AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pretended to not be affected while I roamed the room and helped whoever needed it, smiling goofily at every whiff of floral scent throughout the day.
Chapter Twenty-Three
~BENNETT~
Standingin the home of the Gibsons, the hosts of the fundraiser, I was completely bored out of my mind. More so than usual. Any other time, I’d be networking with businessmen and women of the community, chatting it up with someone from the Chamber of Commerce, or simply laughing with my brother in the corner. Like children.
Yes, we tended to do that. But currently, Hale was flirting with an older attractive woman across the room, and I was watching the clock, waiting for the opportune time to get the hell out of here. Dad would be pissed if I made my escape before the performers had done their thing.
The entertainment hadn’t started, which would be a few short solo performances from regulars at BPAL like Mandy Harper.
I’d never wanted to perform at one of these, especially when my father liked to play the charitable local businessman, not the doting father of a volunteer thespian. He’d never understood my need towaste timeat the theater. And quite frankly, I’d never bothered to tell him why I did.
What was the point? He wouldn’t understand. Or care.
I was about to get another drink when Mandy spotted me. She sashayed over to me in a floor-length red dress.
“Hey, Bennett.” She reached up to hug me.
I gave her a one-arm hug in return. Then she smiled up at me and angled her cleavage toward me, broadcasting her assets and her intentions.
I needed to get out of here.
“It’s so good to see you,” she crooned.
She looped an arm through mine to survey the party with me, but really she just wanted to press her breasts against my arm to get my attention.
Mandy hadn’t exactly been shy in telling me what she’d wanted. Her showing up in my dressing room—topless—after the last night ofChicagolast year was evidence enough.
I was glad I’d never encouraged her or taken her up on her offer. It was hard enough to make her understand I wasn’t interested even when I’d point-blank told her in that dressing room that we were just friends.
She’d laughed it off but hadn’t stopped giving it her best shot ever since.
“How’sBarefootgoing?” she asked, bitterness evident in her tone.
“Great.” I downed the rest of my Bourbon, trying to subtly dislodge my arm from hers with no luck.
“Is Betty holding her own? She’s never had a role this big before.”
“Betty is phenomenal,” I told her honestly.
She laughed as if I’d said something funny. I hadn’t. I wasn’t even remotely smiling, her nasty jealousy so obvious.
“You don’t miss me at all on stage. We’ve been playing the leads together for years, Ben,” she practically cooed as she faced me, sliding one hand up my bicep.
I cringed at her use of the nickname only my family had ever used. And petting me like I was her lover. Knowing Mandy wasn’t the type to take subtle hints, I carefully took her wrist and removed her arm. That alone caused her smile to slip.
I’d always allowed her flirting before to avoid hurting her feelings. But that was before my heart belonged to someone else. That realization hit me hard. Yes, my heart did belong to Betty.
I wouldn’t appreciate some guy pawing all over her. As a matter of fact, the very thought made me want to break bones. So I surely didn’t think she would like the way Mandy was behaving with me.
“Betty is more than my leading lady on stage,” I told her emphatically. “She’s my girlfriend.” Before the shock could even register on her face, I said, “Excuse me,” and took off for the bar.
Hale sidled up next to me as I waited for my drink, grinning like a fiend. “Ol’ Mandy giving it another go?”
“Not anymore.” I caught sight of the hostess flitting around the room, apparently nowhere near getting the show started. “When the hell is this thing going to get started?”
“Damn.” He shook his head at me. “I honestly never thought I’d see the day you’d fall this hard.”
