I’d always hated that bastard. He had the world’s largest ego and spoke with condescension to nearly everyone. But I hated him even more at this moment because I could tell how uncomfortable he was making Cerise. And the fact that he apparently put his fucking hands on her. I wanted to lunge across the ballroom and break his nose.
I would break my hand a dozen times over just to make him feel even an ounce of pain.
“Where did you disappear to?” Coen asked, breaking my trance.
“The bathroom,” I lied.
He looked at me pointedly. “You have a smug look on your face. What did you do?”
“Nothing bad. I just helped Cerise relax a little.”
“Liam. At a work event?”
“Like you’re one to talk. I saw you eyeing that woman over there.”
I gestured a few tables away. It was the same woman Cerise had been talking to earlier when I first saw her. She wasn’t someone I recognized, but that didn’t mean much, seeing as I didn’t usually attend these things.
He snorted.
She was quite pretty, though. Her platinum blonde hair brushed her shoulders, tight curls bouncing when she spoke animatedly with her hands. She smiled often and appeared to be incredibly talkative and friendly.
Not Coen’s type at all. At least, not what I imagined he would like. Come to think of it, he rarely dated. I didn’t even know if hehada type.
He was quiet, pensive. That’s why we made such a great pair as friends. He was the calm to my chaos. Painfully introverted, he hated social events like this more than I did. But while I hated them because they felt fake, he hated them because there were just too many people.
So a bubbly, talkative blonde? Yeah, not his type.
But he couldn’t pull his hazel eyed gaze away from her.
The murmurs of the crowd died down as the elderly man retook the stage and raised his hands.
“If I may have your attention. It is now time for our keynote speaker and guest of honor, Doctor Anya Thornheart…”
The man went on and on about her accomplishments but I tuned him out, much too busy watching Cerise’s reactions to care.
I tuned her mother’s speech out too. It was likely going to be about her famous discovery and I didn’t want to subject myself to that unbearable woman drone on. We all knew about her successes, this was just a way for her to boast about them. Again.
Cerise watched her mother with hardly any emotion, nodding and clapping at the appropriate times while pasting on a small smile. But I knew it was fake. I could see the pain in her eyes.
At one point, Ambrose leaned in and whispered something in Cerise’s ear and she tensed, not responding as she continued to watch her mother. But whatever he’d said affected her. Her hand clenched her glass of water so tightly, her knuckles turned white as she took a sip. I looked at her plate and saw that most of her food appeared untouched.
Was she too stressed to eat or had I stolen too much of her time during dinner with our rendezvous?
Not to worry, though. I had a plan. As soon as Coen received his recognition, and Emberly and the rest of the team accepted their awards, Cerise and I were leaving.
Though she didn’t know it yet.
The awards ceremonywent without a hitch, but I could tell it pained Cerise not to be up on that stage with the rest of our group. Though Emberly was credited with the discoveryof the lizard, Sophie, Aaric and Dr. Rosenshield were all recognized as well due to their presence when the discovery was made.
With the speeches and awards finished, people rose from their chairs to mingle. Music began to play as a few guests took their place on the dance floor in the center of the space.
I stood, scanning the room for Cerise. She was still seated, seemingly in a heated discussion with Ambrose.
Enough of that.
I adjusted my glasses and made my way to her table. I stopped behind her and placed a hand on the back of her chair, my thumb stroking her back softly beneath her hair. Hidden, so no one could see.
“Sorry to interrupt what I am sure is a riveting conversation, especially considering who you are speaking with, but would you like to dance with me, Doctor Thornheart?”
