Anger and color rose in her cheeks but he couldn’t lead her on. Wouldn’t.
“I need the restroom,” Wes said, stepping back. Weaving through the crowd, he headed for the house. The sprawling estate belonged to a beloved Hollywood starlet who had a niece trying very hard to follow in her aunt’s footsteps. Throwing this awards gala tonight had been a surefire way to gather some of the most well-known and up-and-coming stars in one place. Life was all about connections. In this setting, Wes felt zero. In this crowd, he was completely untethered.
Wes stepped through the oversized open French doors, the tux becoming more uncomfortable with every step.
He pulled his phone out, standing in a stark white hallway with a massive chandelier. He texted his brothers. They needed to find the connection between Vanderben and who he wanted to invest with. If they could find a connection to something that showed his hand, they could persuade Vanderben to sell. Maybe without throwing him a bunch of overpriced offers.
Voices tumbled around him; the scent of spices, herbs, and overwhelming perfumes assaulted him. He wanted to go home. He was tired of playing games and pretending the last six weeks hadn’t been a futile exercise in pretending he couldn’t still taste the sweetness of Hailey’s lips. That he hadn’t noticed the change in their rapport. That he didn’t hate it and spend his nights wishing things were easy with her again.
He turned back toward the terrace. Wes needed to find Ana and tell her he was leaving. That coming had been a mistake and nothing was going to happen between them. Not tonight, not ever.
Through a sea of well-dressed strangers, he saw her by the pool house. He weaved his way in and out of conversations, losing sight of her by the time he reached the edge of the pool. Irritation mounted as he walked forward, the voices and laughter seeming louder, more grating. He was about to text Ana and get out of there when his heart hitched in a way it only did for one face. One person. Like his wishing had brought her to him.
Before his brain, feet, and mouth could work in tandem, a tux-clad guy standing in front of Hailey gripped her arm, leaning into her, crowding her space.
Hailey.
Wes’s feet moved on their own, cutting a path as he watched her eyes widen. She said something Wes couldn’t hear, tried, unsuccessfully, to tug her arm free. Wes’s heart rate hit new heights.
32
This night could not get any worse. Hailey yanked her arm from Dorian’s grasp as Wes surged through the crowd toward them. What is he doing here?
“I mean it; this is pathetic, Hailey. What did you think would happen? I’d see you and want you back?”
She looked up into Dorian’s dark, angry eyes. Why had she ever thought he loved her? Cared about her? Wanted a future with her? The man she’d fallen for may never have existed.
She rubbed her arm where his fingers had pinched. “I know it’s hard to believe, given the size of your ego, but I’m not here for you. I’m working.”
Dorian gave an unpleasant laugh as Wes came to her side. There was something in Wes’s gaze she’d never seen before. Something possessive and almost … untamed. Dorian turned, gave Wes a dismissive look, then leaned into Hailey again, reaching out with his hand.
“Unless you want that hand shoved down your throat, I suggest you don’t touch her again,” Wes said. His voice was low, steady, and laced with barely leashed anger.
Dorian scoffed at him, eyed Wes up and down. “Who the hell are you?”
It took her a minute to surface from the shock of Wes’s reaction. “What are you doing here?” Hailey asked him.
God. That tux was seriously working for him. But she did not need him coming to the rescue with some misplaced best-friend complex. She could take care of herself.
“Is everything all right?” Ana appeared, resting her hand on Wes’s arm.
Hailey’s heart felt like someone had shoved a nail into it.
“Everything is fantastic. I was just complimenting the waitstaff on the wonderful desserts,” Dorian said smoothly. He stepped into Ana. “Lovely to see you again, Ana.”
She looked from Hailey to Dorian, gave a tight smile. “You as well, Dorian. Congratulations on your new role. I’ve heard good things about the show.” She looked at Hailey as she stepped closer to Wes. “Hailey. How are you? I had no idea you were working this party.”
Hailey swallowed the bitterness rising in her throat, unable to look away from where Ana’s hand lay on Wes’s arm. Of course that’s why he’s here. “I’m great. Just finishing up actually. Hope you all have a really great night. Dorian, it was unpleasant at best to see you again.”
She tried to walk away without rushing as bile rose in her throat. Ana. His date is with Ana. You knew this would happen. You told him it should happen. You all but pushed them together, saying how great they looked next to each other. She yanked off her apron, catching her hair and tugging as she pushed her way through the crowd. She’d set out the desserts, she could leave. She’d figure out getting paid later. Tomorrow. Never. Whatever. She just needed to get out of there.
She’d made it to the back door where the “help” parked. Anger and hurt, along with a heaping dose of humiliation, kept her tears at bay. Of all the nights for her past and present to collide. She pulled open the door to her SUV, grateful she’d locked her purse inside. She wasn’t going back into that house for her dishes or anything else tonight. She just needed to be anywhere but here. She’d left this fake, fickle town for a reason.
“Hailey.” Wes slammed a hand on her door, leaned over a little like he was out of breath. “You should play football with the way you weave in and out of groups.” His breathing was choppy.
She glared at him. “Just a little trick the help learn. How to move and be invisible.” Her voice cracked on the last word. That’s how she’d felt standing there with Ana next to him.
Hailey didn’t have money and she laughed too loud at jokes. She didn’t like four-inch heels, didn’t care if her purse was Prada or The Gap. But she thought those things didn’t matter to Wes, despite his upbringing. Clearly, they did. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. It was that he didn’t want one with her. Even after the kiss that had chiseled beneath her friendly feelings, leaving nothing but longing, he didn’t feel the same. Worse, if he did, he was able to deny it and move on. Clearly, Hailey was no better at reading someone now than she had been with Dorian. When the hell was she going to learn?
“Hailey.” He stepped around the door, crowding her so she stepped back, her butt resting on the driver’s seat.
“You should go back to your party, Wes. I didn’t realize your date was this event. With Ana. It shouldn’t surprise me though. You fit with these people.” She didn’t. She’d never been more painfully aware of that than right this minute. I don’t want to fit with them. I want to fit with Wes. Pain lodged like a sharp wedge in her ribs.
“You and I both know that’s an insult.” He was staring at her like he hadn’t seen her face before.
She gave a harsh, unhappy laugh. “It is. It absolutely is. But that doesn’t make it less true.”
“That was your ex.”
She swallowed. “It was.”
Hints of his earlier anger still hovered in his gaze. “I’ve never felt that kind of anger before. When he grabbed you, an actual haze clouded my vision.” Wes reached out, ran a hand over her arm where Dorian had squeezed tightly. There was agony in his tone and expression. “Are you okay?”
Her lip wobbled. Why did he have to sound like he cared so much? Because he’s your friend. She laughed again, bitterly. The pain in her arm was nothing compared to her heart.
She moved her arm, willed herself to keep it together for just a few more minutes. “I’m fine. I need to go. I’m sure Ana will be wondering where you are.”
He ran both of his hands through his hair. “I don’t care and it’s not a date like you’re making it sound.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “None of my business. We’re friends. You’ve made that implicitly clear. Painfully clear. There’s nothing between us other than that. Who you sleep with is your business.”
“I’m not sleeping with Ana.” His voice rose. He took a deep breath. “I’m not sleeping with anyone.”
Hailey’s tears wanted to make an escape and the relief she felt over hearing that didn’t help. “Don’t care.”