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The woman smiled wide, flashing pearly-white teeth against her nude-colored lipstick. It almost felt like she was gloating. “It was nice meeting you, Anniston. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Relief washed over me as I watched her walk away, leaving me alone to seek Chandler out. It was automatic, instinctual. He was the villain, the monster who did dark, unspeakable things to my body, yet something inside me needed to know he was near.
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the flutter in my chest when I spotted him across the room and his eyes were already on me. He stood focused, with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders back. His trademark, intense gaze drilled right through me, all the way to my core. We were in a room full of people, and I saw no one but him.
A tall, lean man about my father’s age appeared in front of me, blocking my view. “Excuse me, I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.” His smile was easy and his voice refined, just like his appearance.
I was pretty sure we hadn’t been introduced at all.
He took my hand in his and gave a slight bow. “I’m Nathan DuPont, mayor of New York.” He must have noticed the confusion in my expression because he continued. “I was just talking with Pierce Carmichael and he mentioned we had royalty in town.”
In town. That was one way of putting it.
The rich, dark timbre of the piano keys echoed around us, followed by the deep, haunting vibrations of the cello as the musicians played their version ofChandelierby Sia. A few feet from us, couples held each other close and began to twirl and move to the music.
The mayor nodded in their direction, then extended his hand to me. “Shall we?”
“Oh, I’m not sure—”
“Come on.” He dragged me out onto the checkered dance floor, cutting me off before I could protest. “Make an old man feel special.”
One of his hands settled in the small of my back while he held my hand with the other. “I’ve never danced with a princess.”
It felt wrong to have this man’s hands anywhere near me. I had the sudden urge to search the room for Chandler. “I’m sure it’s no different than dancing with your wife.”
He spun me around, and I crashed into a hard body. I caught my footing just in time to look up into dark green eyes that cut right through me.
Chandler.
He moved his gaze to the mayor. His tone was icy and his expression sharp and mocking. “Excuse the interruption, but I’d like my date back now.”
