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“He wasn’t!” I play up my best laugh and edge closer to my fiancé.
Emma pulls out her phone. My heart drills against my chest.
“He totally was.” Portia pushes past Lance and flings open the closet, revealing the woman reapplying her lipstick. “Is that the caterer?”
“It is, isn’t it?” Emma says. “I recognize her from my mother’s bruncheon last Tuesday.”
My world spins as dozens of eyes peer at us. I’m exposed and vulnerable. Whispers flood the lower floor, trailing into the hallway.
Is that Molly Greene?
Guess he couldn’t wait until after the wedding.
Ugh, I already bought them a gift.
I need to go somewhere else, vanish, except there’s nowhere to run. Nothing else for me to do.
My body reacts. Flushing, sweating, and trembling.
Miss Molly Greene, soon-to-be wife of Lance Bradbury. That’s who I need to be right now, but the mask keeps slipping.
I can’t do this. I can’t handle this.
Tears pinch my eyes. My jaw aches from my forced smile.
Then I see him.
Matthew Hudson.
My coworker. My friend. My crush.
And he’s heading straight for me. I knew I shouldn’t have invited my colleagues from the Oceanic Research Organization.
His cool blue gaze slices through the crowd. His usually messy jet-black hair is slicked back.
My pulse lets up before a camera flash burns my retinas.
“This is so juicy.” Portia taps on her phone, likely breaking the news to everyone who’s anyone.
My guests begin to filter into the hallway. Lance refuses to chime in and help repair this chaos. Instead, he kicks his foot back and forth like a bashful schoolboy.
Does he find this amusing?
That’s the thing with families like the Bradburys—they don’t understand the kind of scar a mishap like this one can leave on a legacy.
It’s essential that I gain control of the situation.
“Thank you all for coming.” I engage my most commanding tone. “But there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding here…”
My ears ring with the gossip that’s floating around the gathering crowd.
“That’s right,” a familiar voice chimes in. Someone is pushing past the stuffy suit jackets. It’s him again. Matthew.
What in the world is he doing?
Gasps come from the socialite wives. Frowns from the business partners.Splendid.
In a matter of minutes, I’ve become the main attraction of the month. The only topic that will be discussed at the next dozen social engagements.
