“You okay, son?” my father asked.
“Yeah,” I said, wiping sweat off my forehead.
After about twenty minutes, the wedding planner began lining us up outside the entrance to the reception. Where the hell was Leah? I couldn’t remember separating from her, but it must’ve happened before I got dragged over to join the wedding party. Dread developed in mystomach as I wondered where they’d sat Leah and prayed it wasn’t anywhere near Blair. That caused me to sweat even more.
The DJ began announcing us one by one. My heartbeat accelerated as I waited my turn, and I finally entered the hall to cheers I certainly didn’t deserve. Waving to the crowd, I made my way to the assigned head table. I was honored that my son had included me in the special placements today. I needed to keep the focus on him and behave accordingly.
I forced myself not to run around in search of Blair just yet, owing Taylor my full attention as he and Juliana were announced. I’d never get this moment back. As my handsome son and his beautiful wife waltzed in, I smiled, beaming with pride, despite my inner turmoil.
Continuing to stay in place, I folded my hands together as I watched their first dance. After, I listened as the best man and maid of honor each gave their toasts. But I was getting more antsy by the minute.
The second that dinner was announced, I found Leah at her assigned table, which thankfully didn’t include Blair. After checking in, I told Leah I needed to use the bathroom. Instead, what I actually did was walk around the ballroom for a bit, surveying the space as my gaze moved from table to table. I wondered if Blair had skipped the reception. Once I determined she was nowhere to be found, I actually went toward the bathroom.
Just as I turned the corner into the hallway where the restrooms were, I stopped short at the sight of Blair exiting the ladies’ room.
Chapter 19
BLAIR
When I spotted Tate walking toward me, I nearly had a heart attack. It wasn’t like I could turn around now.
He looked so damn gorgeous in his tux. My heart ached. Everything ached with the need to touch him, despite what I now knew to be true: I wouldneverbe able to touch him again.
“Blair...” he murmured before looking over his shoulder.
I shook my head, feeling tears in my eyes. “I don’t understand, Tate.”
“I don’t either, but we need to talk about how we’re gonna handle this.”
Looking beyond his broad shoulders, I whispered, “Well, we can’t do that here.”
“Are you staying at the hotel tonight?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll come to you later…after the wedding is over.”
A chill ran down my spine. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. What if someone sees us together?”
“I’ll be careful,” he said. “We have to risk it, because we need to talk.”
I knew that was true. There was so much I needed to say to him. So many questions. “Okay.” I licked my lips. “Yeah.”
“What room are you in?”
I closed my eyes trying to remember. “One thirty-five.”
“Okay.” He exhaled. “I’ll come see you later.”
“All right.”
Tate looked over his shoulder one last time before he disappeared into the bathroom.
I felt an odd thrill at the prospect of him coming to my room later, though any chance of us being together again had died the moment I’d realized he was Taylor’s father.
I needed to remind myself of that, because for a moment I’d gotten lost in the idea ofMy Tate.MyTate no longer existed.MyTate was an illusion, because he’d been Taylor’s father the entire time.Theodore.Taylor’s fucking father! Why had he given me a fake name? That didn’t make any sense considering how much value he’d placed on knowingmyreal name. Tate had told me he wasn’t a liar. I’d even told Taylor about him in the years since, referring to him as Tate. Taylor had never seemed to suspect a thing.
Returning to my assigned table, I sat in a daze, unable to think about anything but meeting Tate later.
