A Second Chance (38 page)

He had finally shaved clean, the skin of his cheeks pale against the midnight darkness of his neatly combed hair
.
She remembered touching
his hair
, the silky texture still alive under her fingertips at the sheer memory.

His voice helped her to gather her wits,
arousing her from
her stupor. Not the best way to start the evening, she thought, listening to him with effort.

‘
Here
,
th
is is
for you
.
’
His outstretched hand held
a rose, dark red and half open. The slightly unfurled petals were almost black, the
velvety
scarlet
sheen
of the middle
gradually
darkening to the outer outline of the perfect bloom. She lifted it to her nose, sniffing appreciatively
at
the fragrant aroma. Sweet and poignant, it was a bold scent.
If it
w
ere
true
that the color of the flower could convey the emotion it represented, the one she was holding was sheer passion and
ecstasy
.

‘
You
look incredible
.
’
His
eyes
traveled
over her face, hair
,
and slender frame.
H
is look
held
a new quality, she
thought
breathlessly, almost able to feel his gaze on her skin. She wasn’t sure what the
new
emotion
was
that
had come
into the way he watched her as he took the delicate bloom and attached it to
the bodice
of her dress
. It was almost…
propriet
ary
, she thought
,
confused.
His fingers rested on the skin of her collarbone for a second too long, almost reluctant to let her go. But she was aware of Laura
bursting
into the room after
hearing
her brother arrive.
Jade
stepped back hastily, a blush coloring her cheeks.

‘Thanks
.
’
S
he
managed
a carefree
smile, knowing that her friend could hear the tremble in her voice. ‘Well, I
’
m already nervous enough to snap
,
as it is. Maybe
that’
s
for the best, because it can only
get
better from here.’

It worked
;
friendly bickering
among
the three of them
filled
the
remaining
minutes
until their departure
.
Laura
jokingly
warned her
to stay
as far
away from Mel as possible, if she wanted to be able to wear this dress ever again.

‘
She
’
ll spill something on you, if nothing else
,
’ she teased, her eyes
mischievous
,
‘
once she sees wha
t a hot little number you are, J
adie
.
’

‘
Nobody
will be
spilling anything on anyone
,
’ Liam interrupted
, grinning reassuringly
.
‘I
’
ll make sure of that. Don’t worry about it.’

He
kept
his promise beautifully as they mingled into the crowd of people invited to the gala. They passed
without incident through
the corridor filled with press
who
snapped photos left and right
.
An amazing
number
of
them
wanted to talk to Liam, his easy smile and air of authority somehow enough to let him pass after a few polite exchanges.
P
eople’s eyes
were
on her, measuring her and trying to figure out her relationship to
Liam
. She was realistic enough to understand that
their
polite compliments were really
meant
to find out who she really was. Or what he saw in her
,
for the matter, she thought as she watched some of the women entering the banquet hall. They were beautiful, poised
,
and elegant, the
ir
breathtaking dresses and perfect make
up just
a part of their allure. They were used to be
ing
seen and
comfortable with conversations,
witty and quick to
laugh
. Definitely
more so
than
she
as she held Liam’s hand and walked next to him
with
her quiet
,
withdrawn smile.

He didn’t seem to mind
. With his
fingers wrapped pr
otectively around her cold palm, he kept her close to his side, their hips almost brushing as they
approached
the entrance. He tried to make her feel more at
eas
e
, telling her
anecdotes about
people he knew
,
making her laugh
despite her nerves
.

Once inside, the pace of their whirlwind entrance slowed instantly.
The
ballroom
was huge,
its small
tables decorated with pristine white linens and silver cutlery sparkling in the light of
the
many crystal
chandeliers.
Music was
in the air,
a
contemporary rock guitar piece weaving its way
among
the crowd
.

Jade
stopped
as her eyes skimmed the colorful sea of people,
the room
humming with laughter and conversations. She was
paralyzed
, the realization that she would have to make small talk to
the
countless people he seemed to know
hitting
her like a ton of bricks.

‘
Wait
,
’
she said, desperate to prolong
th
e
moment before they were immersed in it with no way of retreating. ‘Just give me a second, will you?’

He nodded, the concern in his dark eyes making space for another expression, far more intense and dangerous.
‘
Take
all the time
in
the world
.
’
H
e
bent to her
to
whisper into her ear,
his
words
extremely intimate. ‘I
think I
kn
ow what your last
-
minute
cold feet call for
.
’

He was way too close. That was the only reason her logical thinking stopped, she reasoned later, looking for excuses. How
else
could she explain her sudden loss of common
sense
?
S
he didn’t realize his intentions until it was too
late
.
‘Yeah? What’s that
?
’
she asked innocently.

He didn’t need any more invitation
.
Laughing
softly
,
he
pulled her closer, his mouth coming down to hers in a passionate kiss. She knew it was part of the deal, of course. After all
,
this was the reason for her to come in the first place
—
to m
ake sure
that
Mel
, along with the rest of the world,
would see them tog
e
th
er,
in love
.
B
ut
it didn’t help that her lips seemed to have taken
on a
life of their own, kissing him back with an enthusiasm that couldn’t be justified by her
play
-
act
ing
. Their kiss had been noticed
,
of course, Liam’s head
rising
slowly as he heard someone call his name, a flash of a camera
go
ing
off. Too late to play it cool, she steadied herself on her high heels, catching just a glimpse of
a
man disappearing with his catch.

Behind her,
an amused voice
inquired,
‘
Is that really you
, Liam?
’
Smiling
impishly, Sandra
watched
them with sparkling eyes. She looked wonderful in her slim emerald
-
green dress, her hair swept up into an elegant chignon. ‘
Talk
about letting the cat out of the
bag
, guys.’

‘
Hi
,
M
iss
N
osy
.
’
Liam
was
unaffected
by her teasing, his arm around Jade’s shoulders, the ball of his thumb rubbing gently against the skin of her back.
The gesture calmed her and kept her
in control,
her mind
aware of each tiny invisible circle his thumb was swirling on her
spine
. ‘
How
’
s it going?’

‘Not bad at all. Tom is somewhere at the
buffet
, refueling
.
’
S
he
grinned, her eyes going to Jade
with a conspiratorial wink
.
‘
G
ot to have my minute to myself, you know. My fiancé is partial to Italian cuisine
,
and they have the most amazing
p
enne
arabbiata
over there. I just couldn’t win
th
at
showdown, could I?’

‘
It
is really beautiful here
.
’
Jade
looked around, her eyes going to the elaborate pyramids of
sparkling
champagne glasses at the bar. The room was decorated
too
lavishly for her taste, reminding her of fairy tales from
A Thousand and One Nights
. But to her surprise
,
the event
proved to be
more fun than she
had
expected
;
most
of the
people Liam introduced to her
were
genuinely friendly and happy to include her
in their
conversation
s
.

Sandra was a wonderful friend to have around
;
her witty comments and
whispered
innuendos soon
had
Jade
in stitches.
She laughed out loud, her eyes going over the
crowd
with no specific target.
But
suddenly she wasn’t laughing anymore, her giggle dying in her throat as she saw a pale face watching her
from
across the
room
—
a snow
-
pale face with burning, angry
eyes and
lips pressed tightly together as if to stop them from opening and releasing whatever
their owner
had to say. Mel
’s
golden hair
tumbl
ed
down her naked shoulders all the way to her tiny waist
,
making her look like some wrathful goddess of beauty and revenge. Her white
tunic
-
style dress with a golden pleated
sash
reminded
Jade
of
mythological
Greek
images
she had seen long ago.