Page 62 of Puck My Life

Where is Vae? Marilyn had mentioned she was here fifteen minutes ago, and I haven’t been able to think about anything since.

I’m bored out of my brain, and Indy’s appeal had vanished a long time ago. Being here with her isn’t just grating; it’s turning me homicidal. I think Marilyn ordering Mal and Deacon to bring her here with us has kind of killed any lingering charity towards her.

The way she has been pushing us around and posing for the cameras has illuminated exactly who she is, and my temper is threatening to get the better of me.

“Why are we here with her?” I snap at Deacon.

“Because Marilyn threatened to bench us if we didn’t.”

“Look at her. Is this really who you want?” I snarl, my voice full of loathing.

Deacon looks at Indy and shakes his head. “God, no.”

“So, fucking do something about it or I will,” I snarl at him. “I’ll be back when I can stomach being in the same hemisphere as her.”

Mal grabs my wrist, but I discreetly break his hold and wander off, leaving them alone with her.

The speeches are done, and people have eaten, so now everyone is just wandering around catching up. She was supposed to come and eat with us, wasn’tshe? Isn’t that why Marilyn told us she was here?

Where has she gone? I can feel her here.

I start my second lap of the room when I spot her. She’s standing close to a very attractive alpha, staring up at him, smiling.

She looks so different. The gown she’s wearing is black, simple, elegant, and floor length. It somehow manages to look both dressy and casual. Her hair is coiled loosely on the back of her neck, and she looks… I don’t know, but there’s something different about her.

It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time.

She grew up.

When the hell did she grow up and get so damn beautiful it makes it hard to breathe? She smiles, and, I swear, the whole room fades away.

I’d asked how do we fall in love, but that’s not the question. That was never the question. It’s not how. It’s when did I fall in love?

I lift a hand to my chest, hoping to relieve the pressure there. He holds out his hand to her, and she lifts hers without hesitation. He takes her out onto the dance floor and spins her elegantly around the room.

No! That should be my dance.

But I’m frozen. I can’t move. All I can do is stare and watch her dance with another alpha.

It hurts.

Malcolm bounds up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, you should have seen what just happened…” Mal’s words fade, and I hear him gasp softly. “Vae?”

“Who is she with?” Deacon asks in an icy voice.

“I don’t know,” I mutter and watch as they sweep past us. I see the exact moment she spots us because she stumbles slightly, but he catches her up, glancing at us and dismissing us like we’re nothing.

That grates on me.

We stand there in silence, watching him spin Vae around. At last, after for fucking ever, the song finishes, and they stop and walk off the dance floor. She pauses and says something to him, and they turn in our direction.

He frowns in concern, but she laughs and shakes her head.

I’ll bet my left arm he just asked her if she would be okay with us.

She gives him one last smile and walks over to us. The material, that dress clings to her breasts, hips, and thighs as she walks. She looks like a femme fatale. I’m not even sure what I want to say to her.

She gets to us and tilts her head back. “Hi.”