief fling a few years ago, and I hoped I could convince her we were meant to be, but she thought otherwise.” We both sighed in tandem, and then he let out a small chuckle. “What a miserable pair we are. Come on, let’s dance. We can’t let them have all the fun now, can we?”
I shook my head, then placed my hand in his and let him lead me onto the dance floor.
Derek held me lightly, his hands on my waist. “Put your arms around my neck,” he instructed. “And for goodness’ sake, smile. We don’t want Ethan to see you looking unhappy about dancing with me.”
Obediently, I loosely linked my arms around his neck and fixed a smile on my face. Derek leaned closer to speak into my ear. “He’s looking at us, and he doesn’t look happy about you dancing with me.” He kept up his running commentary as we swayed to the music. “Clarissa is noticing, and she’s speaking furiously in his ear.”
My curiosity finally got the better of me. “Spin me around so I can see.” Derek twirled me around, and my eyes met Ethan’s.
He looked…angry. Clarissa was speaking, trying to get his attention, but his full focus was on me and Derek. He reached up and removed her arms from around his neck, then without another word, stalked across the dance floor, his gaze remaining locked on mine.
“Derek, he’s heading over,” I hissed.
“Mission accomplished. That’s my cue to go and comfort Clarissa.” He lightly squeezed my sides, then stepped back, just as Ethan reached us.
“May I cut in.” Ethan’s tone was clipped, his words a statement rather than a question.
