“Yes. Of course.”
He gives a short incline of his head. “You need to be seated in ten minutes.” He leaves then and I turn to find a bathroom, and run smack into a hard body, big hands catching my waist. The musky scent of familiar cologne washes over me even before my gaze lifts, and I find myself looking into Macom’s green eyes.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Faith
I push away from Macom, but he tightens his grip on my waist. “We need to talk. Let’s set a time and place.”
“Let go of me, Macom, or I willmakeyou let go of me.”
“When the ceremony is over. I’m in room—”
“You need to be on stage,” Josh says, suddenly by my side. “They’re looking for you.”
Macom’s eyes meet Josh’s, anger crackling in their depths. “Now?”
“Now,” Josh confirms firmly.
His jaw tenses and he looks down at me. “10:10. After the show.” He releases me and fades into the crowd.
I turn to Josh. “Thank you.”
“I told him not to pull this shit, but look, Faith. For what it’s worth, he talked to me last night. He was torn up. He has regrets. He feels like a shit. He seems to just need to apologize in person and if you don’t want him, he’ll accept it.”
“He doesn’t want to apologize. He wants to make me another conquest.”
“All I can tell you is my take, and I don’t see it that way. But moving on. I’ll see you inside.” He steps away from me and there is a ceremony announcement. The crowd immediately starts moving and I end up in the crunch of bodies, a sardine in a can, as we slowly ease toward the door. Impatient, I slip my purse across my chest, and then try to find a hole to break free.
More aggressive actions work, and I push through the bustle of people with a good amount of speed. The bodies bottleneck near the door though, and I’m stuck, unable to proceed forward. That’s when a hand comes down on my arm and suddenly I’m folded into Nick’s arms. “Hey there, sweetheart.”
I smile with the realization we’re just inside the ceremony room, against the wall and out of the rush. “You saved me again.”
“I’ll always save you, but I think you know that by now.”
“I had a Macom encounter.”
“And?”
“I ran into him, literally. He took that opportunity to corner me. Josh intervened and Macom backed off. But I don’t think me avoiding him is going to work. I need to just handle him, once and for all.”
“How?”
“I need to get through this ceremony and then figure it out. Let’s sit at the back so we can escape when it’s over.”
“You sure you want to do that?”
“Oh yes. I’ve met everyone and anyone, and that’s an entirely different story.”
There’s another announcement. “Please take your seats now,” someone says over the intercom.
Nick drapes his arm around my shoulder and we quickly scan the rows of seats facing the stage, before locating, and claiming back row seats. Not more than a minute later, one of the event founders that I’d met earlier steps to center stage and begins to speak without wasting time on fluff. She gets right to the point of the event: The artists. A big screen is lowered and it starts rotating with images of this year’s artistic participants, as well as the top three picks for each that were on display tonight. The name “Winter” places me at the end of that line up, and when they read out An Eye for an Eye, I cringe with the certainty that it will garner Macom’s attention. Nick knows, too. His fingers flex on my leg where his hand rests. But soon, the moment is muted as the speaker launches into an anecdote about the first event held by the organization fifteen years ago.
Finally, it’s time for the award to be announced, which means Nick and I can escape, and the real experience, the show, will be only hours away. Macom steps to the podium to announce the winner, thankfully a really long way from myself and Nick. “Each year one blossoming talent is picked from the show’s participants,” he says. “Tonight is no exception. Tonight I will announce one shining star that will be featured at tomorrow’s show at the entryway as all visitors enter the showroom. In the past, we’ve named such artists as Mallery Michaels, Kat Martin, and Newman Wright. Famous names I know you all recognize. If you’re lucky, you own one of their creations. And so tonight, in the tradition of greats, I will announce a new great. I have to tell you, this one is special. I’m close to this person. She has always been a shining star in my eyes.”
I suck in air at the “she.” Nick leans in even before my name is even called and says, “Poetic justice, sweetheart.”
“This year’s winner,” Macom says dramatically, “is Faith Winter. Faith, come to the front, please.”