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I lay my hand over hers to try and calm her nerves. “It’s because you look absolutely breathtaking tonight.” I wince, wishing I would’ve told her that sooner.
She hadn’t noticed me when I first got home tonight. There were a few seconds where I just stood in her doorway, feeling incredibly guilty for being the reason for the disappointed look on her face. But even with seeing the sadness in her eyes, all I could think about was how beautiful she was.
The thought hasn’t left my mind since.
Her hand tightens against my bicep. I don’t know if it’s from my words or from the sheer number of people looking in ourdirection. “You don’t have to say that to distract me.” She takes a hesitant step forward.
I follow her lead, knowing that we’ll only garner more attention the moment we start going down the stairs. “It wasn’t a distraction.”
Her head whips to me for a second. Her eyes roam over my face as she gives me a questioning glance. There’s no time for us to continue the conversation because I’ve led her to the top of the stairs, in view of everyone in the waiting ballroom below us.
Gently, I grab her chin and force her to focus on me for a moment. I want her to block out everything else and really listen to my next words. “Don’t think about any of them,” I plead, knowing it’s easier said than done.
There’s a reason I avoid these events anytime I can. I don’t care for attention all that much. But getting it tonight is inevitable. I know no one could’ve expected Winnie and me to show up together, and it’s written all over the faces of the people who watch us.
“Is this more people than normal?” Her words come out frantic and rushed as we take the first step down. I hold her tightly, making sure she doesn’t stumble from the nerves. You wouldn’t know she was nervous from the soft, polite smile on her face. Although she hides it well, I can tell by the way her fingers clutch the sleeve of my jacket so tightly she might be stretching out the fabric.
“I actually think this is less than normal,” I answer, refusing to hold anyone’s eye contact. It feels like the entire room has gone quiet as we make it down.
“There’s no way,” she whispers as we step off the final stair. Her steps falter for a fraction of a second. I follow her eyeline to find her group of friends all staring at us with shock written all over their faces.
“Should we speak with them first? We can get it over with.” I know it’s been eating her alive to tell her friends about our marriage, so maybe if we do it sooner ratherthan later, she might be able to enjoy the rest of the evening. Or maybe it’ll make things worse, but I know there’s no way we can talk to anyone else in this room until we talk to them. “Are you good with that?” I ask, wanting to make sure she’s okay with my plan.
All she does is nod. Her hand shakes against mine, making me feel a tinge of guilt. For some reason, I feel like I’m the one who put us in this situation, even though I know it wasn’t all me.
“If you want, I’ll do all the talking,” I assure her, trying to do whatever I can to ease her nerves as we get closer to her friends.
“I don’t know what I want,” she whispers back, almost in earshot of the group. Her breathing picks up pace the closer we get to her friends, and it pains me to know telling them is causing her this much anxiety.
I can’t hear what her friends are saying, but they whisper to one another, clearly just as confused as everyone else. I recognize Beckham Sinclair and his new wife, as well as Camden Hunter. There are two women I don’t recognize, but by the pure shock on one of the unnamed faces, I guess that’s Emma, someone Winnie has mentioned quite a few times.
Winnie has a death grip on me as we come to a stop. They’ve created a circle with a gap for us to step into. I look over at Winnie for a minute, making sure she hasn’t gone pale from nerves. She’s doing okay at hiding her unease, but she stares right at me and nobody else. I look to the two people I know from the group. “Sinclair. Hunter. Good to see you two.”
I hold out my hand, shaking hands with both of them. They’re both cool guys. I liked them enough in school—as well as I would like anyone, for someone who prefers to do most things alone. I’ve gotten to know them a little bit more over the years, and they’ve both done a lot career-wise that’s impressive.
I respect when a man carves out even more of a name for himself, despite the family they were born into.
Beckham and Camden were both born with a lot beinghanded to them—just like I was. But they also made sure to do things on their own.
Realizing Winnie isn’t going to say anything to ease the awkward silence, I try to come up with something to create small talk. I’m opening my mouth to comment on the number of people here when Beck speaks up.
“I thought events like this were never your thing,” he comments, his tone questioning. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His wife gives him a look like she’s a little shocked by his question. Maybe he typically isn’t one to pry.
“I had to come to celebrate,” I answer, putting on a smile of my own. I look over at Winnie again, finding her still focused solely on me.
Her fingernails bite through the fabric of my suit jacket, but I don’t let anyone know of it. Her nerves are clearly getting to her, but she’s doing her best to hide it. She looks at me like she’s absolutely enthralled with every word that comes from my mouth.
The only thing that gets me to look away from Winnie is her friend who I think is Emma. She tries to get Winnie’s attention, but Winnie is apparently pretending like she doesn’t notice.
“Celebrate what, exactly?” Beck asks, looking over at Camden as if he’d have any answers.
There’s no use in me dragging this out, so with a smile on my face I lift Winnie’s hand. I make sure to angle it perfectly, wanting the light from the chandelier above us to catch the light of the ring I bought her. A collective gasp ricochets through the group as they all stare with their mouths hanging open at the diamond on her finger.
“What?” I think Emma yells, ripping Winnie’s hand from mine before I can stop it. She and Beck’s wife both lean in close, looking at the ring like they’ve never seen an engagement ring before.
Annoyed that Winnie’s friend ripped her hand from mine without asking, I pull it from her and welcomethe warmth of it once again. I know they’re all probably shocked by what we’re telling them, so to really sell the point, I plant a kiss on the diamond. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity for our first event as husband and wife.”
“I think I might pass out,” comes from a wide-eyed Emma.
