“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He kissed my forehead and gave me a small, but genuine smile. “People don’t wear masks because they like them. They wear them because they think they need them.”
The party was held at the Bouvier family estate, nearly forty-five minutes outside the city. I was wrapping my head around the fact that Edward had grown up here when he gave me a kiss on the cheek and then left me with Cody and his parents while he went to mingle.
Albert McCreary, at least, was nominally polite, but Claire Bouvier couldn’t have made her displeasure any more plain.
After Edward was gone, she gave me a narrow look and said thinly, “At least you learned to dress for the occasion.”
Cody responded before I could. “I tried to talk her into wearing latex and leather. If she had fun, I could, too, but Gabriella wouldn’t budge. She insisted on being conservative…the brat.” He winked at me.
Claire’s mouth tightened in disapproval before the scowl faded and she sighed, shaking her head at Cody. “How is…” she paused briefly and then smiled. “Jordan?”
“Lousy, I hope.” Cody shrugged. “We broke up. He wanted family money. I told him to get lost.”
“I’m sorry.” Claire's sympathy at least sounded genuine, but then she turned towards me and narrowed those icy eyes. “My boys always figure it out in the end when they're being used.”
“I’m not using Edward.” I didn't raise my voice, but I did make sure the words were firm.
Her nostrils flared and I could see the words forming, but before she had a chance to give them voice, Cody caught my hand in his. “Right. So, Mom, I promised Edward I’d introduce Gabriella to people while he's off talking business. Come on, Gabs!” Cody put his glass down on the tray of a passing waiter and then caught mine, and did the same. “Let’s go mingle.”
Without wasting another second, he had us lost in the crowd and I gave him a grateful look. “Thank you.”
He squeezed my hand and then let it go. “No problem.” He put a sedate distance between us and then nodded at the crowd. “Some of Mom and Dad’s friends still don’t know about me. I’m not exactly in the closet, but it's not like we had a big coming out party or I invite any of my boyfriends to family gatherings. Until I do, we can’t risk having anybody thinking I’m hitting on my brother’s girl.”
Immediately, Flynn’s voice came rose from the back of my memory. I’m not into poaching.
I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I was acutely aware of the fact that I was catching a lot of looks and not many people made an attempt to hide their curiosity. We were halfway across the elegant pavilion when a tall, curvy blonde with near-black eyes came up to Cody and gave him one of those air kisses.
“Stacia. You look lovely.”
“Cody.” She stepped back and then smiled at me. Her hair was that sort of blonde that was almost white. “You must Gabrielle.”
“Gabriella,” I corrected with a smile.
“Of course.”
Something told me she knew the right name.
She sipped something from an elegant flute. It was clearly crystal and sparkled in the sun. No plastic stemware for the Bouviers, I see.
“Stacia Vanderbelt and her family are old friends of my parents,” Cody said, staying close to my side. He gave me a friendly smile, but I could see the caution there.
“Cody, you make me sound ancient.” Stacia laughed, the sound bright, like water dancing over bells. She sipped from her glass again, still smiling at me over the edge. “Edward and I went to school together.”
Ding, ding, ding…
That smile on her face suddenly made sense. It was a catty and sly smile.
“Did you?” I feigned interest. “How nice.”
“Well, we weren't in the same class. He is a few years older than me.”
Of course she had to make sure I knew she wasn't thirty and not married. Among people like this, she'd almost be an old maid.
As though he’d been summoned, Edward emerged from the crowd and his eyes warmed as they met mine. My heart thumped hard and fast against my ribs at the sight of him. He looked incredibly handsome, the slim fitting suit highlighting the breadth of his shoulders, his narrow hips. His hair was lighter now, the sun picking out the blond highlights among the brown and my fingers itched to comb through it.
He was watching me with a new intensity and my skin heated under the slow appraisal as he walked towards me. The green sheath Cody’s flighty friend Dawn had helped me select seemed to meet with approval all the way around, but the only approval I'd needed had been the heat in Edward’s eyes when he’d arrived with Paul earlier to pick me up.
Now, as he smiled at me, my heart set to racing all over again.
When he reached me, he bent down and pressed his lips to mine, the kiss chaste, but still managing to heat me straight down to my toes. His hand stroked down my arm to my hand, clasping my fingers. “I see Cody is showing you around.”
“Yes.” I shot his brother a grin, but then looked back into Edward's eyes. “Cody is fabulous, but you know he isn't you.”
“Ouch.” Cody clapped a playful hand over his heart.
Edward gave us an amused look before shifting his attention to Stacia. “You're looking well, Stacia. How have you been?”
I got the impression that he'd purposefully put off talking to her until after he'd made it clear that I belonged to him. The thought made my stomach twist. He might've left me in Cody's care for a while, but he was going to make sure everyone knew who I was.
She was a quick change artist, I had to give her that. In the blink of an eye, the sly smile was replaced by a dewy, sweet one and she moved to lay a hand on Edward's arm. She managed to sway closer without moving her feet at all. “Well enough, although I've missed seeing you.”
My eyes widened and I shot him a look. Edward was oblivious to the come on in her voice and stamped all over her features. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cody smirking. Anger burned within and I eased closer, curling my hand through Edward's arm.
“We'll have to get together. You, Gabriella and I could have lunch.” He nodded at her, all courtesy.
Like hell we will.
Stacia beamed.
Edward kissed the top of my head and murmured, “I'll catch up with you soon.”
“But...” When his eyes came back to mine, concern and a question there, I swallowed my protest. I wasn't going to be one of those women. “Never mind. Go do what you need to do.”
He kissed my hand, sweeping his thumb over the inside of my wrist. Then he was gone.
“Clingy, aren't we?” Stacia’s sweet smile was gone, replaced by that snide one.
I whipped my head around, something ugly bubbling on my lips. I needed somewhere to direct the negative feelings Edward's departure had stirred up.
Cody laughed, a surprisingly nasty edge to it. “She wasn't the one making a play at an engaged man, was she, Stacia?”
Fine lines of strain fanned out from her dark eyes but in the span of heartbeats, her expression cleared and once more, that bright, airy laugh echoed around us.
“Flirting?” The dig in her voice was unmistakable. “I doubt you'd recognize it if a woman was flirting with you.”
“He would.” I angled my head up to see my future brother-in-law's face. It was stony, completely devoid of any emotion. “He just prefers the other gender.”
“Be more discreet,” Stacia hissed. She shot a look around the pavilion and the expression on her face couldn’t have been more plain.
Don’t say the G word!
I was suddenly so pissed off. Next to me, Cody stood silent and unmoving. Suddenly, he wasn't just future family. He was my friend and I wasn't going to let anyone talk to him or about him that way.
“Why?” I demanded, the twang in my voice coming out loud and clear. “Oh, wait. I forgot the law of the land. Hypocrisy and bigotry are all well and good. But a man can't be gay. That's just unacceptable, am I right?
And I thought ya'll up here were supposed to be more tolerant.”
Stacia sucked in a breath, flags of color riding high on her cheeks. She suddenly looked older than Edward.
“I thought I heard those dulcet tones, Tennessee.”
My heart made a mad attempt to jump right out of my chest as Flynn came up at that very moment. He wasn't looking at me though. He had his eyes locked on Stacia and she was watching him the way a rabbit might watch a hawk, with fear and fascination. I completely understood the feeling.
“Hello, Stacy.”
“Stacia,” she corrected. She swallowed and lifted a hand to toy with the pearl necklace she wore. The necklace, along with her soft ecru dress spoke of an old world elegance, the kind that made me think of Hollywood glam from back in the forties and fifties. Which, I supposed, was exactly what it was supposed to do.
Flynn lifted a tumbler of whiskey to his lips and sipped it, studying her from over the rim for a long moment before glancing over at us. “Cody. Gabriella.”
Cody shot his brother a wide, easy smile as he caught my hand and guided it to his elbow. “I’ve been tasked with introducing our soon-to-be-sister-in-law around, Flynn.”
“Then why don’t you do that?” Flynn said. His blue eyes met mine briefly before he looked back at Stacia. “Stacy and I will get caught up.”
A moment later, the crowd separated us and I looked up at Cody. “Is there something weird going on there that I need to know about?”
Cody grimaced. “I don’t know if I want to get into that conversation or not.”
I had to ask. “Is she…was she involved with Edward?”
“She wishes.” He snorted and shook his head. Then he shrugged. “Of course, she’d marry any one of us. She even tried to make a play at me, despite knowing that I was gay. She made it clear that didn’t matter to her, once I told her that it wasn't possible for her to turn me.” He tugged me over to the side and dipped his head to murmur in my ear. “You’re a sweetheart, but you don’t need to do that.”
“Do what?” I frowned up at him.
“Get pissed off at people for being people.” He straightened and looked around the crowd, his face resigned. “This world is what it is. Some of them know and don’t care. Others know and pretend I’m not here. Others…they know and pretend not to. And some really are just in the dark. I’m not going to change any of them and none of them are going to change me.”
“You don’t need to change!” I gripped his hand and squeezed.
“No.” He pinched my chin and then led me back out to the pavilion. “But I’m not going to worry about changing them either. The world is full of assholes and bigots, Gabs. Not my job, or yours, to change them. People will change when they want to, not a moment before.”
If Cody had stayed with me, I might have made it through that party relatively unscathed. But Cody wasn’t there just to babysit me and two hours into the ordeal, he met up with some friends and I silently slipped away, feeling like a fifth, sixth, and seventh wheel, all rolled into one. I knew he wouldn't mind if I hung out with them, but I did.
Feeling lost, I started searching for Edward and finally found him standing in a knot of couples probably ten years older than we were, but I was determined not to let that get to me. I’d have to feel comfortable here sooner or later, right?
Why not now?
With that thought in mind, I strode toward him and settled at his side, smiling up at him when he glanced down at me, an odd, almost startled look on his face like he hadn’t expected to see me there.
“Gabriella.” He gave my cheek a quick kiss and made quick introductions. Then, just like that, went back to discussing things that I couldn’t hope to follow.
Stocks. International business deals. This wasn’t just fashion. This was business on a level I couldn’t have followed if I had seven or eight years of schooling to help me through.
One of the women looked over at me and asked, “Will you be coming on board to help with Bouvier?”
I stared at her, terror all but choking me. I really hoped that Edward didn't expect...
Edward stroked a hand down my spine, letting his hand settle at the small of my back. “Gabriella is pursuing a career in writing.”
“Ahhh…” She gave me a kind smile and then focused her attention back on Edward.
It had been a kind smile, but something about it made my cheeks burn red with humiliation. I couldn’t define why, only that it made me feel like...less. I squeezed Edward’s arm. I needed to get away from here for a few minutes. I needed to have a few minutes with him. Just him.
Him and me…
He bent his head and kissed my temple and went back to chatting with everybody around us.
“Edward,” I whispered, my blood starting to roar in my ears.
“In a bit, darling,” he said, his voice low, a placating smile on his face.
Swallowing, I withdrew my hand from his arm, remaining at his side for a moment before I turned and slowly walked off, a fake smile given to anyone looking my way.
He didn’t even turn to watch me go.
I had to get out of here. I didn't belong.
I looked around, for Cody, even for Flynn, somebody to tell.
But there was nobody around. Nobody save for my fiancé, who was too busy chatting with his friends to notice me slowly making my way toward the towering structure of the house.
Even when I reached it and turned back to look at him, he was still standing there, chatting. He didn't even seem to have noticed that I'd left.
So I left.
Seven
“No…please…I…yes…yes…”
The low, desperate moans were unmistakable.
I’d been determined to get as far away from here as I could, but the house was immense and I’d ended up lost when I’d gone through the back doors.
Now, standing in a small alcove of what looked to be a private garden, I told myself to leave. Immediately.
I knew that was exactly what I needed to do, but I couldn’t seem to move my feet. Or my eyes. They were locked on the two forms in front of me, mostly hidden by the greenery surrounding them.
“Flynn, dammit, please!” Those low moans were coming from some unknown brunette and as I licked my lips, she squealed and twisted her hips. I found myself echoing her movements and wishing I was the one over there, bent forward with my weight braced on my hands, with Flynn McCreary driving into me, his gaze locked on my ass as he fucked me hard and fast.
The woman’s pretty pink dress—and the petticoat—were shoved up over her hips and back. From my position, I had a better view of him than her and it was a lovely view.
His shirt hung open, pants pushed low, revealing those sexy v-grooves, his flat abdomen, his thick cock…when it wasn’t buried inside whoever the nameless woman was.
Guilt twisted my gut, because I was torn up inside with envy. I wanted it to be me standing there, bent over and open for his invasion. I wanted to be the one on the receiving end of that intensity, feeling his hands hold me steady as he slowly filled me, then withdrew, only to surge deep inside all over again. Heat pulsed and throbbed inside me and I thought if I reached down and touched myself, I’d come in no time. No time at all.
She moaned and twisted and writhed.
He made no sound at all.
He hadn’t been like that with me.
He muttered and talked to me, said all sorts of dirty things to me, both praising and damning. His voice had been half the reason I'd come as hard as I had.
“Flynn, please!”
Her voice cracked and I felt something twist inside me as he started to drive into her harder and faster. My breathing sped up in response and I bit my lip, sliding my hand down my thigh Then I realized I was toying with the hem of my skirt, drawing it up. No, I told myself. No.
“Yes…yes…”
Her raw, low moans followed me as I forced myself to back away.
If I stayed there watching them, I just might f
ind myself doing something awful, something I’d never forgive myself for. So I left. I needed to find my way to the front of the house and call Paul. He could give my regrets to Edward. Not that I really regretted leaving. I just—
“There you are.”
I froze.
That cold voice was like a slap against my overly heated cheeks and I slowly turned to find Claire Bouvier standing in the hall. She had a look on her face that could have been summed up in two syllables. Ah-ha. It was a triumphant sort of gleam, the kind that a cat might have in its eyes when it finally caught a mouse.
I was no damn mouse.
Drawing my chin up, I met her stare. “Did you need something, Mrs. Bouvier?” I asked quietly.
Her brow arched. “I was just wondering where my dear daughter-in-law-to-be had disappeared to. Cody was looking for you. Edward is still talking with a group from the European division. Who knows what Flynn is doing.”
I managed not to toss out, don’t you mean who? There was no way she didn't know about her son's...tendencies.
“I’m right here,” I said, shrugging. “I was trying to find the front of the house. I was going to call Paul.” I shrugged and glanced past her to the windows that faced out over the grand lawn of the backyard. “I’m not feeling well.”
“I wouldn’t think so,” she said, her smile seeming to be pleased. “Coming face to face with everything you’re not? How could you feel well?”
Shocked at the fact she'd actually come out and say such a thing, I stared at her. The heat of my humiliation, when my pride was already shredded, was so immense, I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't find the words. “I…you don’t—”
“I don’t what?” She cut me off and crossed her arms. “I don’t understand? Let me guess.” She lifted a hand, tapping her finger with her lips. “You love Edward…” She arched her brows. “I imagine you think you do. Any number of girls have loved him. But that doesn’t mean they’d make him a good wife, darling.”
“Is that really your decision?” I demanded, starting to get my footing back.