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The space is decked out in true Celine fashion and everyone is dressed to the nines. It doesn’t take me long to spot the eldest Theron daughter. She’s standing in the center of the room, dead center beneath a grand chandelier that sparkles with the light of a thousand glass crystals.
She really is a beauty, but my eyes search for someone else. Someone who’s probably lurking in the shadows, trying to hide her own beauty in the darkness.
It takes two scans around the room before I spot her near the balcony, her hands folded at her waist, her eyes heavy with disinterest, and…something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.
Taylor is wearing a beautiful gown in a blush pink. She looks like the cherry blossom petals that drift past my bedroom window. Unlike Celine, though, she doesn’t look remotely comfortable in her finery. Like Mila, she looks like she’d rather be anywhere else but here.
With anyone else but me.
And yet, being the cruel, selfish bastard that I am, I cut over to her. I’ve been deprived of her company for long enough. I’ve spent the last few days furiously trying not to think about the kiss I stole from her. But now that I’m back, not thinking about it is impossible. The closer I get to her, the more fiercely I can feel its memory sealed on my lips.
She doesn’t sense me until I’m right behind her. Even then, her gaze is directly fixed on the balcony just beyond the twenty-foot doors that hug the left side of the ballroom.
“Taylor.”
She turns with a start, but when she sees me, her eyes go wide with horror and she scrambles away. “No.”
I wasn’t exactly expecting her to jump into my arms after what I did in the garden before I left. But the fear in her eyes is alien and entirely unwarranted.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“No,” she says again, backing farther away from me. “Celine might see.” Then she turns and strides in the opposite direction.
I let her go reluctantly, my mind churning.Celine might see.Normally, I’d say,Who gives a fuck?
But something has clearly changed. It isn’t hard to guess what.
There’s only one reason that Celine seeing might be a problem.
She knows.
I scan the crowd again, trying to spot her. When I finally find her, her gaze is firmly locked on me. Looks like it has been for a while.
She’s standing next to Archie, who looks all sorts of miserable despite the charming smile plastered to his face. She turns to him and whispers something in his ear. Then she gestures for me to follow her. Biting down on my tongue, I trail her out into one of the private rooms adjoining the ballroom.
“Close the door behind you,” Celine says in a tone I haven’t heard from her before.
I latch it shut and walk over to her. I should be feeling guilt, but all I can feel is relief. It’s finally out there. We’ve been waiting so long for this moment. I thought it would come with thunder and lightning, fire and brimstone. Instead, it’s accompanied by the clink of champagne glasses and the muted laughter of the donor class.
I’m a step away when her hand comes flying towards my face.
I could easily sidestep the slap, but I choose not to. She deserves far more. Letting her hit me is the least I can do.
Her palm connects with the side of my face. Heat blooms. Pain follows. I take it all in stony silence.
She drops her hand to her side, flexing it open and closed. Her mouth is a vibrating mask of fury and sorrow.
“I suppose I deserve that.”
The vein in her forehead twitches. Her mouth is a tight slash. “My sister,” she rasps. “Of all the women in the world, you fucked my sister. You…youchoseto fuck my sister.” Celine trembles. Not just her jaw now, but her whole body. “She’sthe reason I never stood a chance.”
Might as well be blunt while we’re being honest. I’m done beating around the bush. “Yes.”
She waits for me to say something else, but when I stay silent, her brow furrows. “That’s it?” she asks. “That’s all you’re going to say to me?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Did I ever stand a chance?” Her voice trembles over the words. It’s easy to see what it’s costing her.How muchit’s costing her.
