In the luxurious toilets, she freshened up and then checked her makeup in the mirror. She pulled the band from her hair and shook it out, brushed it and then pulled it back into a loose ponytail again, allowing a few strands to curl in front of her ears and around her neck.
In the bright light, her eyes shone, and her skin looked healthy. She’d always followed a thorough skin care routine, slathering herself in sunblock, and she hoped it showed. She was only thirty-one, but even so, she knew that taking care of her skin was important to avoid premature ageing, especially with all the events she had to attend in the name of work. Late nights out and about and hours spent in front of the computer screen meant she could appear worn out if she wasn’t careful. While cosmetic procedures weren’t appealing to her, she wanted to look her best. As much as she wished it wasn’t true, some customers judged wedding planners on their appearance.
She slicked on some pearly pink lip-gloss and hooked her bag over her shoulder, then left the toilets and walked across thereception area to where she’d left the others. But they weren’t there.
For a moment, panic seized her, and she felt abandoned. Her hand went to her chest, and she bit the inside of her cheek, trying to ground herself. This didn’t happen often, but when it did, it was an unnerving sensation. However, she wasn’t a girl anymore, and she didn’t need to feel this way. She was a capable adult woman in charge of her own life, her career, and her world, and she would manage whatever happened. Deal with whatever came her way with dignity and courage.
She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath, then pushed it out, repeating her calming mantra in her head.
I am calm. I am steady. I am here.
‘Edith?’
She froze.
Her shoulders tightened.
Her teeth found her bottom lip again and dug in hard.
That voice. It… it couldn’t be… Could it?
‘Edith, are you okay?’
A hand on her arm. Cool skin. Long fingers. The touch familiar.
She shivered, and the hand moved, leaving a space on her skin. For a moment, it was as if the reassuring warmth she had been yearning for had been ripped away, and the quiet ache of absence settled in its place. A little sigh escaped her lips, soft and helpless, betraying the longing she didn’t want to feel. She missed that touch already, even though it hadn’t been gone for more than a heartbeat.
Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into a face so familiar to her that her breath hitched. It was a face she hadn’t seen in a very long time and one she’d thought never to see again, except on the covers of magazines and on social media when she couldn’t avoid it. Or on those nights when she’d had too much wine and found herself seeking him out, even though she knew it would make her pulse race and her stomach churn, turn the wine to acid in her gut and make her wish she hadn’t surrendered to temptation and bothered to look. Granted, she hadn’t done that in quite some time and tried to avoid it the way an addict avoids the substance or activity that has a hold over them. After all, it had been an age since she’d last seen him, and she wasn’t a masochist, so why would she deliberately seek out pain and sadness?
Why?
And yet, despite all of that, here he was in the flesh, looking better than she remembered. What was that all about? His deep voice featured timbres that were more melodic than she remembered, and his eyes displayed a distinctive blend of warm hues reminiscent of honey, autumn leaves, and sparks of gold.
A flame lit in her belly and, somewhere deep inside her mind, something growled, low and primal.
‘What are you doing here?’ Despite the fire raging within, her voice was icy, her face now a poker mask.
He gave a small laugh, but his features displayed a moment of uncertainty before he replied. ‘I’m in town for a while on business.’
She stared at him, afraid to glance away in case he disappeared again.
‘You look… incredible, Edith.’
Remember the pain!The thought screamed inside her. The pain that had broken her heart in two and left her confused and humiliated.Beauty can hide the cruellest of hearts.
‘I wish I could say the same for you,’ she snapped, the need to flee gripping her like a steel vice. ‘Now excuse me. I must find my?—’
‘Friends,’ he finished for her. ‘That’s why I came over. I’ll take you to them.’
‘No, thank you. It’s fine. I can find my own way if you’ll just tell me where they are.’
‘Edith, please. Don’t be like that. Allow me.’ He held out his arm, but she shook her head, so he lowered it. A flicker of hurt showed in his dazzling gaze before he gave a small nod. ‘OK then. This way.’
He strode ahead, and she watched him for a moment before following, her body tense as a coiled spring. This was not what she’d thought would happen today, but she was here to work, so whatever her feelings about seeing this man again, she had to bury them and carry on. Besides which, he was only showing her the way to her group, and then he’d leave, no doubt off to destroy someone else’s life along the way.
Wyatt Simmons was nothing if not an expert at leaving heartbreak in his wake and then dusting off his hands in a way that suggested he’d never cared at all.
When they reached the dining room, and she saw Thora, Finn, and Titus, she fought the urge to run straight to them and fall into their arms sobbing. All of her youthful vulnerabilities hadreared their heads as if she’d only tried to put them behind her yesterday. She felt raw, achy and exhausted.
