God, I hoped he liked—
“Surprise,” the crowd cheered as the front door opened and Alexei stepped inside.
“Happy birthday.” I rushed forward and stopped dead. Alexei looked as handsome as ever, but he wasn’t alone. There was a blonde on his arm. A beautiful, statuesque woman with sleek platinum hair and a body that could only come from a surgeon.
Startled, Alexei paused.
“Shit,” Gabriella hissed and bent me. No one moved; it was like the whole world stopped dead.
“Oh, she’s thrown you a birthday party,” the blonde said as she flexed her fingers into his arm. “That’s so cute.”
I did a double-take. What did she mean by that? There was nothing about tonight that was meant to be cute.
“Did you do this, Amy?” Alexei’s voice was soft. But there wasn’t any warmth in it. He sounded wary.
“Oh, this is Amy?” The woman cocked her head to the side. Studying me like I was a bug under a microscope. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you. ”She hugged me awkwardly. “I’ve heard so much about you. Alexei says such kind things about you.”
Glancing at my husband, I frowned. Why did he look angry?
“I’m sorry, I don’t think we have met?”
Letting go of me, she hooked her arm back into Alexei’s.
“Violet is an old friend who just got back into town.” His eyesbored down into mine. “Did you do all of this for me?” The first hint of kindness flickered into his eyes.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said politely. I couldn’t help but look at the way she was gripping him, though, and I couldn’t ignore the uneasy silence of the guests behind me.
They clearly all knew who she was, even if I didn’t.
“I just wanted you to have a nice birthday.” I took an uncertain step towards him. I was his wife. So why did I suddenly feel like I shouldn’t touch him?
“I even had your favorite cake made.”
“German chocolate.” The smile faded from his face. He glanced down at Violet. “I’ll get rid of it, don’t worry.”
Without another word, he scurried off. He didn’t even look back at me. I watched him go with a sinking feeling in my chest. What did he mean by he would get rid of it?
“Violet.” Gabriella stepped up next to me. “I never expected to see you here.”
Violet’s smile stayed plastered to her face, as fake as the rest of us. “Well, Alexei was pretty insistent that I come and stay with him after our dinner, Gabby.”
Dinner? My eyes widened. Had they just come back from dinner? Why would Alexei take another woman out for a meal on his birthday and not me?
I shot Gabriella a look, but she was too busy glaring up at the woman. It was pretty clear they hated each other. No one called Gabriella Gabby. She hated it, and yet Violet seemed to relish calling her that.
“I see you finally got a ring on your finger, Gabby,” the blonde in front of us said scathingly, her eyes on the diamond on my friend’s hand.
I glanced between the two women. But Gabriella wasn’t looking at me. She was staring daggers at Violet. Slowly, she let her eyes drift down her body. “I see you still haven’t got one on yours, Violet.”
The slim woman reeled back and tightened her features to thepoint she looked haggard. Hatred flooded her features, there and gone in the blink of an eye.
“Sometimes.” She smiled at me. “The right man is worth waiting for. He’s worth fighting for.”
Oh, hell no, that was aimed directly at me, and we all knew it. Did Violet have designs on my husband? Did she have feelings for him? And more importantly, did he return those feelings?
Over the crowded room, I found him chatting happily to some of his friends. Like he could sense my eyes on him, he lifted his head and stared right back, but just for a second, before he saw Violet, and his face blossomed into a smile. My heart sank into my toes.
“Come on, Amy, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Catching my look, Gabriella dragged me away. But I couldn’t help myself. I looked back to see Violet wander over to stand at Alexei’s side. Laughing and smiling like she was the hostess and not me.
