Page 106 of Love Unspoken

I wouldn't have come, considering how heartsick I still was, but when the Dean of Graduate Studies, Bobby Gantz, asked me, I couldn't turn him down. He'd lost his wife to cancer a year ago, and this was the first time he was going to something where she wouldn't be his plus one. So, I said yes. Foolishly! Stupidly! Because as soon as I stepped into the freaking ballroom at the Charleston Preservation Society Mansion, I saw Lucas with Kath. He'd moved on. I suspected he'd already done that though I didn't need to witness it. I remembered the first time we'd gone out as a couple and he'd introduced me to everyone as his girlfriend. It looked like he was doing the same with Kath, announcing her new status in his life publicly to Charleston society.

Objectively, they looked good together. Subjectively, to me, it was soul crushing.

They looked like an excellent match, made in heaven. Lucas, with his dark, rugged face and body that looked like it was made for whatever he wore, including the tuxedo he was in; and Kath with her blonde hair coiffed to perfection, her body draped in fire-engine red silk. Two beautiful, wealthy people bringing together years of pedigree, family money and influence; two famous last names becoming one. Patsy had done that when she became a Covington, and now Kath would do the same.

"Darlin'." Bobby patted my hand, the one clutching his forearm. "You had to see him sometime."

I swallowed and nodded, praying and hoping that I wouldn't start crying. The Magnolia Ball happened every year but Lucas hadn't invited me once to go with him. He'd said he hated such events, but he was here now, with Kath. But then, so was I. My date, however, was more than twice my age at sixty—and thought of me as his protégé and not a love interest. He was a father figure to me, and Lucas knew that, as did everyone else at work. So, I wasn't showing up with a handsome date the first time I saw my ex since we broke up, while he was with a smoldering beauty who he'd always been in love with.

I wasn't a petty person, and I didn't want to become jealous. But that wasn't what I was feeling—not toward Kath. I loved Lucas enough to want him happy with the woman he truly loved. I was just sad that I wasn't that woman, sad that I'd been the rebound, the one he leaned on to feel whole again, the one who'd mended his heart so he could give it back to the person who'd broken it in the first place.

Lucas had told me all about Kath and how devastated he'd been when she left him. I understood that pain now because since he left me, my own heart was so fucking broken it felt like it was barely beating, barely even there.

I looked away, focused instead on the mansion, which was a masterpiece of Southern opulence. The grand ballroom was a vision of understated elegance. Tall windows draped in rich velvet overlooked the gardens, while crystal chandeliers hung from high ceilings, their light reflecting off the polished marble floors. The tables were dressed in crisp white linens, adorned with centerpieces of magnolia blossoms and silver candelabras that sparkled with candlelight.

As I sipped my champagne, the soft bubbles tickling my nose, I decided to enjoy the evening and not mope around. There was a good chance, considering the number of people at the ball, Lucas and I would not cross paths. I deserved to live my life regardless of the state of my emotions, and this was the kind of evening designed to do that. But for my eyes surreptitiously seeking out Lucas and Kath, which was not healthy, the party seemed plucked from a dream—timeless and elegant. For a moment, I allowed myself to get lost in it, letting the ambiance lift my spirits as I moved through the crowd, grateful for the distraction of the people Bobby introduced me to.

My good spirits didn't last long.

"Amara," a voice called out from behind us. Bobby and I turned, and I was ready to tell Bobby the hell with him feeling lonely; I was outta here.

Rena Covington stood like royalty in a peach-colored chiffon dress and a diamond choker that made her look like Audrey Hepburn from the ballroom scene in the end of My Fair Lady, only older. I had to stop myself from curtseying.

"Mrs. Covington," I smiled politely. "How are you?"

She surprised me by hugging me and then blew a kiss in the air next to each cheek. "I'm well, darlin'. Bobby, I'm so glad you could make it."

Bobby hugged her next. They were apparently old friends, as Bobby's wife used to sit on some charity boards with Rena. Bobby was like me, blue collar upbringing while his wife had been a Charleston blueblood. They'd had a great marriage, and he'd told me how her family had never made him feel like he didn't fit in. The Covingtons, he said, were wealthier than his wife's family and way more stuck up, probably because of it. He didn't like Patsy or Shelby or even Lucas, but it appeared he didn't have a problem with Rena.

"I hear you ended your relationship with my grandson," Rena, who was famous for not having a filter and not caring how anyone felt about what she had to say, said loudly enough for several people around us to hear.

Now, if this was Patsy or Shelby, I'd get it. They'd go out of their way to humiliate me. But Rena? Well, maybe her indifference had only masked her dislike, I thought sulkily.

"This is a lovely ball," I pleasantly spoke, ignoring her statement, "I hear that the Covington family supports the Heritage Foundation."

"Yes. And you're sitting at my table," Rena announced, then sighed, "Well, Bobby is, and since you're his plus one, so are you."

I looked at Bobby, aghast. Hell to the no! I wasn't going to spend an evening eating gourmet low-country cuisine with my ex's grandmother, who hated my guts for being too plebeian.

"You're so generous, Rena," Bobby gushed. He looked so happy that I was reluctant to make him feel bad. He'd mourned his wife for a long while, before and after her death, and I was being silly and selfish.

I put on a bright smile. "That sounds lovely, Mrs.—"

"Call me Rena or Grandma; I don't like being called something everyone calls my daughter-in-law."

I licked my lips. Had she just asked me to call her Grandma? I felt like I was in some Tennessee William-esque play and had no clue what my lines were.

Rena insisted on walking with me on her right and Bobby on her left to our table.

Every nerve in my body was on edge, and it only got worse when Rena seated me between her and some man I barely noticed. Unfortunately, directly across the table were Lucas and Kath, deep in conversation with their heads close together. The sight twisted something in my chest.

I forced a smile as Lucas nodded. "Amara, it's nice to see you."

"Hello, Lucas." Okay, that didn't sound pathetic; that sounded fine. Right?

"Amara, how wonderful that you're here." Kath didn't sound like it was wonderful at all. I took some pleasure from that.

Before anyone else could say anything, Rena introduced the table to the man on my left. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. He was utterly handsome, and I knew if I'd ever met him, there was no way I'd forget.