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Stone watched me in disbelief as I held the envelope flap to my mouth.
“May I seal that for you?” My stomach flipped when I heard his voice, and I froze as I went back in a time warp to the first time I’d met Daniel.
The only difference in him between this evening and the one so many years ago was the addition of a few distinguished gray hairs among the black and a few more lines around his eyes. He was still an angelic warrior.
“No.” I found my spine and composure. Suddenly we were the only two people in the room. “Please pass the tape.”
And there it was, the faintest pull upward on the corner of his mouth. I felt like I’d conquered Everest, but I held it inside. He picked up the fancy tape dispenser and held it for me as I tugged off a long strip. Once the envelope was sealed and inserted safely into the vault monitored by two security guards, I turned to Stone, who slid an arm around my waist. We stepped away from the table so others could make their donations.
“Vivian, you’re one of a kind,” he said, kissing my temple. “And your mistake is my gain, Daniel.”
“I can see that,” he said as if he didn’t give a fuck.
That stung.
God, how I’d missed him. Seeing him in a tailored tux, one hand in his pocket, wearing that badass look, like he knew something about everybody here they didn’t want him to know, turned me inside out. But I kept my expression cool as I leaned into Stone.
“Never pictured you as one to move from one serious relationship to another,” Stone told him with a lift of his brow.
Daniel remained impassive, his gaze on me. He so knew what we were up to, his eyes challenging me withyou-can-do-better-than-this, V. “I’m happy the two of you have each other.” He continued playing along, ignoring Stone’s comment. “You’d better take care of her.”
I felt another pang of hurt that he couldn’t even say my name.
“I will.” Stone clapped Daniel on the shoulder in a platonic gesture. There was no tension between them, only some sort of male understanding. “Mind keeping Vivian company for a few minutes? I see someone I need to speak with.”
“I don’t need a babysit—” Stone cut me off with a brush of his lips against mine, catching me off guard. They were the wrong lips.
“I’d be happy to. Dance with me, Vivian?”
I glared at him. This was the opportunity I’d hoped for, but I knew nothing good was going to come out of it. He was too damn stubborn. I nodded, my jaw set. “Don’t be long,” I said to Stone, keeping up pretenses.
“I won’t be.”
Daniel offered his hand to me, and I took it without thinking. Suddenly everything that was wrong felt right. He sensed it too. His fingers tightened around mine, and once we were on the dance floor, he effortlessly pulled me into his arms. It was where I belonged. How he could possibly believe otherwise was inconceivable to me.
“How are you?” he asked.
He had been angry with me only days ago, but there was no trace of that now. I lifted my chin. “Don’t insult me with small talk. We’ve never done it before, and we’re not doing it now.”
He sighed, pulling me closer. “What the fuck are you doing, Vivian?” The question was spoken as softly as the last one, with no malice whatsoever. He sounded tired.
“At the moment, I’m dancing with you.” It was a smart-ass response, which earned me an arched brow.
“You know what I mean.”
I gave him my sweetest smile. “No. I really don’t.”
“All right, we’ll play it your way. Why are you living in that shithole when I bought you an apartment you loved?”
I frowned. “How could I ‘love’ an apartment I’ve never seen?” I said, stiffening against him.
“You picked it out. The one on Park.”
“You told me that was an investment property,” I said, my voice rising. “And that wasthreemonths ago. You’ve been planning this for that long?” I could barely get any words out as realization dawned on me. I bit the inside of my cheek to detract from the pain in my chest. It didn’t work.
I stared at the man I loved, struggling to keep the tears from falling. The vault was locked up tight, and the combination had changed. “You broke your promise.”
“How so?”
