AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shelby rolls her eyes. “Oh, God! Now I’ll have two of you to keep out of trouble!”
We talk for a few more minutes until they get called away by new arrivals. I glance around at the other guests. There must be fifty of us here tonight, but I only know Shelby and her parents, who I spy over by the bar. I head over and spend the next half hour catching up with them before we’re politely asked by one of the waiting staff to take a seat at one of the tables. I find my name card on the same table as Shelby and Anthony, and everyone waits for them to take their seats before sitting themselves.
The next few hours pass in a blur of delicious food and pleasant small talk. Once the meal is finished, the band strikes up—a group called Triple Threat which consists of two guys and a woman. One of the guys is on drums, the other on guitar, while the woman plays keyboard and sings lead vocals. Usually, I’d enjoy their country-western vibe, but the room suddenly feels incredibly hot, and a headache is threatening behind my eyes.
Shelby only has eyes for her fiancé as they twirl around the dance floor, so I know I won’t be missed. I say my goodbyes—making my excuses to a tipsy Shelby and interrupting Anthony as he massacres John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever routine.
I need to pee before I go and retrace my steps along the maze of corridors looking for a bathroom. I finally spy one, and after taking care of business, I try to find my way out. I must take a wrong turn somewhere because I don’t recognize this part of the club.
I’m debating which direction to take when the men’s bathroom door flies open, and a man stalks out, his eyes on the phone in his hand. He doesn’t see me hesitating in the middle of the corridor and plows straight into me.
In the next instant, I’m grabbed and hauled against his hard body, saving me from an undignified confrontation with the floor. Hands grip around my waist, keeping me upright. His scent wraps around me, a heady mixture of spice and something I can’t quite identify. My eyes snap to his and widen with recognition.
It’s him.
