Ilost Jesse almost immediately after the toast. One second, he was there, and the next, he was gone, pulled into a sea of people, all of whom seemed eager to speak to him. The way they were acting, it was like they hadn’t seen him for years.
“There you are,” Kate said as she appeared next to me. “We just saw Jesse and I was wondering what had happened to you.”
“We thought you might’ve cut and run,” Jane said, one hand resting instinctively on her very swollen belly. “You should be proud of yourself for surviving Douglas’s toast.”
Kate smiled her agreement. “After this, it should just be people, champagne, and dealing with opinions. The worst should be over.”
I huffed out a small laugh, grateful for the ease in her tone even if I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I was being assessed. Ever since we’d arrived here, these two had made a point of taking me under their wing. I’d been introduced to Jane earlier, and though I’d been intimidated by the knowledge that she was Alex’s wife, she’d been nice enough so far.
Both of them had, treating me with kindness and including me in their conversation, yet it definitely felt like there wassomething they weren’t saying. Like maybe they weren’t quite pleased I was here.
“We should get you another drink,” Jane said smoothly, drawing my attention back to her. “What’s your poison?”
“Sparkling water,” I replied immediately. “I’ve had a glass of champagne already. Any more and I won’t be functional for much longer.”
Jane chuckled. “Let’s save not being functional for when I can become nonfunctional with you. God, I’m looking forward to a glass of good red wine.”
Before I could stop myself, I glanced at her stomach, unable tonotnotice that it looked like she was due any minute now. “You must be exhausted. How long do you have left?”
“Another month,” she said, sighing.
My eyebrows arched. “A month?”
“I know,” Kate said to me. “Personally, I’ve accepted that the baby is impatient to get out of there and start taking over the world.”
“I heard that,” Jane muttered.
Kate grinned at her. “You were meant to. Seriously, it doesn’t look like you have a whole month still ahead of you.”
I laughed, but I was also sort of jealous of how comfortable they were together. Familiar in a way that made me feel like I was standing outside of something I didn’t quite belong to.
Honestly, I couldn’t even tell if they liked me. Sure, they were polite and friendly, but there was something underneath that I couldn’t quite name. I stayed with them for a few more minutes of conversation that was easy on the surface but left me feeling slightly off balance. Then I excused myself.
“I’m just going to find Jesse,” I said, smoothing my dress unnecessarily. “We should probably make the rounds together.”
Something flickered in Kate’s eyes for just a second before it vanished on a warm smile. “Good luck, Eliza. We’ll see you later.”
They exchanged a glance as I turned to leave, but I caught it from the corner of my eye, and once again, I wondered what was going on with them. I didn’t really know either of these women but my gut was telling me there was more they weren’t saying.
More to this arrangement or perhaps my relationship with Jesse. Whatever it was, it definitely related to me. As I moved through the room, scanning faces, I tried to ignore the way my chest stung at the thought of that look they’d exchanged.
Mercifully, it didn’t take me long to find Jesse, my safe space in the sea of judgment and unfamiliar faces. He was at the bar, turned slightly away from me, with one hand resting on the counter. His shirt was different though, darker than the one he’d been wearing earlier.
I smiled to myself, weaving through the last few people until I reached him. Once I did, my fingers brushed the back of his shoulder to get his attention. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Why did you change your shirt?”
As soon as he turned, I knew it wasn’t him and I jerked my hand back immediately, heat rushing to my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were your brother, but you must be Will.”
The resemblance between the two men was undeniable, but Will was looser somehow. Slightly more rumpled and less polished than Jesse. He seemed much more laidback.
As I looked at him, he did the same to me, his gaze raking across the length of my body in a way that wasn’t inappropriate, exactly, but slower than I was comfortable with. More deliberate.
When his eyes came back up to mine, his lips pressed together briefly, like he was holding back a reaction before he nodded. “You’re right, and you must be Eliza.”
“I am. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to?—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s totally understandable,” he cut in smoothly. “We get that a lot. It’s nice to meet you.”
There was an edge to his tone I couldn’t quite place, but that certainly made me suspect that he wasn’t terribly pleased to meet me despite what he’d just said. It was strange, though. He had no reason to dislike me and yet, something about the interaction felt slightly off already.
