Chapter 12

ETHAN. I really don't want to go to the party. It's all about socializing and making meaningless conversation. Put me in my office any day, in a business meeting hell but this social part of being a businessman, I have come to loathe. It is, however, unavoidable, as parties like these are where business deals are sealed and alliances are made. Competitions are scoped out and weaknesses are sniffed out like blood in water. I find that I miss May. No, I don't miss her, I just miss her energy. Her confusing attitude, her dynamic emotional outbursts and her small thoughtful gestures. I can imagine her here, her small hand in mine, a smile on her face, those dark amber eyes staring at me, her dark hair in loose waves framing her face… I must be thinking about May too much because, for a moment, I see her. She is in a floor-length champagne-colored dress with her hair up in a low bun. The man in front of me is still speaking. "A merger between our companies—" "Please excuse me." I barely hear his protests as I move away from him, my feet drawing me towards my wife who cannot possibly be at this event. May picks up a drink from a waiter, her shoulders stiff and her face slightly pinched as a woman tries to make conversation with her. I pause in my tracks. She is real. But what is she doing here? This is an exclusive event. How could she have gotten in to begin with? May turns her head and I find myself moving away from her line of sight. She can't see me. If she does, she will link all the facts together and realize that I have been lying to her all this while or she will assume that I am trying to suck up to people who are actually rich. I recall all her rather unenthusiastic responses every time I did something materialistic that most women would swoon over. I come to a realization that either way she will not be pleased to see me at this event, and that somehow I care about her feelings with regards to this. As I reach the fringes of the crowd, my security detail for events such as these draw near probably thinking that I wish to leave. I stop moving and the head of my security approaches me. "Do you wish to leave, sir?" I glance at May, unable to stop myself. She always looks beautiful but seeing her dressed like this makes me think of things that cannot be. Things like sharing my life with her in truth and never coming for events like these all alone ever again. It is as though May can sense my gaze on her because she turns again and I angle my face away from her gesturing for the rest of my security detail to approach me. My head of security looks at me in askance and my cheeks are on fire when I finally speak. "Surround me." He blinks at me. "Sir?" May's gaze seems focused in this direction and I duck my head raising my can't slightly to obscure my face as I speak to my security through gritted teeth. "Now." My security detail surrounds me effectively hiding me from May's view. Naturally, it doesn't take Jared long to find me in my admittedly weird-looking circle. His brows are furrowed in confusion when my security lets him through. "Ethan, are you hiding from someone?" "She's here." Jared looks even more confused now. "Who's here?" "My—" I turn indicating at May, only to be brought to an abrupt halt by what I see. May is standing at the exact spot she was before but there is a man next to her now, he is holding her hand and with a sure smile on his face, he places a kiss on the back of her hand. **** MAY. "Relax." Ginny nudges my shoulder playfully bringing me back to myself. I glance at my best friend decked out in a pantsuit and bling that even an entire lifetime of working at our workplace can never afford. "I can't believe you kept all this from me, Ginny." Mostly I can't believe that I didn't think of this. I can't believe that as her best friend, I had missed so much. I see the flicker of hurt glance over Ginny's face as she looks at me. "You already said you forgave me for that." When she sat me down to tell me everything as we prepared for this party, I was sure it was a prank. How many years had we been friends for the truth of her background to have never come up in conversation even once? To be honest, I still wasn't sure whether it not it was a prank until we reached the party. I still have that feeling of being so sorely out of place as I watch everyone. I look at Ginny who I realize is still waiting for my response. "I have forgiven you but this is a lot." The chandeliers, the live orchestra band, the faces I have only seen gracing magazines or television, the soft lilting conversations, the security, the decor. I am even somewhat scared to breathe for fear of disrupting anything. Ginny takes my hand. "I know it's a lot. I'm a shitty friend for still bringing you along anyway but I couldn't come here alone." Her words bring me out of my head as I consider how tough all of this must be on her. I have only been bothered about myself. Ginny is literally back to a life that she never wanted on the heels of discovering such disturbing news. I cover her hand with my free hand. "I'm sorry about your mom." Ginny flashes me a slightly forced but grateful smile. "I'll be fine. Just need to find her a rich old money son-in-law." Maybe it is because I am unused to life as a rich heiress but this situation strikes me as a distinctively manipulative one. I understand her mother wanting her daughter to be settled after her death but asking her to find a rich husband with the right surname rubs me in all the wrong ways. Ginny is rich enough - according to what she had told me - to have a love match. Isn't that what marriage should be about? Love. But again what would I know, seeing as I married a man I barely knew? At that moment, I feel the burn that accompanies someone's gaze on me. I turn but he is faster as he lifts my hand to his lips with his signature teasing smile. "Mademoiselle," he whispers before kissing the back of my hand. I blink stunned silent. "Jeff?" I turn to face Ginny who seems to be fighting back a laugh. Nothing about this is remotely funny. "Is he also rich?" Ginny's strangled laughter confirms my suspicion. Meet Jeff, Ginny's annoying cousin who is always popping by our workplace wearing the most outrageous outfits and flirting with anything in a skirt. He is good-looking, especially now in his Armani suit and his hair slicked back. But to me, he is like the younger brother I would never wish for. Jeff gives me another heartbreakingly smooth smile with his exaggerated French accent. "Ma chérie, you have no idea how long I have waited for the moment when I would be able to reveal myself to you." Ginny seems to have had enough of his antics because she cuffs him over the head with an eye roll. "Your cousin is over here, nitwit." He turns the variance of the smile in her direction kissing her cheek. "My stunning cousin." Ginny shoves him away shaking her head slightly. "Too late for that." It's like things are normal over again with Jeff annoying the hell out of us. I give him a once-over still slightly surprised at how well he cleans up. "You are the last person I would have expected to be secretly rich," I muse finally. Jeff clutches his chest almost theatrically, his French accent back in full force. "My heart." I can barely hold in my laughter. He is so dramatic. "Chill, Jeff, you aren't really French." He winks at me playfully as he evades Ginny's elbow. "I know. But the ladies love the accent." I look around him almost exaggeratedly. "What ladies?" "Burn!" Ginny cackles and the people around us glance at her with distinct disapproval but she could care less with that grin on her face. That's when I realize that, rich or not, this is still my best friend. She is still the same person I know and nothing has changed. As long as I don't let it. A smile escapes me as Jeff glares at her for taking my side. My smile freezes on my lips as once more I feel the weight of someone's gaze across my skin. I turn, unable to ignore the force drawing me in.