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“I remember being a kid at functions like this bored out of my mind.”
Thankfully, his long strides slow, so I don’t have to rush to keep up. “And now? Do you enjoy these things?”
“Fuck no,” he answers.
“Then why do you do it?” The chatter from the party drifts closer to us as we turn the corner. “It’s not like you need to impress anyone.”
“For reasons you wouldn’t understand.”
When we reach the entrance, I sneak a peek at his profile, and see the moment the mask slips back into place, blocking the life from his face.
His hand returns to my lower back as he guides me to different clusters of people. In a messed up way, it soothes me.
After a painstaking round of mingling, he leans down to whisper in my ear, “We need to dance.”
His husky voice causes my body to rebel once again, and my nipples harden.
I look up at him. “I think you’re supposed to ask me.”
His brow raises. “Would you like to dance?”
“No.”
He chuckles. “Exactly.”
Before I can object, he takes my hand and leads me out to the dance floor. All eyes are on us as he pulls me flush against him. My hand lands on his chest, and I stare at the black tie around his throat, to avoid looking at him as our bodies sway with intimacy against each other. If I thought the meet and greet was torture, I was wrong. This is.
Finally, I glance up at him, and the look in his hooded eyes makes my heart pound against my chest.
One year. I can do this for one year. And watch my life change forever.
The soft music from the band wraps itself around us, and I can’t breathe until it finally ends.
I step away. “I just need a few minutes of me time,” I tell him.
He nods, and I smile for the people watching, and will my legs to walk—and not run—away from him.
I find a spot with no one around to let out the breath I’ve been holding and watch as Gabriel’s tall body moves over to a group of suited men.
“Overwhelming, isn’t it?” a feminine voice says.
I turn and am met with a pair of cold green eyes and one of the fakest smiles I’ve ever seen. “It is. Who are you?” I ask.
She sidles closer in her elegant black dress that sparkles beneath the lights. “Veronica.” She eyes the rock on my left hand. “Gabriel’s ex-girlfriend.”
Talk about awkward. “Nice to meet you.”
“I wasn’t expecting an engagement.” Veronica glances over her shoulder at Gabriel. “Do you know everything?”
“Everything?”
She looks back at me. “Not everyone is capable of being Gabriel’s wife.”
A man with buzzed dark hair approaches Gabriel, leaning in to tell him something. Gabriel glances in my direction, a scowl forming over his features.
“I’m sure they aren’t.”
She tilts her blonde head, studying me. “You don’t know, do you?”
