by Sedona Venez
I stared at the flashing cameras in shock. “Why the hell do you do this?”
I sat there, stuck, trying to get mentally prepared to step out in front of the paparazzi’s cameras. It was sensory overload. The bright side of this whole fiasco was the media coverage I would get from the Bellisarios wearing my couture gowns tonight.
Kirby got out of the SUV, opened the door, and helped Jade out.
“Jade! Jade!” the paparazzi screamed.
Jade was undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses, and the media was obsessed with her glam style and beauty. But I knew she was more than just good looks. She was genuine and smart.
Kirby reached for me.
I took a deep breath and hesitated. “Well, all righty, time to make tonight my bitch,” I grumbled.
Kirby smiled at me, and I grabbed his hand. I put on my I-don’t-give-a-shit face as I stepped out of the SUV. I wasn’t as comfortable as Jade standing in front of hundreds of photographers, so I had to go somewhere else in my mind and pretend I was a confident person in front of a horde of people.
When my feet hit the carpet, the lights exploded everywhere. I lifted my gown train and tried to walk around Jade.
The paparazzi screamed questions, coming at me from all directions.
“Sinthia Michaels! Can you pose for a photo?”
“Are you wearing a gown from your upcoming collection?”
“Can you comment on the rumors that you and Core McKay are now business partners?”
I uncomfortably looked at Jade before trying to hurry up the stairs.
“Go, go, go!” the paparazzi said, actually moving to chase me.
Jade wrapped an arm around my waist and whispered, “Relax.”
“This is new. I didn’t realize I was a celebrity,” I muttered.
I plastered a frozen smile on my face as we posed for photos.
“Enjoy it, sweetheart. You deserve it.” She stepped aside, allowing me to have additional photos taken by myself.
The flashing lights started to freak me out. I sighed gratefully when Jade looped an arm through mine, leading me away from the cameras.
We ascended the red-carpeted staircase lined with camera crews, photographers, reporters, and other gawkers. Tonight’s gala was a tribute to all the rich elite and A-listers congregated at the venue.
I surveyed the scene upon entering the mansion. A giant chandelier made from hundreds of red and white roses conspicuously hung above the information desk. The desk was completely covered with red roses rising five feet high.
Jade and I handed over our invitations for inspection, and then we waited patiently while a white-gloved security staffer politely scanned our bodies with a handheld metal detector.
Walking farther into the mansion, we strolled up the main staircase covered by walls of pristine white roses. At the top of the staircase, Cate and Bigsby regally stood as if they were a royal couple and greeted arriving guests. Millions of dollars were at stake tonight, money that could be added to Bigsby’s political war chest by wealthy patrons. Cate had corralled and badgered to death donors. No one said no to her unless they wanted to feel her wrath. She was a ruthless, conniving bitch who would think nothing about taking down the most powerful people unless they played nice. All those traits made her an excellent match for Bigsby.
Bigsby adjusted his bow tie, looking ultra sharp in his black tuxedo with a white silk cummerbund. He advanced forward, offering his hand to me. “Sinthia, it’s great to see you.”
I shook his hand. Bigsby lingered a second or so long on the handshake. I quickly pulled my hand away, barely suppressing the urge to wipe my palm on my gown to remove any trace of his touch.
Cate swayed frontward. Her mask of neutrality slipped as she eyed the deep-V neckline plunging down to my belly button. Her lips pressed into a thin line. Then she said, “Thank you for coming, Sinthia.”
My irritation swelled. Cate was an uptight, judgmental witch. I was comfortable with who I was. It had taken me too many years to get comfortable in my skin.
My gaze swept over her gown. It wasn’t my design, but I could admit Cate oozed glamour from her elegant updo to her couture white-and-black ball gown and the pair of white gloves she’d donned.
“I was dragged here,” I responded stiffly, nodding over at Jade, “by your arm-twisting niece.”
Cate inclined her head with her eyes locked on Jade. “You’re late,” she snapped.
Jade’s lips pursed. “I’m not in the mood to argue tonight. Just be happy I came to this circus.”
They tensely faced off.
Cate’s eyes narrowed, disapproval turning down the corners of her mouth. She bit out, “Jade, a minute in private.” She smiled warmly at Bigsby. “Darling, I’ll just be right back.” She turned on her heel, walking toward the corner of the room.
Jade swiveled to me and said, “Sin, I’ll be right back,” and then she followed Cate.
The top of the staircase opened to a huge space. My eyes flickered through the room. The stunning venue had been transformed for the occasion with light-gray sofas and flowers placed throughout. It was amazing and hard to take in the splendor all at once. My gaze paused on Erika and Ariana, who were huddled together and whispering while giving the guests sly glances.
“What a beautiful bracelet. Where did you get it?”
My head snapped to look at Bigsby, only to find his eyes locked on my wrist.
“A gift.” I kept my answer short.
“Scottish?”
I arched a brow. “What?”
A muscle twitched beneath Bigsby’s left eye. “The bracelet is Victorian Scottish.”
“How do you know that?”
Bigsby held up his hand, displaying a chunky diamond and ruby–encrusted horseshoe gold ring on his middle finger. “I have a distinct taste for jewelry.”
I suspiciously eyed him. He tried to look innocent but failed. I absolutely didn’t like something about Bigsby, and my dislike had grown when he launched a bid for New York City mayor as an independent candidate.
“We have something in common—Scottish family roots.” His eyes narrowed. “But curiously, your last name isn’t Scottish. Why is that?”
I was just about to tell him it was none of his fucking business when a couple I recognized from television sauntered up to him. Bigsby’s body tightened as he ran his hand over his salt-and-pepper hair with agitation.
“We’ll definitely continue this conversation later.” He reached to touch my elbow.
I stepped back, avoiding his caress. His eyes went cold before turning away, promptly dismissing me to greet the couple.
I turned and made a beeline toward Ariana and Erika.
Ariana kissed my cheek before twirling around in the Swarovski crystal-covered halter jersey column dress I had designed. “Go ahead. Tell me how hot I look.”
“Ariana, you look beautiful, but trouble is on the horizon, and I need you to rescue my bestie.” I pointed my finger over to the corner where Cate had Jade hemmed in while jabbing her bony finger in Jade’s face. “Like right now.”
Ariana’s face turned thunderous. “I’ll be right back,” she said before charging over to Cate and Jade.
I smiled at Erika. “So how do you feel in your first Sin Michaels design?”
Erika was stunning. The dark richness of her skin contrasted beautifully against the form-fitting pale-yellow silk gown that featured a neckline composed of silver crystal embroidery.
She air-kissed me. “Gorgeous, sexy, perfect. All of the above.”
“Good. That’s what I like to hear”— I dramatically pursed my lips—“because I’m really sensitive about my shit.”
I wasn’t kidding. I’d dealt with difficult clients who rejected all my sketches, asked me to try other options, and then ended up picking the first sketch I’d shown them, wasting my precious time. But Erika was the opposite of all my notoriously difficult clients. When I’d shown her several sketches, she’d loved them
all. She’d said she wouldn’t pick, and she’d wear whatever I designed for her. That had shocked the shit out of me. I’d been in design heaven when she gave me complete creative control.
Erika looped an arm through mine. We walked toward the thick of the gala patrons milling around. “My husband has been drooling over me, and that’s worth the price of admission, darling.” She grinned at me. “Oh, speak of the handsome devil.”
A tall blond man walked over to us and kissed Erika’s cheek with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Darling, this is Sinthia, the designer I told you about. Sinthia, this is my husband, Mitch Fillion.”
I never met Mitch while dating Kyle. I noted he looked nothing like Kyle, except for his blond hair.
Mitch stepped frontward and shook my hand. “Erika was talking about you nonstop on the limo ride over here.” He smiled at Erika. “It takes a lot to impress my wife.”
Erika leaned forward and whispered, “I’ve got a girl crush.”
He chuckled. “Should I be worried?”
She smiled up at him. “Nope. My girl-on-girl phase disintegrated when I graduated from college. I’m all yours.”
I could tell they were in love.
Mitch wrapped his arm around her. “After our energetic limo action, I’m not complaining.” He kissed her ear.
I almost swallowed my tongue when the Television Producer Voted Most Likely to Bitch-Slap an Actor giggled like a damn schoolgirl.
Erika pinched his ass.
I cleared my throat loudly and said, “Right here, guys. I’m right here.”
Normally, couple PDA made me uncomfortable, but they were cute.
Erika inclined her head, peering around the room, when her eyes narrowed. I turned to look at what had caught her eye. It was Kyle and a blonde barreling through the crowd toward us.
My breathing picked up. I was baffled as to why I had a lump in my throat while my stomach churned. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him since the night I caught him cheating. The heartbreaking memory of his jeans bunched around his ankles and a blonde preparing to deep-throat him hit me. Kyle had ripped my heart out and stomped on it until it was a bloody pulp. Yet here he was, heading for me with a ridiculously big smile on his handsome face, staring at me as if we were long-lost friends. As abruptly as the feelings had appeared, they disappeared.
“Mitch, you’d better do something.” Erika’s heated stare bore into Mitch. “I swear, if he says anything to embarrass Sinthia, I’ll castrate him.”
Erika’s vehemence broke the tension, and I bit back a laugh. I could tell Erika wasn’t bluffing from the way her fingers clenched and unclenched as if she were actually squeezing the shit out of Kyle’s balls.
“Calm down, Erika.” Mitch patted her arm. “He won’t. I warned him I wouldn’t tolerate his rude behavior.” He looked at me. “Sinthia, Erika didn’t go into detail, but she did make it very clear that Kyle was less than kind to you in high school.” He sighed heavily. “The long and short of it is I wasn’t the greatest father when his mother and I were married. Kyle went through a rebellious asshole phase, and I pretended not to notice.”
I smiled, liking his brutal honesty.
He touched my elbow. “I can’t make amends for anything he’s done in the past, but I can hold him accountable for his behavior tonight. Trust me on this.”
“It’s okay, Mitch. I’m fine.” Surprisingly, I was. There was no pang of unrequited love. There was nothing—no emotions, no desire. Just fucking nothing for Kyle.
Kyle dragged along the beautiful blond woman clinging to him like arm candy. “Sinthia, wow. It’s so good to see you,” he said, leering at me as if he wanted to eat me alive. “You look really great!”
The blonde’s fingers possessively tightened around his arm. Frankly, she was captivatingly beautiful, so I had no idea why she would be insecure in my presence.
I coolly eyed him. “Kyle,” I responded.
I really wished I could laugh at the fact that time had not been good to Kyle, but that was far from the truth. He looked the same. Tall and blond, he was gorgeous, with a cock-sure smirk that made me want to smack him senseless.
Erika growled, “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Kyle, stop staring at Sinthia with your mouth hanging open. Introduce your wife.” Her hands went to her hips, accentuating her small waist.
“Oh, Kyle.” Mitch covered his face with his hand.
He shot Mitch an annoyed stare before looking back to me. “Sin, this is—”
I cut him off. “It’s Sinthia, not Sin. Only friends call me Sin.”
His smile slipped. “Sinthia, this is my wife Claire,” he muttered under his breath.
I politely nodded at her. She nodded right back.
Thankfully, Jade materialized by my side, looping her arm around mine. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know my family crisis was averted, and no Bellisario was killed in the making of the reality show starring Cate.” She turned to smile at Erika and Mitch. “Hello, guys.” She pursed her lips at Kyle. “Oh, look, it’s Kyle, the prick.”
Kyle glared at her, and she glared right back.
A giggle slipped out of Claire’s mouth before she slapped a hand over it. Kyle coolly looked at her, and her face went back to a blank mask.
Shit, she was like some doll being manipulated by her puppet master.
Jade smiled widely at Mitch and Erika. “We’ll see you two later. There’s a bar calling our names.”
I barely had time to wave good-bye to Erika and Mitch before Jade smoothly maneuvered me away.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Kyle leering at me. From the determined glint in his eyes, I knew his mission was to pursue me like a stalker.
“Damn, that was fucking uncomfortable,” I whispered.
“He’s an idiot. I swear, he was sporting a hard-on while he was drooling over you.”
Seeing Kyle again had been that heart-stopping moment I’d dreaded for years. Frankly, it hadn’t had quite the drama and anxiety I’d anticipated. I’d felt absolutely nothing—no pitter-patter of my heart, no I-wish-he-were-mine-again angst. I said a thankful prayer to the universe that the conceited, egotistical douche bag was someone else’s problem.
“Let’s head to the bar. I’m going to need something stronger than champagne to get through this shit of a night,” I said.
We strolled amiably among the glittering rich and star-studded men and women as we each casually snagged a glass of whisky and a canapé from the passing waiters. Celebrities preened for the photographer floating through the crowd.
Shrewdly, Cate had ensured that only her richest friends were invited, and every one of them was competing for social media clicks and likes. The conversations were punctuated with little, “Oh,” “Hey,” and, “Sorry,” as heels landed on long skirts.
Attending enough of these events had taught me how to move in a roomful of vultures. I snickered when men’s eyes followed me with blatant interest and their dates tensely clutched on to them while shooting me daggers. My tattoo-covered back and stripper strut ensured I didn’t blend with the affluent crowd, even in my couture gown.
Reaching the venue’s midpoint, I glanced across the room, only to see McKay holding court with Ram by the bar. My eyes locked with McKay, and then the crowd shifted, cutting off our view of each other.
“Damn. Shit just got real,” I muttered under my breath.
The throng moved again. McKay was checking me out with unveiled interest.
I tried to calm my beating heart, but to no avail. Biting my bottom lip, I drank him in. Jesus. He looked smoking hot. If you looked fuckable up in the dictionary, McKay’s name would be right there next to it. He sizzled in a shawl-collared tuxedo paired with a crisp tailored white shirt, black silk bow tie, black leather shoes, and a Panerai watch. Ram was looking flawless in a white tuxedo. It was masculinity at its finest.
McKay’s eyes flashed as he arched his eyebrow at me. I stopped and turned so I was facing Jade and my back was toward McKay.<
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Jade curiously looked at me. “What’s up?”
“Don’t look. That’s McKay by the bar,” I hissed.
Of course, Jade did the exact opposite of what I’d asked and stared boldly in his direction.
I wanted to choke her. “Really? What part of ‘don’t look’ was unclear?”
Staring over my shoulder, Jade whispered loudly, “Which one?”
“In the black tux with the black silk bow tie. He’s staring at me like I owe him money,” I responded. “Because I do.”
“Damn! Look at that face.” Jade blinked and then blinked again. “He’s crazy hot.”
“No. He’s just crazy.” I turned back around, glaring at him. Okay, he was hot, but I’d be damned if I acknowledged the way my cunt pulsed under his scrutiny.
He appeared hard, domineering, in control. The disdain in his eyes as he glared at the spoiled-rich patrons said he didn’t like them. He barely tolerated them. At least he and I had that much in common. He just didn’t fit into their world despite his ultra-expensive suit and shoes. I could tell he didn’t want to by the tattoo etched across his neck. People in this world didn’t have tattoos. They looked down their noses at people like him and me. I guessed he and I did have a little in common.
Jade grinned at me. “Oh my! He’s definitely a suck-and-swallow situation.”
“If you don’t lower your voice, I’m going to cunt-punt your skinny ass across this room. Now calm down and act like a lady for once.”
“I am a lady—a freaky lady.” She winked before eyeballing McKay. “Jesus. He’s big all over. I’d bet you he’s packing big time.”
I swallowed anxiously because I was way too interested in finding out. “I don’t doubt it. Damn! He probably has women lining up for a chance to find out.”
She arched a brow. “Including you?”
My pulse accelerated at her question. Yes. There was no doubt in my mind that he was bound to be my next mistake.
“Not even touching that question, Jade.”
A smile curved her lips. “Scared, huh?”
I sighed. “Not in the least. My bad history with men has taught me to stay away from shiny, sharp objects.”
