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“You go ahead. I need to find the senator.” I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t greet her upon my arrival. “I’ll come find you in a minute.”
“Lead the way.” He lifted our joined hands and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “In case I haven’t mentioned it, you look amazing.”
If he kept it up, I was going to start to think he liked me for real.
Entering the ballroom, I did my best to ignore the stares and whispers that followed me. I probably should have been used to it by now, but it still made me uncomfortable. I knew exactly what they thought about me, largely because many of them had no problem saying it to my face.
To them, I was just some addict who had put his poor mother through hell. A bastard who should be grateful for any scrap of attention or affection tossed his way. Even if I had supposedly been clean for two years, I would never be anything more to them.
I didn’t know whether my expression or my body language gave me away, but Gage stopped in the middle of the ballroom and pulled me around to face him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Nothing we could change anyway, so it didn’t need to be discussed.
“Do you want to leave?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’m okay.”
“You’ll let me know if that changes.”
It wasn’t a question, and the authority in his voice sent a deep shiver down my spine. “I’ll tell you.”
Promise issued, we continued through the room in search of the senator. A couple of people smiled as we passed, likely newcomers to the scene, but most just stared in contempt. While I simply did my best to ignore them, Gage was having none of their rudeness. He met each person’s gaze and held it until they ducked their heads or turned away.
If he ever decided to run for an elected position, I imagined he would win in a landslide.
Near the edge of the stage at the far end of the room, we found Senator Fairfax and Julianna engaged in conversation with a middle-aged couple. The corner of her eye twitched we she spotted us approaching, but her smile never slipped.
“Mr. and Mrs. Cranston, this is my son, Nathan.” She held both hands out toward me as if presenting a special gift. “And his partner, Gage.”
We took turns shaking hands with the Cranstons, then they politely excused themselves to go mingle with other guests. Once they walked away, the senator’s entire demeanor changed. Her posture stiffened, her jaw clenched, and her smile turned plastic.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
I stared back at her, genuinely confused. I had worn a tailored tuxedo to a formal event. How was that controversial?
Her upper lip curled as she dipped two fingers into the top of my vest. “Are you purposely trying to embarrass me?”
My vest? She had a problem with my vest?
“I think he looks stunning,” Gage interjected as he slipped an arm around my waist.
“I did not ask your opinion, Mr. Ramsey.” She eyed him with overt disdain. “And it is not stunning. It is crass.”
It was such a visceral overreaction to something so mundane that I didn’t know how to respond. Of course, it wasn’t the vest she really had a problem with. It was me.
“What did I do to make you hate me so much?”
While I hadn’t meant to ask the question aloud, I didn’t take it back. For years, I had wracked my brain, desperately trying to pinpoint some moment, some incident to explain her contempt. I had never come up with an answer beyond the fact that my entire existence somehow offended her.
“Your ego is astounding, Nathan. Not everything is about you.” She pulled her shoulders back and adjusted the hem of her lavender evening gown. “I need to mingle.” After a significant pause, she sighed and shook her head. “If you are going to speak to people, please act like you have even a shred of intelligence.”
Then she glided away into the crowd with my sister trailing after her.
Angry, hurt, and embarrassed, I wanted to march after her and demand an explanation. Instead, I spun around in the opposite direction and headed straight for the open bar.
“Whiskey,” I told the bartender. I didn’t even care what kind. “Double.”
