Page 11 of Flynn

"Immensely."

*****

"I am ready if you are," Michael told her quietly as the hours passed. He had seen the fixed smile on her face as people continued to whisper behind their hands and send her curious looks.

"I am not running out like a scared rabbit," she told him loftily, lifting her chin and staring at a couple who were looking at her down.

"I admire your fortitude and courage, but the smile on your face is about to crack wide open. Honey, you are as stiff as the proverbial steel. I think it's time to bow out gracefully."

"I-" her voice trailed off, her fingers automatically digging into his jacket.

"What-" Michael felt his body stiffening, the anger coming to the fore as he stared at the man striding towards them. "That goddamned son of a bitch!" He hissed. "I am going to forget that I am carrying a badge and a gun-"

"No." Mustering up a strength she never knew she possessed, she faced the man, whom she had considered a friend and her former colleague, as he stopped right in front of them, a tentative smile on his beautiful face. She knew the drop in conversation around them and that people were straining to hear what was said.

"Ryleigh. Michael-" Jerome recoiled from the murderous look the other man was giving him and swung his gaze to look at her. "I know you are thinking that I shouldn't be here, but I -" he spread his hands in a pleading gesture.

"I am one of the presenters here tonight and could not get out of it." He started to reach for a hand, dropping his when she subtly stepped back. "I just want to tell you how sorry I am about what happened. I never meant to hurt you. We were friends, and I have the utmost respect for you-"

"So much so that you were carrying on with my fiancé. I understand perfectly." Reining in her temper, she took a breath. "I am not going to accept your apology. I would like to say that I am woman enough to move past this, but I am having a difficult time doing that."

She looked around and felt like a deer caught in the headlights as people stood there, peering at them curiously. "I suggest you go on about your business and get out of my face."

"Now." Michael gritted. "Before I forget, I am supposed to uphold the law."

Jerome took one look at the set look on his face, turned, and hurried away without another word.

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Ryleigh was so acutely conscious of the stares and the bursts of conversation that she wanted to find a room, lock the doors, and never return.

"Take me home." She whispered to Michael in a suffocated voice.

"With pleasure."

Across the room, Flynn watched in helpless fury as the scene unfolded. He knew who the son of a bitch was, of course, and his first instinct had been to march over there and wrap his fingers around his neck.

The fierce protectiveness he was feeling towards the woman startled him, and that was what kept him in check. If he intervened, he would make a difficult situation much worse, and he did not want to do that to her.

So, he stood there and watched the scene unfold, hating the busybodies salivating over her misery. Tossing back the scotch he had switched to, he had just decided that he could not stomach much more when he watched the man hurrying away, his head bent, his shoulders hunched as if trying to make himself invisible.

Flynn felt his hands clenched into fists and had to turn away before he gave in to the urge to do some bodily damage.

Unaware of the reaction she was evoking in him, Ryleigh said her goodbyes to several people she considered her friend and gracefully made her way out of the room, her head held high.

*****

She held it together long enough to get to her place. Michael was her best friend, but even so, she did not relish having her naked emotions on display, not even to him. The shock of seeing Jerome at the function had taken its toll, and the humiliation had started again. Not to mention the pain of losing a man she had been in love with.

Stepping out of the dress, she hung it carefully inside the closet and went to the vanity mirror to clean off the little makeup she had on. Then she just sat there, staring at her image in the mirror. People were always admiring her skin tone. "You have such flawless skin, Ry."

She had always been told. She had inherited the shape of her face, the arched brows, and the small pointy nose from her mother. Her thick hair was an inheritance from her dad. She blinked as she recalled comparing Glen to him. And she had told him so.

"You remind me of him." She had said after one of their gentle lovemaking sessions. "He was an honorable man, and I did not think I would be saying this about a politician, but you have changed my point of view." They had discussed policies and the changes he wanted to invoke.

"I don't just want votes, darling." He looked so sincere, his light blue eyes shining. "I want to change the way people see us as public servants. So many things need to be done, and I want to make a difference. I hope you are preparing yourself to go straight to the White House." He had told her half teasingly.

"It's not something I am looking forward to, but I will make the sacrifice for you."

"Damn you!" She whispered tearfully. "Damn you for making a fool of me and making me believe you."

---