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He turns and meets my eyes, a warm smile on his face and I melt, mirroring his expression. “She asked me to come and to be honest, there isn’t much in this world I wouldn’t do for her.”

Mother smiles, a condescending look in her eye that raises my hackles. “I’m afraid you misunderstood me. What I meant was, what are you to Carly? Are you friends?”

“No, ma’am. I’m her boyfriend.”

My heart seizes in my chest and I’m about to object when I see the look of horror on my mother’s face. So, maybe I will let her think that we’re actually a couple because the expression she’s wearing now is priceless. It’s impressive, actually, with as much Botox as she’s had, that she can have any expression at all. She places her hand over her heart and her mouth opens briefly before closing again like she’s struggling to find her words. Honestly, I have no idea how the hell Chance is being so damn polite to her. After a second, she regains control of herself and forces a smile to her face but there is nothing genuine about it.

“Chance, was it?” she asks and he nods. “Would you be so kind as to go to the bar and grab us some champagne?”

He glances over at me and I love that he wants to make sure I’m okay before he leaves me with the demon also known as my mother. I squeeze his hand, giving him a little nod and he smiles before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my lips.

“Be right back,” he whispers and I nod as he releases my grip and starts winding through the crowd toward the bar. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Mother wraps a hand around my arm, her grip painful, as she drags me to the corner of the ballroom.

“What the hell are you thinking?” she hisses, her face morphed in anger and I arch a brow.

“About what?”

Her grip tightens and I try to pull away from her but she won’t release me. “You cannot be serious about this man, Carly Rae.”

The shock and disgust on her face annoys the hell out of me and I find myself feeling defensive of Chance. Whatever it is that we have, whether it’s casual or not, I know he’s a good man. And he sure doesn’t deserve this shit. “I am serious about him.”

“He’s covered in tattoos!”

I scoff and try to pull away again, but she grabs my other arm and pulls me closer. “You saw a peek of one tattoo, so I don’t think you’re qualified to decide if he’s covered in tattoos or not and what does it matter? He’s a good man and he treats me right.”

“Do you know what a good man gets you? Absolutely nothing. There is no future with a man like that. I thought I taught you better than this,” she rages, lowering her voice so anyone who ventures closer won’t hear her rant.

“Oh, don’t worry, Mother,” I seethe, ripping my arm out of her grip. “I’ll never forget the lessons you’ve taught me.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

I level her with a glare. “You know what it means.”

Memories are flooding my mind faster than I can bury them and I turn away from her as tears start to fill my eyes. Weaving through the crowd, I crash into a solid chest and gasp.

“Whoa there, Princess.” Chance’s voice quiets my roaring mind and I feel like I’m able to breathe normally again. “You okay?”

I bury my head in his chest and grip the lapels of his jacket as I take a few calming breaths and try to blink the tears out of my eyes. His scent surrounds me and I finally pull away, feeling in control again.

“Sorry. It’s just my mother.”

He glances over my head, a frown marring his features. “Yeah, she’s a gem.”

A giggle slips out of my mouth and he looks down at me, a wide smile on his face. “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard your cute little giggle.”

“Don’t get used to it,” I tease and he shakes his head.

“Now you’re just laying down a challenge, Darlin’.”

Rolling my eyes, I pull away from him. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, but you like it.”

“Whatever.”

His gaze lifts to the crowd again and I peek over my shoulder as my mother slinks past us, her eyes never leaving us. “I have to say, I expected her to be more… villain-y with how much you were apologizing. She actually looks pretty good when she’s not looking at me like I’m the scum of the earth.”

“She has to look good. All the better to fool some poor unsuspecting man, my dear.”

His gaze falls to me and a smile teases his lips. “Did you just compare your mother to the big bad wolf?”

“If the paw fits,” I mutter, shrugging and he laughs.

“You are something else, Carly Mills.”

Ignoring his comment, I grab one of the champagne flutes out of his hand and down the entire thing before handing the empty one back to him. “I’m really sorry she treated you the way she did. All she cares about is money and if you don’t have any, she can’t be bothered with you. I mean, hell, she drove my own father to suicide after she left him for a wealthier man, so this is just par for the course, really.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I want to smack myself in the face. Talk about a complete brain to mouth filter malfunction. I never talk about this stuff to anyone and he has me spilling my guts without any effort. He stares down at me, his eyes softening in understanding and my stomach turns. If he thinks he’s got some insight on why I am the way I am, he’s wrong. The silence stretches between us and I feel sick as I wait to see what he’s going to say. After a moment, a wry grin stretches across his face.

“Damn, Princess, you sure know how to ruin a moment, don’t you?”

It is exactly the last thing I was expecting to come out of his mouth but also, somehow, exactly the right thing to say. Slapping his chest, I roll my eyes and turn away from him to hide my smile. Goddamn it, he just might be perfect.

“You’re an ass.”

He shrugs and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me into him. “Yeah, maybe but how bad could it be? I’m here with you.”