“Edwina!” Lena said, pulling me into an embrace before I could finish congratulating her. “You came!”
“Of course I came,” I said with a laugh. “You invited half the department. I would never hear the end of it, if I didn’t show up.”
Marcus grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
“And Daniel,” Lena added, “thank you for bringing her.”
Daniel gave a small bow. “It’s an honor to escort the most elegant guest in the room.”
Lena laughed. “I see flattery works well in our department.”
After a few more words and promises to catch up later, Daniel guided us toward a nearby table where several colleagues had gathered. Before we could sit, a familiar voice reached me.
“Finally.”
I turned to see Giselle walking toward us through the crowd with a confidence that made people move aside before they realized it. She wore a dark blue dress with a silver necklace at her throat, and her face brightened when she reached us.
“Edwina,” Giselle said, pulling me into a quick hug before stepping back to look at me properly. Her eyes widened a little. “Well,” she said, drawing the word out, “someone decided to make an entrance tonight.”
Daniel chuckled. “I told her the same thing.”
Giselle looked between us with amusement. “You two look very official. Almost like a couple.”
“Blame Lena’s seating rules,” Daniel said.
“And where is your husband?” I asked, glancing behind her.
Giselle’s smile faltered for a moment before she recovered it. “Busy again.”
The answer sounded easy, although I knew better. Giselle’s husband did not like crowds, large gatherings, or most people, if I was being honest. Once, after a university event that had left allof us exhausted, she had described it to me with rare bluntness.He avoids people the way others avoid parasites.
That was why she attended most events alone, smiling, holding herself together, and pretending the empty seat beside her did not matter.
“Well,” Daniel said, “at least you have us tonight.”
“Exactly,” Giselle replied, brightening as she gestured toward a nearby table.
We moved toward the table together. By some coincidence, or perhaps Giselle’s careful planning, the four seats were close for easy conversation. Daniel sat beside me while Giselle settled across from us, already reaching for one of the champagne glasses beside the table settings.
For a few minutes, conversation moved easily between us. Department gossip, stories from the ceremony earlier that week, Giselle teasing Daniel about appearing as my official partner for the evening. I let myself relax into it, laughing at something Daniel said as the room and music settled around us.
Then a familiar presence moved into the edge of my vision, and the air at the table changed. Before I could turn, a deep voice spoke beside us.
“May I?”
The only empty chair stood beside Daniel, and Hayden Stone was standing next to it. His presence drew everyone’s attention at once. For a moment, no one answered.
Giselle blinked, then recovered. “Oh, Dean Stone. Of course.”
Hayden gave a polite nod. “Thank you.”
Before anyone could say anything else, he pulled out the chair and sat down beside Daniel. Directly across from me.
Chapter Eight
Hayden
WatchingDanielWhitmorestandbeside her with that easy confidence, touching her as though the right had been given to him, made something ugly move through me. He looked comfortable there, settled into a place in her life I had never truly surrendered, believing he could stand beside Edwina Rhodes all night while I did nothing about it. Fuck that.
