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Colin pulls me into his arms and kisses me when I answer the door. His kiss is warm and sensual, but it’s lacking the spark it carried just a couple of days ago.
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you. You look very handsome,” I say, admiring his good looks. While not as imposing as Ethan’s, his body is tall and muscular. His dark hair is short and clean-cut. I swallow the lump in my throat as I look into his deep brown eyes. I have to do something to distract myself from my guilt and thoughts of another man.
I back away and spin around. “So, will this do?” I’m wearing a strapless, form fitting, emerald green, floor length dress with a mid-thigh slit up the side. I styled my hair in large, bouncy waves with an old Hollywood vibe to it.
“Oh, it’ll do. It’ll look even better on the floor later.” He kisses my shoulder from behind as I take in the scent of his familiar cologne. He’s my fiancé. My body should react with arousal, but a knot builds in my stomach, and I feel nauseous.
“I’ll just put on my lipstick and gloss, and we can go.”
By complete coincidence, the event is being held in the same hotel ballroom where my friend’s wedding reception took place the other night. This doesn’t exactly make it easy for me to rid my mind of thoughts of Ethan. Initially, there are a lot of introductions, handshakes, and small talk. A string quartet plays music in the background as cocktails are served, and the stage is set up for a band to play after dinner. This could actually be a lot of fun.
Ethan
I’m standing by the bar sipping my scotch on the rocks as I try to fake interest in the smoke some politician is trying to blow up my ass when Olivia walks in. She’s fucking gorgeous in a green dress with a slit up to the middle of her slender, toned thigh. My chest tightens, and possessiveness surges through my body when she turns and I see her holding his arm as he parades her around like he’s won a fucking prize. I have to take a deep breath and consciously focus on relaxing my muscles to maintain my composure.
She glides through the room with ease. Her smile is bright and genuine, and she catches the eye of almost everyone she passes. It’s not just her beauty that draws you in. She has a presence that makes people want to be near her. She engages with people so easily as she shakes hands and talks with them, appearing as if she’s known them forever. Her face lights up as an older couple approaches her. She hugs each of them as they both kiss her on the cheek. I can see that she obviously has affection for the couple as she places her hand on the man’s arm, and tilts her head with a smile as he talks.
She’s more animated as she moves on to a group of people closer to her own age. I can’t help but smile as I watch her laugh and talk. There’s just one thing missing. Her fiancé. Where the fuck is he? Not that I mind not having to watch him putting his hands all over her. As the announcement is made for everyone to take their seats for dinner, he finally appears out of the crowd. He puts his hand on the small of her back, and—did I just see that right? She flinched. I can’t stop my mouth from turning up in a cocky grin. She fucking flinched. She doesn’t want him to touch her.
I have a side view of her from a few tables away. I recognize Colin’s father and mother from the background photographs Lance provided for me. Colin talks to everyone at the table…everyone, but Olivia. The asshole barely even looks at her. His mother occasionally engages her in what appears to be boring, polite chit chat. What I notice most that hits me in my chest, is that Olivia’s smile has disappeared. It takes everything in me to remain a civilized gentleman, and not go over there, grab her hand, and bring her back to my table with me. It’s where she really belongs, after all.
After dinner, the music begins, and I’m surprised Olivia hasn’t spotted me yet. She’s still engaging in what looks to be polite conversation with men and women of all ages. She looks around the room as if in search of someone, and I assume she locates her target when her eyes land on Colin. The fucker is cozied up with some big boobed blonde. She has her arm wrapped around his while she rubs his bicep with her other hand. She throws her head back and dramatically laughs at something he said. If I had to guess, it was probably an undeserved, fake laugh.
My eyes drift back to Olivia who is still staring at them. She looks pissed. Good. She should be pissed. Colin is soaking up all the attention he can fucking get while he flat out ignores Olivia.She pulls her phone out of her purse, looks at the screen then back at Colin, and shakes her head. She shoves the phone back into her purse and storms down the hall toward the restrooms where we kissed last night.
Olivia
I walk to the hallway to find the restrooms and I’m instantly hit with the reminder of Ethan and those otherworldly kisses. I force myself to move forward. I can’t think about him right now. In the bathroom, I look at my reflection in the mirror as I wash my hands. I really thought tonight was going to be different with Colin. I thought for once it might not be all about him. I know he’s working, but you would think he would want me by his side. He acts like I don’t even exist. Why am I even here? Is this how it’s always going to be with him?
Taking a deep breath, I walk out of the bathroom and immediately bounce off of a hard body. I gasp and find myself looking directly into a very familiar set of steel blue eyes.
“Ethan? What are you doing here? And why do I keep running into you in this hallway?”
“You know why I’m here. I need you, Olivia.”
“You can’t be here. We can’t be seen together.”
“Fine.” He takes me by the hand and pulls me down the hallway and through another door, which turns out to be a small conference room. “No one will see us in here.”
“Ethan, you can’t be sneaking up on me when I’m with Colin. He doesn’t want you anywhere near me.”
“Do you think I give a shit about what Colin fucking Burke wants? You shouldn’t either because all I’ve seen tonight is you entertaining yourself while another woman hangs on your fiancé.”
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Long enough.”
I cross my arms and look at the floor. “He has to network with donors.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he does.” He shakes his head with a dry laugh. “So, he’s intimidated by me, is he?” he asks with a smirk.
“You know he didn’t like the way you looked at me or kissed my cheek the other night.”
He grins, nodding. “What about you? Did you like it?” He closes in on me and runs his hands up and down my arms. Goosebumps race down my arms and he smiles. “I think I already know the answer to that.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “You look stunning tonight. You’re the most beautiful woman out there, Olivia.”
My cheeks are instantly hot. “Thank you. You’re looking pretty good tonight, too.” I admire him in his dark navy suit with his light blue tie and pocket square, which match his eyes.
