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“Let’s do this,” Ezra said, squeezing my side lightly with his fingertips.
I just nodded and followed him inside. I don’t know what the hell just happened between us, but I liked it. I liked it a lot more than I should have, and that was a huge problem.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Annie looked lovely in her gown, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. As we walked through the party, she turned the heads of most men, and a couple of women.
“I’m going to get a drink,” I said, as I led Annie to the table we’d been assigned. “Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head. “No, thanks.”
I wanted to get her a drink, to take the edge off, but I wasn’t going to press the issue. Annie had been quiet ever since I kissed her. It had been a quick kiss—a way for me to shield her from the onslaught of photographers and also sell the story we were creating, but it had left me shaken.
“Nicely played,” Marcel said, as he slid next to me at the bar.
“How the hell did you get in here so quickly?” Annie and I had left Marcel in the car.
He shrugged and signaled for the bartender. “I came in the back. Too many cameras out front.”
I suspected that he had something to do with that. I’d noticed that there was a great deal more cameras out front than normal for a run of the mill New York society event. I didn’t voice my opinion on that. Marcel was more on edge than normal because of his mother, and I didn’t feel like pressing his buttons. My heart wasn’t in it tonight, and my head was all over the place after the kiss with Annie.
“It wasn’t planned,” I said.
I hadn’t planned to kiss Annie. I hadn’t planned much this evening. That was really Marcel’s job.
“It was brilliant,” he said.
I grunted, uninterested in talking about this any further. “I need to get back to Annie,” I said, grabbing my glass.
Marcel raised his glass. “I’ll be here drinking away my mother’s disappointment.”
I snorted and shook my head as I headed back to my table. In hindsight, I realized that I shouldn’t have left Annie alone. She was here as my guest, and she didn’t know anyone. As I walked back, I felt my breath constricting in my throat as I caught sight of who was sitting at my table.
“Sawyer,” I said, tipping my head towards one of the last people I’d been hoping to see. “Why are you at my table?” It was abrupt, but the thing I appreciated about my relationship with Sawyer was that I didn’t need to pretend at politeness.
Sawyer’s eyes were trained on Annie, who was sitting next to him stiff as a board. I didn’t like the way he was staring at her, as if she were a piece of delectable fruit he wanted to bite into.
“I wanted to introduce myself to the captivating creature you brought with you,” he said, not taking his eyes off of Annie. “You two have become the talk of the party.”
I stood behind Annie, pressing my fingertips to her shoulders. Her skin was soft but cold, and I worried about what Sawyer might have said to her. “You aren’t at our table.”
Sawyer’s brow raised, and for a moment, I expected him to argue with me. I rarely allowed Sawyer to get to me. “It’s so interesting that you’ve brought a date tonight.”
“Why is that?” Annie asked. I looked down. Her hands were in her lap, and I could see her pulling at her dress. She was nervous, and again, I wondered why.
Sawyer’s attention continued to be focused on her, and I wanted nothing more than for Sawyer to get lost. “Wright here rarely brings anyone to these things. In fact, he normally finds some desperate socialite to fuck in the corner.”
“Is there a point to all of this?” I asked, cutting him off before he could say anything more. Annie and I might not be together truly, but Sawyer didn’t need to be airing any of my dirty laundry.
A slow smile unfurled over Sawyer’s face, and I knew that he was enjoying seeing me flustered. After all, it happened so rarely.
“Like I said,” Sawyer got up from his seat, “just curious.”
He reached down and took Annie’s hand in his own. I felt her tense at his touch. “Lovely to meet you.” He pressed a smile kiss to her knuckles, and I felt myself tense immediately. My fingers dug slightly into Annie’s shoulders as I tried my best to keep myself together.
I said nothing as I watched Sawyer saunter off to bother someone else. “Are you alright?” I asked.
“Who was he?”
