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“Are you angry with him?” I asked, the words coming before I could think to stop them. I didn’t dare meet his gaze.
“No,” he said blankly. “It was an unfair question for me to have asked. I apologize.”
I nodded, watching as Wade spun Dawn with one hand, his eyes flicking to me every chance he got.
“If anything, it showed me just how serious he is about you,” Alec continued. “To risk putting the investment he needs at stake to defend you. That’s not the Wade I knew a few years ago. He’s definitely changed.”
I slowly turned my head to look at him. “He has,” I agreed. “He’s a good man, Alec. I’m sure you look for someone you can trust whenever you agree to invest, and Wade is that person. He’s kind and loving. Shit, he came and picked me up when my car broke down and drove me to the graveyard on the anniversary of my father’s death. He didn’t have to do that. We weren’t together then. There was nothing in it for him.”
I didn’t care that I’d just cursed in front of this absurdly wealthy, reserved man. I didn’t care about formalities at that point, not when Wade could lose the one thing he needed, the one thing that had led us to the situation we’d found ourselves in. Words began spilling out of my mouth, making me realize just how deeply I’d fallen.
“He fixed my car. He stopped sleeping around. He’s helped me with my mom’s medical bills when he absolutely didn’t have to, going above and beyond just to make sure she and I were okay. He…” I choked, glancing at him once again, too many emotions flooding through me. “He’s everything I could have asked for. More, even. He’s a good fucking man, Alec. He won’t let you down.”
Not a single word out of my mouth had been a lie. I was in too deep, further than I thought I could go in such a short time. Maybe it was my desperation to have someone, or maybe it was him. The past was the past. I didn’t have to repeat it.
Chapter 24
Wade
The party had truly begun.
Music boomed through the speakers as at least half of the three hundred attendees took to the dance floor. I’d lost Ray in the sudden shift once the waltz had ended. I’d found Alec and Dawn near the tables in the back snacking on little bits of food, but Ray was nowhere to be seen. When I asked Alec, he’d simply shrugged.
“Are you Wade Colchester?”
I spun on my heel, nearly crashing into a waitress carrying a plate of hors d’œuvre’s. A woman in a light blue dress stood before me, at least a foot shorter than me, her blonde hair tied up in an intricate ponytail.
“Yes?” I answered hesitantly.
“Oh my God, I’ve been dying to meet you,” she grinned.
“Is it him, Angie?”
I glanced to the side as another woman approached, with deep brown hair and a dark green dress. “What’s happening?” I asked.
“It’s him!” The first girl said before turning back to me. “I knew you’d probably be here but I hadn’t expected to actually get the chance to meet you. This is my friend, Natasha. I’m Angie.”
Crazy to think I’d be safe at my sister’s wedding.
“That girl you were dancing with earlier,” Angie continued, “she’s not, like, serious. Right?”
“It’s serious,” I answered, partly because I wanted it to be true and partly because I needed these girls off my back so I could find Ray. I took a step backward, hoping to give us some distance, but they pushed on.
“Serious?” Natasha asked, surprised. “But one of my friends said she slept with you just a few weeks ago.”
“Then she’s lying,” I deadpanned.
“Are you still looking?” Angie asked, and behind her, another woman jumped into the fold, listening in on the conversation.
I was thankful this hadn’t happened in the middle of a conversation with Alec. “No, I’m not looking,” I sighed. “Listen, that girl you saw me with earlier, have you seen her?”
Natasha sidled up beside me, one hand landing square in the center of my chest. I pushed her hand off and backed away. “I guarantee I’m better than her in any way you can imagine, if you know what I mean,” she said with a lustful grin.
“Same here,” Angie chimed in.
“Foursome?” the unnamed woman behind them chirped. I needed to get away before other women started joining in.
“God, no,” I scoffed. Had this happened months ago, I may have taken them up on the offer. But things were different now, I was different. I didn’t want them, I wanted Ray.
