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His smile wilted at the edges. “You couldn’t find a job with that useless degree and I had to delay our wedding. You became—”
I gritted my teeth, “The fat spoiled princess.”
Declan covered his mouth, to suppress a chuckle I suspected. “I said that in anger,” he said once he composed himself. I stood stoic as his eyes assessed me from head to foot. “You lost some.”
I folded my arms around my waist, touching my almost flat stomach.Some?“I’m done with this conversation.”
I started walking away when he gripped my arm tightly. Any more pressure would leave a mark. I stared at his hand like I had so many times in the past, until he dropped it away. I flushed as I glanced around checking if anyone had witnessed it, only to find Jonas’s face set in stone. I shook my head and managed a weak smile towards him. He didn’t smile back, nor remove his focus from me.
“I was only teasing,” Declan said, getting my focus back to him. “You know me, come on. But hey, look at you now? You lookcute. I mean, what I want to say is, I miss you.”
I paused as I didn’t see any twinkles in his eyes or grin on his face. Did he mean it?
“Are you sleeping through the night now?” His tone was warm, as he made his inquiry.
I glanced up at him and smiled. He remembered, I thought as my mind highlighted the positives, as it often did between us. “I’ve been keeping busy at work, and it tires me out. I haven’t stayed up all night in a long time now.”
“You can always call and I’ll talk you through whatever you need.” He touched my arm. “Come over, make you feel good. You’re still my good girl.”
I didn’t meet his eyes because I feared what he would find there. He experienced that part of me too often, and used it too well.
“Declan.”
We turned and a tall and thin mousy woman with large brown eyes and severely cut bobbed hair approached us. She was wearing an ill-fitted gray silk dress.
“I told you to wait over there.” Declan stumbled on his words.
She ignored him, directing her glare towards me. “I’m Heather, Declan’s fiancée. You are?” Heather reached out for me to shake her jewel-encrusted hand. The iceberg on her ring finger almost blinded me and my triviality noted it was larger than the one he had purchased for me.
I blinked rapidly. I wasn’t sure if it was from the ring or the crushing blow enfolding before me. “Congratulations,” I said. She cleared her throat and turned towards Declan.
“We’re not engaged,” Declan hissed. He turned on Heather. “I didn’t buy that for you to go around—”
“Just leave me alone, Dec.” I bit the inside of my cheek as I walked away.
“I’ll call you, Lily,” Declan said, before turning his wrath on Heather.
“Please don’t.” I stumbled away and headed towards the bar exit for home. As I reached the door, I felt a hand at my elbow. I was tempted to pull away, but I turned and found Jonas, his face set in a concerned expression.
“Lily, what happened?” Jonas asked.
Tears rose within me and filled my eyes. Without a word, he reached out and pressed his hand on the small of my back and led me out of the bar and into the lobby of the hotel.
When we stopped, I stared down at my heels. “I’m sorry, Jonas. I’m not up for more conversation tonight.” I choked. He lifted my chin up to meet his eyes, and I trembled.
“I’m not leaving you alone crying,” he said.
I turned my head. “I’m not crying. I’m just… shocked. He’s engaged.” I covered my mouth with my hands. He stepped close. So close I could feel the heat of his body behind me. I inhaled and took in his scent, some type of expensive cologne or aftershave. My body hummed.If I stepped back would he engulf me and give me what I needed and craved?
Wait a minute,I thought, my mind waking up to the company I was sharing. This was Jonas Crane, not just some guy at the bar. And even though some sparks flew between us, he was at most being a gentleman. I needed to behave and not make a fool of myself by attempting to flirt with him.
I took in a short breath, “I think we both had our fill of drama for the evening.” I stepped further away from him, and got the strange impression he let me. “I apologize for bringing you into this. I enjoyed our conversation. I just don’t want to further impose….”
Jonas eyed me speculatively. “I’ll have my driver David take you home.”
“You can’t. Arch has a car service; I live all the way in Jersey—”
“My driver will see you home,” he said cutting me off. His authoritative tone didn’t leave room for challenging. No doubt a glimpse of the man that was a leader in business and beyond, and I fell right under his command and stopped.
