Page 14 of The Billionaire's Princess

“You look amazing, by the way.” His appreciative gaze sweeps me. “You always do.”

“Thanks,” I say uncomfortably, determined to extract myself from the situation immediately. “I don’t mean to be abrupt, but there’s really no point—”

“Is that you, Carly?”

I turn, delighted at the interruption and even more delighted when I see who it is. It’s Damon’s brother Ryker, smiling and handsome in his dark suit. I can’t help but scan the crowd behind him, hoping against hope that Damon is also here tonight, but no such luck. Still, something inside me soars at this renewed connection with Damon and that magical night, no matter how slight. No matter what Damon may or may not have told him about me.

“Ryker.” I smile and kiss him on both cheeks, determined to get his last name if nothing else. “Aren’t you a handsome devil tonight? So wonderful to see you again.”

“You too,” he says, turning to Percy with speculative interest as he extends his hand. “Ryker Black. Slight acquaintance of Carly’s.”

Black! Damon’s last name is Black, I realize with a delicious flush of pleasure. I could find him again if I wanted to.

Which, I now realize, I desperately do.

“Percy Wilson. Delighted.”

“Won’t you join us for a drink?” I ask, ridiculously eager to keep Ryker here for as long as possible.

“Love to,” he says, a disquieting glimmer of mischief sparking to light in his eyes. “I’ll be back in a few. There are some people I need to speak to first.”

With that, he strides off into the crowd—still no sign of Damon—and consigns me to more of my private discussion with Percy.

“How do you know him?” Percy asks, a vague note of suspicion in his voice that sets my teeth on edge. In addition to its being none of his business at this point in our relationship, I have no intention of opening a discussion about what may or may not be going on between me and any member of the Black family. “I wasn’t aware that you had any connection to the Black family.”

“You know them?” I asked, startled.

“Who doesn’t? They own half of the city with their real estate empire.”

A bell belatedly rings in my brain.

“Hang on. That Black family?”

“Of course. Who else?”

I file this fascinating tidbit of information away for later and focus on the issue at hand.

“Percy. I’m sorry, but I have to be honest. I didn’t expect to see you here tonight. And as far as I’m concerned, we’ve already discussed everything we needed to discuss.”

“We’ve been together for years, darling. You don’t just scuttle that. We can work things through. No reason why we can’t when we haven’t told your grandmother or my parents yet.”

My grandmother is a touchy issue. I haven’t yet told her about the broken engagement. I couldn’t face her disappointment on top of everything else when I went home three weeks ago, I suppose. But I can’t put it off forever, especially if Percy thinks the fact that I haven’t told her yet is a sign that I want to reconcile. Not to mention the fact that if the press gets a whiff that there was an engagement, much less a broken engagement, this whole thing will blow up in my face.

“My grandmother is my problem. I’ll tell her soon. But why make me say things to hurt you?” I lower my voice. “I don’t love you the way a wife should love her husband. You should be glad to see the back of me.”

He tries not to wince but clearly absorbs this the way he would a backhand across the face. Making me feel all the worse.

“I’m not glad. I’ll never be glad.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, Percy.” I try to hide my rising impatience and stick to my kind and gentle script as best I can, but I can’t stop myself from scanning the crowd for any sign of Damon. Can’t help wishing I could swap him out for the man standing in front of me. “But our romantic relationship is over. That’s not going to change. We need to work on being friends now.”

“I’m not giving up on you,” he says.

I can see that.

Feeling suddenly drained and morose, I look away and sip my champagne, wishing I had the power to make Percy move on with his life. And to either permanently eject Damon Black from my thoughts or to make him materialize out of the crowd.

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