He looked as handsome as ever, and every girl within a twenty foot radius stopped and stared as he passed, jaws dropping and eyes shining with fervent admiration. I couldn’t blame them. Hunter was physically perfect. It was just a shame that the undeniably gorgeous veneer hid such an ugly soul beneath it.
I kept my head down to avoid attracting his attention, but he turned and headed right in my direction anyway. My heart immediately plummeted, and my mouth dried up like someone had filled it with cotton.
I tried to move or say something to Trina and Adam to get their attention, but I was immobilized by fear. I could only imagine what he was going to say or do to me.
It turned out that I didn’t need to worry. He looked right past me as he drew closer, like I didn’t even exist. Somehow that actually hurt more than all the times he looked at me with malice simmering in his eyes. He might’ve hated me then, but at least he acknowledged me.
Don’t be stupid,I told myself as he walked past me. Be grateful that he’s ignoring you for once.
He wound up standing near the drinks table with the other Princes, assessing the party with a stony gaze.
As I looked over at him, my knees went weak, and my cheeks flushed with warmth. I hated him for what he’d done to me, truly despised him, but he was completely irresistible. I couldn’t tear my eyes away no matter how hard I tried.
Even the hardened, slightly-hostile expression on his face was hot. The intensity of it made shivers race up and down my spine; a strange mixture of fear and anticipation that stirred a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.
I saw Talia approaching him a few seconds later, forehead creased in a frown as her lips moved furiously. Then she made her way over to me.
“I’m so sorry, Laney,” she said. “I don’t know why he’s here. He wasn’t invited, I swear!”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, nervously twisting my hands.
“He didn’t say anything to you when he came in, did he?” she asked.
“No. He totally ignored me.”
“Okay, good. I just went and told him that this is a charity event, and his blacklist shit isn’t welcome here. We’re just trying to have fun and raise money for the animals.”
“What did he say to that?” Adam asked. He and Trina had noticed Hunter’s presence as well, and they’d moved to stand on either side of me.
“He just nodded vaguely and grunted at me,” Talia replied, rolling her eyes.
Adam scoffed. “That’s probably the most you’ll get out of him.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She turned her face to me again. “As long as he leaves you alone, it should be fine, right? You’ll stay?”
“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” I said, risking another glance at Hunter. He was still pointedly refusing to look in my direction.
Talia’s face fell with relief. “Good. Anyway, I better go. Some people still haven’t donated yet.”
Around half an hour later, the lights turned all the way up again, and a screech arose from the stage on the other side of the room. I glanced over to see Talia fiddling with the microphone, trying to stop it from making that awful sound. Letitia and Grace were behind her, smiling awkwardly.
“There we go,” Talia finally said, holding the mic near her chin. “Hi, everyone! Thanks for coming out tonight.”
Every head in the room had turned toward the stage now, watching her.
“We’ve just figured out tonight’s final donation sum, and you’ll never guess how much we raised for the elephant sanctuary,” she said. “$302,000! Isn’t that fantastic!”
The crowd cheered and clapped. I grinned enthusiastically and joined in.
“Thanks so much for making this happen,” Talia went on. “The sanctuary is going to be so grateful, and it’s all because of your generosity!”
Another cheer went around the room.
“Anyway, I know what you’re all waiting for now. The lottery!” Talia waved at Grace and Letitia. They brought over a golden bingo cage and set it on a table next to her.
“Five percent of tonight’s donations will go to one lucky person. That’s $15,100…. or a new Hermès bag,” she said with a dramatic wink. “And remember, it’s all cash, so you can still claim the deduction. I promise I won’t tell the IRS!”
Everyone laughed at that, and Talia started turning the gold crank on the side of the bingo cage. The white balls inside it spun and bounced all over the place until the random ball selector dropped one into the base.