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I walked into the den and Addie and Luca started gushing. They made me feel like I just won a beauty pageant.
“Wow, Mommy, you look beautiful! Are you a princess?” my angel asked me.
Laughing, I bent down and hugged him.
“No, Sweet Pea, I am just a regular Mommy. I just got dressed up to go out with Mr. Zane.” I grabbed my purse and turned to my friend. “Well, what do you think? Do I look okay? Be honest.”
She shook her head and declared, “Sweetheart, your man is going to stop dead in his tracks. You are stunning.”
“Oh, stop,” I said, getting embarrassed.
“I’m serious. You look absolutely gorgeous. Any man would be lucky to have you on his arm. This Zane is one lucky man,” she said while balancing Kenlee on her hip. Then she lowered her voice and added, “And don’t you let him forget it. Giving him a second chance was very nice of you, Katya, and I just hope he knows that he’s on thin ice.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I think he knows…”
Before we could discuss the topic of Zane any further, there came a knock at the door.
“Speak of the devil,” I said. I opened the door and almost fell to my knees when I saw how good Zane looked in his tuxedo. I’d seen him in one a few days ago, but now that we were more than friends, I was seeing him in a whole new light. I was trying not to let the image of him sway me too much. I wanted to keep my wits about me, to play things close to the chest, but he just looked so damn good.
Tonight is either going to be the most fun I’ve ever had.
Or a complete disaster…
Zane took one look at me and his mouth literally dropped open. For a second, I was afraid that something was wrong and he was disappointed. He immediately relieved my anxiety when he blurted out, “Oh Wow! I didn’t think you could get any more beautiful than you already were but I was mistaken. I am going to need security to keep an eye on you tonight. You take my breath away,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Are you ready to go?”
Blushing, I smiled and nodded, and took his extended arm. We said goodbye to Addie and Luca and headed downstairs. When the elevator door opened and we began to walk past the reception area, I felt like I was in a real-life romantic Hollywood movie. The entire staff stopped what they were doing and stared at us. Some of them were whispering, others just smiled as I glided past them, feeling impossibly light on my feet. Harry was there, and when I saw the look he gave Zane and me as we passed him, I could tell he was really happy for us.
I may not have been a princess like Luca thought, but I definitely felt like one.
Zane led me to his car in the parking garage. It was a gorgeous black Mercedes Benz and I was in awe. I was sure I’d seen it the night he rescued us from Aleks, but I was in too much shock to notice. From where I was standing, that car was better than even Cinderella’s carriage. We made small talk on the drive over and every so often, I caught a glimpse of Zane staring at me. I really did feel beautiful.
I knew the gala would be a fancy event, but I honestly had no idea how nice the event was going to be until I stepped inside the ballroom where it was being held. Everyone was dressed in their very best and the women were all drop-dead gorgeous. I accompanied Zane as he made the rounds and spoke to people he knew, many of whom were stock traders and bankers that worked with him.
I did my best to keep up and understand what they were talking about, but it was over my head. I never had a brain for numbers. They just never interested me. Even as a child, when my father and grandfather tried to get me to take an interest, I just couldn’t get into it. Although I knew it could be fascinating to some, to me, it was just boring. I did my best to follow along, but eventually, my mind started to wander.
I didn’t want Zane to see this though, so I masked it with a smile. Unfortunately, it caused my lovely friend, anxiety to start making an appearance and I began to feel stupid and completely out of place. This was compounded when a stunning redhead appeared and started shamelessly flirting with Zane.
“Hey,” she said as she saddled up next to him with a playful smile. “Long time no see.”
“Oh, uh, hey Veronica,” Zane said with a sheepish grin. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”
The woman’s eyes glossed over me, as if I was just a mosquito flying in front of her face, and not a human being currently on the arm of the man she was flirting with.
Am I invisible? Can this witch not see that we are here together? Does she just not care? Maybe I should leave and let Zane talk to her. She is probably better suited for him anyway.These were all the thoughts running through my head in less than two minutes. I needed a drink. Luckily, a waiter was walking around with a tray of champagne so I gladly took one when it was offered.
The champagne did nothing to help my nerves. I felt like I was wearing a neon sign that said, “I am just a maid and not good enough to be here.”
It might not be true, but that was how I felt and the more I tried to hide it, the more it was beginning to show.
“Listen,” Zane said, giving me an encouraging smile before turning back to the redhead. “As much as I would love to stand around and catch up, I have to go introducemy date, to a few of my friends across the room. Would you excuse us?”
She smiled at him but shot dagger eyes at me as we walked away. I finished my glass of champagne, took Zane’s arm, and we headed out to the balcony instead of across the room like he’d just said. For some reason, I took this to mean that he had never intended to introduce me to his friends in the first place. He was embarrassed by me, I could tell, and that was why he wanted to go somewhere private, where there was no one around to see me make a fool of myself.
When we stepped out onto the balcony, Zane took his jacket off and put it around my shoulders before turning me to look at him.Here it comes,I thought mentally preparing myself for the worst. But what I saw in his eyes was concern. I wasn’t ready for that.
“Katya, what’s wrong? Please do not say “nothing”. I can tell something is bothering you. Have I done something to upset you? I apologize for all of the boring “Shop” talk. Sometimes these events are the only chance I get to see these people. I’ve been sort of MIA the past few months, so I needed to make sure I shook a few hands tonight but didn’t mean to exclude you.”
I stared at him for a moment before blowing out the breath I had been holding all evening. “No, Zane, you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s me. I don’t belong here. I feel like a fish out of water. You should be here with someone like that woman, Veronica, or whatever her name was. She seems to know how to do this sort of thing a lot better than me.”
