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My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Apologies, miss,” I attempt to correct, still trying to extricate my arm from her hold without causing a scene.
She hums and looks up at me through her fluttering eyelashes. “That still seems,” she hesitates, twirling a long lock of blonde hair around her finger, “so impersonal.” She beams up at me and I cough. I’m so far out of my league here.
I lower the tray and step back, forcing her hand to fall away from me. “I need to continue my rounds.” I keep my voice gentle but firm. I have no idea how a normal waiter would respond in this situation, but the best I can do is not cause a scene.
Moving around her, I attempt to continue on my path, but her hand falls on my arm again, almost making me almost drop the tray. I balance it quickly and she gives me a sheepish grin. “Oops.”
Biting my lip, I tamp down a sigh. If Scar sees her, there’s no way we’re getting out of this gala without causing a scene. Dread builds in my gut at the thought.
“Excuse me, miss, but I really must continue,” I try again.
Her bottom lip juts out in a pout I’m sure she thinks is enticing. It just makes her seem all that much younger to me. “But I want a drink.”
I lift the tray again to her silently and her pout drops, replaced by a satisfied smirk. “Not champagne. I’d like a glass of rosé. Do you know what they have?”
Why me? Why tonight?
My agitation is growing as that knot in my stomach from earlier comes back tenfold.
“Let me go take a look for you,” I offer. Anything to get me out of this situation. I don’t even wait for a response before I head to the staff-only hallway. With any luck, maybe Kade will still be there and scare the girl off for me.
I realize too late that she’s only a step behind me. Since when were such young girls so aggressive? She can’t be over eighteen, yet here we are. In a hallway she has no business being in, pressing her body up against mine. Almost making the tray of drinks topple over once more. I set it down at a table thankfully close by, and wrap my hands around her biceps to gently push her away from me.
Her pout is back almost instantly. I run my hand through my hair and sigh. “There’s no reason for someone as pretty as you are to waste your time on someone like me,” I say, going for the complimentary route. Though at this point, I’d love to be able to just storm off.
Her smirk tells me I’m not getting through to her at all. “Shouldn’t that be for me to decide?” she teases and I want to groan.
“I apologize, but I can’t–”
“There you are,” a familiar and all too-welcome voice calls out, cutting me off. My body sags with relief as Kade saunters over to us. His arm wraps around my waist and I cover all of my surprise as his lips find the top of my head. “Valerie is looking for you, babe. You’re supposed to be doing rounds.”
The young girl's eyes are wide as she looks back and forth between the two of us, understanding slowly dawning on her naive face. Heat flushes my face, and my cheeks burn. Fucking Kade. Of all the ways he could have extricated me from this situation.
“That’s my fault,” she offers. “Your boyfriend was just checking what rosé you have in the back for me,” she fishes.
Kade chuckles and my blush gets worse as he squeezes me. “You asked the wrong waiter,” he teases. “My husband knows nothing of good wine. I can bring you a glass of La Grande Dame if that suits your taste?”
She eyes him up and down, weighing his words before giving him an embarrassed smile. “That would be fabulous, thank you.” Fucking finally, she spins on her heel and heads back to the gala.
I groan and sag against the wall. “I fucking hate you,” I say half-heartedly to Kade.
He gives me his signature dopey grin. “No, you don’t. You never would have been able to get out of that by yourself, husband.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t deny his accusation. “Did you really have to go that route?”
He shrugs. “She seemed the persistent type.”
I scoff, that’s one way to put it. Even with her gone though, the sinking feeling in my stomach hasn’t disappeared. “You go get that drink, I’m going to head back out. I’m feeling uneasy.”
His jaw locks and his eyes harden. “You too?”
I give him a clipped nod. “Feels like we’re missing something.” His steps are hurried as he turns away from me and I follow suit, stepping back into the ballroom with my tray once more.
Josie and Tyler are still near the front. Luca isn’t too far away from them, his attention locked on one of the marks. The third mark is in the same spot as when I first noticed him. The second one,though, is nowhere to be seen. I make my rounds, continuously surveying the room.
Ryder and Charles are now alone, sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Kade comes back out from the hallway, a glass in hand, as he searches out the girl who accosted me.
Still no sign of Scar, Declan, or our third mark. Did they follow him out for some reason?
