Page 89 of The Marriage Mistake

“Ah! Ember Knightly!” Oren boomed from across the room as a waiter offered us flutes of bubbling champagne.

Jack handed me one of the glasses and glanced at the other man. “It’s Ember Mars now,” he said, a challenge in his eyes.

Warmth went through me at the possessiveness of his words. Even though I hadn’t changed my name—why would I when this was meant to be a temporary marriage of convenience?—I still liked the sound of it on Jack’s tongue.

Oren glanced at my husband, his smile widening and not quite reaching his eyes. “My apologies. How are you, Jack?”

“Happy to be here,” my husband lied smoothly. “Thank you for having us.”

He put his arm around my waist, claiming me as his. It wasn’t lost on me that he’d worded his compliment in a way that set the two of us up as a unit.

And we were a married couple. We were a unit.

Especially when we were in public.

Once again, I thought about Darby. She knew something was going on between her father and me, but we hadn’t talked to her—or each other. I didn’t think we were faking it anymore, but I didn’t know what Jack wanted, long-term.

When I glanced up at Jack’s face, he didn’t look down to meet my gaze. My discomfort increased.

“I’d like to introduce you to a few colleagues,” Oren said to me. “I told them about you earlier, and they’re jealous that they haven’t got an Ember of their own to point out all the flaws in their software.”

We were introduced to a handful of tech people who smelled like money and talked a lot of pompous crap. Their wives and girlfriends smiled while their sharp eyes assessed me. I was sure they found me lacking, but I didn’t have it in me to care.

My thoughts kept drifting to the brick through the window, and our conversation with Cash, and the man we hadn’t been able to find. Then I’d think about Jack, and whether or not he meant all those things he said to me when we were alone.

No, I wasn’t a cocktail party kind of person. But I did like my dress.

“And Jack is my head of security,” Oren said, finally including my husband in the conversation. “He runs Marswood Security here in town.”

One of the other men nodded. “I hear you’ve been having trouble with vandalism.”

Jack tilted his head, conceding the point. “Our guys are on it. Tonight, I’m just a pretty face next to my brilliant wife.”

“Pretty face is right,” one of the women said. She was with an older man who was the CEO of some company or other, and she was beautiful. She had glossy dark hair and a body made of curves. She batted her lashes at Jack, and I could see the invitation in her eyes.

I went still, my smile wooden. This again. I thought we were done with these sorts of interactions. But…this was the type of woman who would look correct next to Jack. This was the type of woman he usually slept with, when he wasn’t pretending with me. I burned hot all over, my skin prickling as I fought the tightness in my throat. Embarrassment and shame were hard to tamp down.

Everyone could see that I didn’t belong next to Jack. Everyone could see that we were all wrong. Why else would she openly flirt with him with me right here? Doubts clamored in my head, presenting all the reasons that my happily-ever-after with Jack would forever be out of reach, no matter what he whispered in my ear when he wanted to get me naked.

Jack gave her a polite smile and said, “I do my best, but it’s hard to keep up with my wife. She’s the beautiful one.” His arm tightened around my waist as he met my gaze, the stiff smile softening into something real.

And—wow.

No one had ever claimed me like that. Complimented me like that. Chosen me like that.

My heart gave a violent thump, and the prickly, uncomfortable heat that had risen up the back of my throat melted away. Jack’s lips quirked, and before I could stop him, he dipped down and kissed me right in front of the whole room.

Unsteady, I leaned my head against his shoulder as he held me until I recovered. Then I pulled away to take a sip of champagne and was pulled into a conversation with Oren about his actuarial software and the features he was working on implementing.

Jack shifted beside me, checking his phone. He touched my elbow. “One of the guys needs me,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, then turned back to the conversation. On the far side of the room, through the open doors, I watched lightning fork across the sky to illuminate the forest. Trees waved in the wind as the rain grew heavier. The far side of the patio was wet, rain blowing in under the roof. It wasn’t as violent as it had been last time we were here, but it was still an impressive display of nature’s power.

Oren watched Jack go, then shifted his gaze to me. He gave me a conspiratorial smile, touched my elbow, and led me onto the patio. The heat lamps kept it warm, but a cold breeze snuck through every few moments. “Hopefully this storm doesn’t leave fifty people stranded at my house. I don’t have that many guest rooms.”

I laughed. “I bet the view from your lookout is gorgeous.”

“If you were wearing more sensible footwear, I’d bring you out to see,” he said, eyes meeting mine as they glimmered.