“Likewise. You run Sebastian Jewelry, right?”
“I do.”
“That’s so cool. Look at you, the most perfect merger of two jewelry empires. Mom was just gushing when I told her about meeting you.” She then turns to her partner. “This is my husband. Declan Winters.”
We say hello and exchange pleasantries. I start to relax under Yuna’s easy smile and friendly chatter. As more guests come in, she lets us go to greet them.
As another heiress, London Bickham, is telling me about her latest trip—she’s convinced we need to take time off and visit Mallorca—Sebastian dips his head and whispers, “Your family’s here.”
I straighten and turn. Roderick and Karl swagger in together. They’re in bespoke tuxedos, again paid for with my money. Roderick isn’t wearing any jewelry except for the wedding band from his marriage to Mom. He never takes it off, and some think it’s because he still hasn’t forgotten her. But I know better. He just wants to remind everyone who his wife was.
Karl doesn’t have the brain to consider things like that, so he generally wears a lot of rings and a necklace. Sometimes he goes overboard and looks like he’s auditioning for a music video. But today, he doesn’t have anything on him. It’s almost like he’s having…money problems.
Which he might, since I cut him off. HR and legal must be after him to claw back the salary the company paid him while he didn’t bother to report to work. Instead of his usual I’m-the-hottest-thing-on-the-block smirk, he’s wearing a slightly strained smile.
There’s no sign of Vonnie, but that isn’t surprising. She still owes me and Sebastian for losing the tennis match. She might assume she could bat her eyelashes at Sebastian, but she knows I’m immune.
Anger swells hotly in my chest. Security should have never let those two through. I made sure to keep my familyoffthe guest list, and they shouldn’t have even received invitations.
Bianca glides over. “Excuse us, Sebastian.” Without waiting for a response, she pulls me aside. “Oh my God. What are they doing here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m having them thrown out,” I say under my breath, and reach for my phone to get in touch with security.
“Wait,” she says, placing a hand on my wrist.
“What?”
“If you do that, everyone’s going to notice. They didn’t crash the party to be dragged away meekly. They’re going to make a scene, and it could make you look bad.”
Damn it. It isn’t just me who’s going to look bad. It could make Sebastian look like a jerk for evicting his wife’s father and half-brother from the party. I don’t want anything to mar the first event we’re hosting as a couple.
“Argh. So frustrating!”
“It’s just one time,” Bianca whispers. “And there’s no way they’re here for you. They’re probably here to ‘network’ or something, so just ignore them.”
I exhale, counting to five. It doesn’t do much to calm my temper, but I need to do what’s best, given the circumstances. “You’re right.”
“I’ll try to keep them away from you.”
“Thanks.”
She squeezes my hand in support, and I nod. Roderick and Karl are coming straight for me and Sebastian. They’re going to insist on an introduction.
Instead of looking at them, Sebastian picks up two flutes of champagne and hands me one. I take it, almost out of reflex, and manage a smile. I don’t really want champagne right now, but it may be useful when Roderick and Karl annoy me too much. I can accidentally slip, and—oops—spill it all over their fancy tuxedos. I’ll have to apologize profusely, but it’ll be worth it.
“Lucie, my girl!” Roderick spreads his arms open, ready to hug me.
I’d rather be covered with centipedes. I step out of reach and stand closer to Sebastian. “Hello, Roderick.”
The overt gesture of aversion doesn’t deter Roderick. On the other hand, if he were the type to care about things like that, he wouldn’t have been able to marry Mom. Grandfather never hid how little regard he had for Roderick. If Mom hadn’t been his only child, Grandfather might’ve disowned her.
“I can’t believe you’re married,” Roderick gushes.
“Guess it’s time to get your believer fixed. Because I did.”
Roderick’s mask freezes for a second. The tips of his lips quiver as he maintains his smile.
God, it feels so good.I laugh like I just made a joke.
