The crowd cheers in answer as they spill onto the dance floor.
I take Charlotte’s hand and lead her off. Away from the crowds, until I find a dark spot in the farthest corner of the ballroom, away from everyone and everything else. It’s just the two of us tucked away where no one can see us. The music is loud and I press her against the wall, my face nuzzling hers as I whisper in her ear.
“That was him, wasn’t it?” I pause, letting my words sink in. “The man you were with in Paris. The one who broke your heart.”
She’s hesitant for a moment before she slowly nods, her hair brushing against my cheek. “I wanted to explain everything but didn’t know how, especially now. During the reception. And the wedding. It was never the appropriate time.”
Valid point. When is there ever an appropriate time to bring up your former lover making an appearance on your wedding day?
“You knew he’d be here.” It’s a statement, not a question because I believe she knew all along he’d show his face here.
I do.
God, the scent of her is doing something to me. Making my dick hard, for one. I need to focus, but having her so close, despite the many layers of her dress and how she’s trussed up in some corset thing that looks impossible to take off, I can feel her curvy body. The heat of her. Her soft hair. Her lush mouth and dewy skin and those damn Constantine diamonds glittering in her ears, around her neck.
She’s gorgeous. And she’s legally all mine.
“No, of course not,” she breathes, her warm breath wafting across my face. “I had no idea he would show up. None.”
“You saw him before though.” My voice is tight, tense with anger. “Yesterday. Here.”
When I saw him yesterday in the lobby—had he just left Charlotte? Had they spoke before the wedding rehearsal? I remember the smug expression on his face. As if he knew a secret.
“No…”
“Tell me, Charlotte.” My hands are firm when they land on her waist, giving her a gentle shake as I slowly pull away from her so I can look into her eyes. “He was in the hotel lobby when I arrived late for the rehearsal. I ran into him.”
And all along I’m sure that prick knew exactly who I was, while I was the idiot who had no clue.
I feel stupid.
Worse? I feel played.
She frowns, her delicate brows drawing together. “You saw Seamus yesterday?”
I hate the way she says his name. The easy familiarity of it.
“Yes,” I bite out. “He was here, lurking around. Probably waiting for me.”
After meeting with you?
The unspoken words hang between us.
Nothing about yesterday’s interaction with him in the lobby feels accidental. Not now, when I know the truth.
A soft exhale escapes her and she closes her eyes, her plump lips parted. “I don’t know what he’s doing. Or why he’s here.”
“You so sure about that?”
My sharp tone causes her eyes to flash open and she glares. “What, you don’t believe me?”
“No, I don’t.” The words fall from my lips without hesitation, and for one hot moment, I regret them.
She glares at me. Beautiful and devastated after her husband tells her he doesn’t believe her on their wedding day.
Great way to kick off the marriage.
“And here I thought you were different.” Her voice is flat, devoid of any emotion.