I put a hand on Sebastian’s sleeve. “I’m going to grab some Tylenol from the pantry. Want anything?”
He cradles my cheek in his warm palm, the gesture protective and husbandly. “Are you all right?”
“Just a headache, nothing serious. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.” He kisses my cheek.
I sense some women around us sigh with envy. I maintain a smile full of warm hospitality as I make my way to the pantry.
Bianca trots over. “Hey, everything’s going fabulously.” She grins. “I’m so relieved.”
“Me too.”
“I can’t believe the number of people who came. By the way, do you know if the Comtoises plan to be here? I haven’t seen them anywhere, and I thought they RSVP’d yes. I’m going to have to check the list.”
“I haven’t seen them,” I tell her. “Sebastian should’ve invited them.” He’s taking care of his side of the family and friends.
“The party’s already halfway over. Maybe they aren’t coming.” She purses her lips. “They could’ve at leastcalled.”
Or maybe they couldn’t bring themselves to congratulate us when they believe I don’t deserve Sebastian. Marie hinted rather strongly that I should just let Preston’s indiscretion go and proceed with the wedding. She didn’t hide her displeasure when I refused.
Pearls and swine. Just recalling the Comtoises’ contempt intensifies my headache, until I feel like somebody is sticking a chisel into the top of my skull.
“Let me go check with catering. I heard some grumbling about the champagne,” Bianca says.
“Thanks.” I give her a smile, hoping she doesn’t notice there’s anything wrong. She’ll fret.
A coolly smooth voice says, “Such afabulous party.”
My mouth goes dry as I turn and see Gabriella Ricci.How did she get in?She wasn’t invited.
The woman is even more gorgeous in person. She stands, hipshot and haughty, chin raised high and an arrogant smile on her full lips. She knows she’s beautiful and loves to flaunt it.
Now my head pounds harder. But long-ingrained manners dictate I say something polite in response. “Thank you,” I manage, my temples pulsing.
“I know you want to make sure everyone knows you won Sebastian from me, but this is pretty low, even for you.”
“Well, if you didn’t crash the party…” My tone is sharper than I’d prefer. But right now I don’t have a lot of patience, especially when she’s being unfair. I haven’t done anything to counter what she said in the video.
“‘Crash.’” She laughs. “As if.”
“Isn’t that what you call it?”
Her face twists. “You invited me.”
“What?”
“Look, I know you’re jealous, but just leave me out of your marriage, okay? I have lucrative deals with Sebastian Jewelry and his brother’s ad agency. I don’t want to ruin those because of your insecurities.” Her red lips curve slowly into a cynical smile. “Just enjoy what you have while you can. Sebastian’s great in bed.”
Am I supposed to respond to this? I don’t know why or how she’s here, or what she’s hoping to achieve. My head hurts too much to come up with a suitable response, much less decide how I should feel about this. My stomach churns. Is this nausea from seeing her—or the image of Sebastian and her rolling around in bed together?
I turn away and proceed to go to the kitchen pantry. In my experience, it’s best not to engage.
Fortunately, no one else stops me. I exit the ballroom and let the door shut behind me. The noise dies down abruptly, plunging me into blessed silence.
I sigh softly, letting my shoulders droop a little as I roll my neck. The encounters with Karl, Roderick and Gabriella should be as bad as this party’s going to get. But I can’t shake off a feeling that it’s going to get worse. I’ve never been to an event where everything went perfectly. Is this some instinctive dread over the fact that Sebastian’s family hates me enough that they won’t bother to even feign they’re happy about the marriage?
I walk past the arched doorway into the pantry. A bottle of Tylenol is on one shelf. I toss a couple of pills into my mouth, then pull out a bottle from a case of water and wash them down. The water’s lukewarm, but it’s nice after being inside the chilly ballroom.
