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Had she known the location of the event, she would never have made these plans with Kelly. They were at the same hotel where Julian had found her three months after the Masquerade Party.
Fate was obviously playing some wicked games with her.
She wanted to be free of Julian’s hold. Free of the space he took in her brain, rent-free.
But Kelly looked so eager, so excited, that she couldn’t back out. She could face the memories. After all, that’s all they were: memories. Nothing real. Nothing substantive. Julian wasn’t here, just the ghost of who he’d been that night.
“I feel a bit out of my league,” Kelly admitted, scooting closer to Skylar as she looked around the room with wide eyes.
“Drinks are free, as is the food. We don’t have to mingle if you don’t want to, but—”
“Watch it!” Kelly said as a woman jostled her. Oblivious, the woman continued, drunkenly chatting with her friend. Kelly turned to Skylar, puzzlement on her face. “Are people always so sloshed at these parties?”
Skylar shook her head. “Not usually, but I’m guessing the open bar has something to do with it. Jason Reeder’s pulling out all the stops to make tonight’s party a memorable one.” She caught a glimpse of a waitress with an appetizer tray filled with sushi. An instant thrill ran through her.
Julian was right. She’d never look at sushi without thinking about him ever again.
She nudged Kelly. “The food looks good. Let’s get a plate and a drink and have fun.”
For the next twenty minutes, Skylar managed to put Julian out of her mind and truly enjoy herself. Skylar found the other appetizer trays that came without sushi, and they grabbed glasses of the Veuve Clicquot champagne the waitresses were passing out like water at a kids’ soccer match. They were chatting and laughing, and not for the first time, she thought Kelly was great to be around. Maybe after tonight, they could begin the transition from her just being her assistant to being Skylar’s friend.
Another woman bumped into Kelly, and before Skylar could reach out to steady her, Kelly went down with a heavy thud.
“Are you okay?” Skylar asked, dropping to her knees.
Kelly sat on the floor, her face scrunched up in a grimace, a hand wrapped around her ankle. “I twisted my ankle.” She held up her other hand with the champagne. “But I saved my champagne.”
Skylar smiled, but she was still worried. “Do you think it’s broken? I can call an ambulance.”
Kelly shook her head. “No need. Honestly, I just twisted it. Here, help me up. Wait—first, let me finish this.” She tipped her head back, drained her champagne glass, and handed it to Skylar. “Not sure when I’ll ever be invited to one of these fancy events. Can’t let good champagne go to waste.”
“Please. I’ll never go to one of these things without you again.”
“Ah, you’re just saying that because I obviously attract cold-hearted losers. She didn’t even stop when I fell!”
One of the waiters came over, and together, they helped get Kelly upright. The woman tried to stand on her foot and winced. “Come on, I’m taking you to the ER.”
“No, no. But could you call me an Uber?”
“We have several out front for our guests,” the waiter said. “I can help you out if you’d like?”
Skylar was about to protest when she heard a loud laugh.
A very familiar loud laugh.
Skylar turned and looked, then swallowed.
Rex.
Her former fiancé hadn’t caught sight of either her or Kelly, as his back was to them. Rex rarely got drunk, but when he did, he got loud. And he was growing louder by the minute.
“That’s Rex,” Kelly said. “I didn’t know your former fiancé would be invited to something like this.”
“Neither did I,” Skylar ground out. She wouldn’t have come if she’d known Rex would be there.
“She had the body of an angel,” Rex boomed out as he talked to the man next to him at the bar, his voice carrying across the room. “Looked like one, too. All that sliver-blonde hair, petite little frame. Fucking gorgeous, fucking sexy, and fucking awful in bed. It was like fucking a blow-up doll, only worse.”
“Oh, god,” Skylar breathed. Heat traversed from her chest up her neck and to her cheeks.
