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DAVINA

To my relief, the party ran smoothly.

There wasn’t the slightest hiccup, and I was grateful Tish made sure of it. If there was something that went wrong, she didn’t bring it to my attention.

It was nearing ten o’clock, and it seemed the party should’ve been winding down, but instead it was ramping up. The drinks at the bar were unlimited, courtesy of Chester, who was roaming around somewhere, and that was probably why no one was going home.

The guests had everything they needed in this big, beautiful building, which cost a fortune—food, drinks, entertainment—and it was worth staying.

I stood near the stage and watched the slideshow on the screen above it. There was a shuffle of images, some of our employees in action or posing for the camera, others of our products staged nicely on beige-and-white backgrounds.

And of course there were the images of the main man and the reason many people had rapidly RSVP’d to the rebranding party, Deke. When an image of him slid across, I peeled my eyes from the screen to find him. He was coming in from the lobby, and as if he were looking for me, too, our eyes connected.

He tossed a hand up with a crooked smile. That was clearly his signature move. It was cute and always caused a flutter in my belly. I gave him a quick wave back, then turned my attention away, gulping some champagne down to cool the simmering in my throat.

“Vina, we’re ready for your speech,” Tish said from behind me. I turned to find her, and she looked stunning in her black-and-gold gown. Her newly appointed fiancé, Lorenzo, was at the party as well, dressed in matching gold and black and helping himself to as many barbecue meatballs as he wanted.

“Right.” I followed my best friend to the stage, ready to get my speech over with.

Tish got everyone’s attention and primed the crowd. When it was my turn to take the floor, I thanked the necessary people, then called Deke to the stage.

The crowd went into an uproar when his name was announced. Whistles were in the air, and the spotlight flickered to Deke as he made his way toward the crowd, with a bashful smile, like he was a young boy who didn’t know how to receive all that glory.

When he was onstage, I handed him the mic but didn’t miss the way his long fingers slipped over mine or how his eyes demanded that I look at them. His cologne wrapped around me, and I cleared my throat as he took center stage.

“Wow. Thank you for the warm welcome. I think that might’ve been better than it is at my games,” he said, and a cacophony of laughter erupted in the room. “I’m not that good at the whole speech thing, so don’t expect me to be up here too long. I mean, Davina told me I should prepare one, but I don’t have much to say. All I can do is express my gratitude. I appreciate GOC for choosing me to be the face of their brand for the next couple of months and only wish the best for it.” Deke extended an arm, gesturing to me. “I admire this woman right here. She’s a boss to a lot of you, but she works hard, and I respect that. So thank you, Davina, because none of this would be happening if you didn’t have a vision and a plan.”

Heat crept to my cheeks, and the silliest smile took me over. I waved and blew a few air-kisses at the applauding crowd, and as Deke finished up his speech, I took a deeper look at all our guests.

Funny. I’d dreamed of this moment—signing a big name for my brand, branching out, and getting wider distribution—but all those dreams included my husband.

There were so many faces in that crowd—a sea of people I knew and some I didn’t ... and none of them satisfied me. I stepped back just as Deke handed the mic to Tish. He walked in my direction and gave me a wistful smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to return it this time.

Instead, I left the stage as subtly as I could, wove my way through the ballroom while everyone was distracted, and left the building.