Page 26 of A Man After Midnight

Chapter Eleven

Caroline walked into the hotel bar, searching in the dimness for Wren. He had invited her to the mixer that signified the end of Troublemaker’s semi-annual financial and pre-planning meeting. She saw his tall frame toward the back and started walking. Only as she neared did she see the stunning redhead from the other day standing next to him. Their bodies were leaning toward each other and Wren had his hand resting on her shoulder. Ordinarily, such an innocent pose would not knock the breath from her body. But this did. There was something very intimate about Wren’s hold, his thumb lightly rubbing the redhead’s skin.

Jealousy surfaced, and before Caroline could tamp it down, she locked eyes with the woman. A moment passed, one that didn’t need words because the meaning was clear. A language only two women after the same man could speak. The redhead gave a dark, mocking smile before saying something to Wren, who bent his head to hear.

Caroline escaped into the bathroom to take a moment to collect herself. She stood in front of the mirror, seeing not her reflection but an image of Wren and the woman in bed together. His body thrusting into hers as she clawed his back in equal desire.

It shouldn’t have bothered her because she made her peace with her emotions. Or she thought she had. In any case, she thought she’d come to terms with her temporary position in Wren’s life, but jealousy didn’t respond to common sense.

The door opened and the redhead walked in, coming to stand beside Caroline and staring into the mirror as she reapplied lipstick. Caroline’s heart hammered but she refused to stare at the woman.

“So,” the redhead said by way of greeting. “You’re the weekend plaything.”

“Excuse me?” Caroline snapped, her eyes flashing over to meet the woman’s.

“I could see it on your face.” The woman sighed as she put her lipstick back in her clutch bag. “He’s not a faithful type of man. I should know,” she added, smiling ruefully. “I was engaged to him. Being faithful isn’t in his nature. But then again, is it in any man’s?”

The redhead turned and walked out without a backward glance. Caroline watched her retreat, a mixture of rage and frustration surging through her. The comments reverberated through Caroline’s mind, down through her body to punch a hole into her heart. The air left her lungs in a deflated hiss, and she slumped against the sink counter.

He had cheated on his fiancée?

The thought had her old fears roaring back to life. Even if she had been contemplating more with Wren, she could never be with someone who had cheated in their relationship. It was then she realized she might be a bit more emotionally invested in Wren than she’d previously thought, and the knowledge rocked her to her core. She was playing with fire, because he was not a permanent situation.

She had to get out of there. Get away from him.

Caroline returned to the party, the redhead’s words playing through her mind like a broken record. She saw Wren immediately and a smile lit up his face when he saw her. She could see the desire flare in his eyes as he appraised her from head to toe. Caroline knew she looked great in the cherry red sheath gown that hooked at her neck and fell in a ripple of silk. Her arms were bare and she clutched a dainty bag in her left hand.

But despite the warmth of the room and the heat of his gaze, she felt cold inside. Felt her soul slip back into that comfortable numbness. He held out his hand for her but she couldn’t take it. After a moment, with a puzzled frown, he dropped it back to his side. Instead he moved beside her and placed his hand in the small of her back, guiding her forward, and she let him because slipping back into the mask was easy. It was safe to let the void inside grow until she was nothing left but a beautifully wrapped shell.

They spent some time mingling, though most of the people blurred around her. She caught glimpses of Aldy, always with a nearly empty champagne flute, smiling and having fun, but unlike her friend she wanted to escape the crowd, the people.

“Ready for dinner?”

Caroline looked up at Wren and nodded, anxious to escape the cloying sensation of the room squeezing in on her. He waved goodbye to various people as they made their way out of the banquet hall toward the elevators.

As they took the elevator to the top floor restaurant, Caroline stared out of the glass capsule. Wren stayed silent next to her, though the tension between them snapped like electricity. His hands were shoved into his jacket pockets and he looked far from relaxed.

“What’s the matter?”

Caroline jumped at the unexpected question. “I have a headache.”

He didn’t reply but she could feel his stare on her. She didn’t look at him. When the elevator doors opened, she hurried out, walking in front of him toward the restaurant’s maître d'. They were shown to a table immediately, next to a glass window that overlooked the East River. The bright lights of the city gave it a warmth and charm missing in the daylight hours. But the magic was lost on Caroline as she sat stiffly in her chair.

“Is it really just a headache?” he commented once the maître d' had left.

She looked at him finally and her heart ached at how handsome he appeared in the romantic candlelight that flooded around them.

“I saw you with a redheaded woman earlier,” she said, ignoring the question. “In fact, I saw you with her yesterday as well.”

He didn’t acknowledge the statement, but she saw his jaw tighten.

“Who is she?” Caroline asked.

“She’s nobody,” he answered.

“Really? It seemed as if you knew her.”

Wren’s eyes narrowed. “I know her. But like I said, she’s nobody.”

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