When it died away, I realised Gray was standing behind me with his hands placed firmly on my hips, keeping me steady.
Ignacio offered me a devilish smile. “You’re a highly successful woman. I told you you’d like my touch.”
Suddenly, he was forcefully pushed back a few yards by a black tendril. I turned on the spot, still feeling the heady rush from our interaction.
“Gray! You can’t do that,” I told him.
He didn’t pay attention to me instead, keeping his eyes on Ignacio. Fury blazed in his irises, and I placed a hand on his chest. Gray brought his fiery gaze down on me.
“What’s going on?”
Looking over my shoulder, Sloan and Erik had joined us. Erik shot us a curious look, head cocked to the side.
“I need to get inside,” I said, dropping my hand from Gray’s chest and moving past the Gods to get into the building but not before I heard Sloan.
“You need to stay away from her, Grayson.”
A small part of me deflated with the realisation that in their eyes we’d always be mortals who were unworthy to do anything other than worship them. Even Sloan, who appeared so gentle and understanding, had a threshold.
Why did it matter? I wasn’t chasing after their approval. They could think little of me because it was reciprocated in every way.
Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind, I entered the ballroom of the hotel. Charlie’s parents had spared no expense, judging by the decorations, and I weaved my way through guests to find the happy couple.
It was easy to forget about the rocky start to the night when I spent most of the evening engaged in conversation with colleagues and celebrating the joyful news.
I slipped from the floor, towards the bar, and watched the room. My finger ran lazily around the lip of the champagne flute as Matthew approached me. I tensed and sat up straight. We hadn’t spoken in a while, and we didn’t need a stand-off at Charlie’s party.
“Hey,” he greeted me.
“Hi.”
“Can I join you?”
“Sure.”
He took the seat next to me and I folded my hands in my lap.
“You look beautiful, Scott,” Matthew said.
“Thanks,” I replied, looking at the bubbles floating up my glass. “You don’t scrub up too badly yourself.”
He laughed before it died away. “I missed you at work.”
My heart gave a weird little tug. I couldn’t be classified as a social butterfly, but we’d always got on well and it’d be strange to be avoided and edged out.
“Look, Quentin,” he continued. “I’m sorry for how I behaved. It was childish of me. I know you were just doing your job.”
Matt didn’t need prompting to apologise. He didn’t need someone to remind him to act like a grown man. He’d taken the time to reflect on his actions and approached me with a level head.
“Apology accepted.”
“I was wondering if you’d let me take you out on that second date.”
I bit on my lip and thought about it for a second before nodding. “You know what, Matthew? I think I’d really like that.”
Maybe it was the champagne, or perhaps it was the fact we were at an engagement party, but the ice around my heart thawed. Everyone around me was moving on with their personal lives, so why shouldn’t I? I didn’t want to be stuck in the past anymore. Maybe if I tried a little harder, I’d find the peace I desperately sought.
Matt flashed me a bright smile before we were interrupted.
