Page 41 of When You Are Mine

Kerris nodded, her mind only half on the conversation. She wasn’t in the mood for Sebastian’s pompous posturing.

“Cam, I’m going to the bathroom for a minute.” She leaned into his shoulder. “And then maybe we can go?”

“Yeah.” Cam bent to kiss the top of her head, whispering in her ear. “We still have a lot to talk about.”

Tonight there would be no escape. She knew what her answer should be, but she couldn’t imagine “yes” actually coming out of her mouth; that word would burn any bridge that could ever lead to Walsh, but she would say it tonight.

She didn’t have to use the bathroom, but needed a few moments to herself. She sat on the lid of the toilet seat, collecting her scattered emotions in a closed stall. She’d thought it strange that a residential bathroom would have stalls, but she realized the Walshes had built this section of the house with entertaining on a grand scale in mind, almost like a reception hall.

Kerris rehearsed the night in her head. Sofie’s deliberate needling. Sharing her past with Walsh. Her argument with Walsh about marrying Cam.

What right did Walsh have to care? He wasn’t offering her anything, had never hinted at a permanent relationship. A conflagration of sensations sparked between them every time they touched. It was incredible, but it wasn’t enough. In the end, it could never be enough for her. And he’d never,couldnever, want anything more with her.

* * *

“Who was that girl dancing with Walsh?”

The voice reaching Kerris through the closed stall door was vaguely familiar.

“Got an extra hairpin, Ard? Which girl?”

That voice Kerris would know anywhere. Sofie.

“Short. Really pretty.” Kerris could hear Ardis digging around in her purse, presumably for the hairpin. “Dark hair. She looked familiar.”

“She should’ve looked familiar, she was just cleaning your bathroom this morning. Remember? That’s Cam’s girlfriend.” Sofie laced her voice with the condescending pseudo-pity Kerris was coming to hate. “One of those foster college kids. At one point, I thought the poor thing had a crush on Walsh. Wouldn’t that have been pathetic?”

Anger and hurt burned their way up Kerris’s throat. She gripped the sides of the toilet seat, wishing Sofie’s throat were in her hands.

“What about you and Walsh? You think he’ll ever pop the question?” Ardis asked.

“Ouch, careful with that hairpin. It’s not a weapon. To answeryourquestion, I have to be patient for a little while longer. And then I’ll have everything I’ve been waiting for.”

“And what’s that?”

“Oh, Walsh’s ring, his name, his babies, and his fortune.” Sofie’s I-was-born-ready laugh slithered over Kerris’s nerves. “We’ve known we’d be together since we were kids.”

“Walsh didn’t look like he knew tonight when he was dancing with that girl.”

“Believe me, he knows I’m the one for him, Ard.”

“Why? Because of your trust fund?”

“Honey, Walsh Bennettismy trust fund.” Sofie’s words were slickly coated and smooth. “I mean, not literally. Of course, I have my own money, but he’s my future. I don’t mind his little flirtations because I know where he’ll end up. I’ve waited this long, and the wait is almost over.”

“If you say so.”

“I know so, and so does he. Walsh and I actually talked tonight about getting married. I gave him permission to sow his wild oats.”

Kerris’s mouth dropped open, the words pounding into her chest with the force of a wrecking ball.

“Wow, that’s big of you,” Ardis said, sarcasm evident in her tone.

“He can sow the oats. I’ll reap the harvest. Come on. Let’s get back to the party.”

Kerris clamped her lips against a whimper. Tonight? Before he’d met her in the gazebo he’d talked with Sofie about getting married? Wild oats, huh? That only confirmed what Kerris had known all along. She was good enough to have as an appetizer, but only someone with Sofie’s pedigree could be the main dish.

Walsh would nevermarrya girl like Kerris, and more than anything, she wanted a family. Cam was the man for her, and she loved him in her own way. She really did. So what if her heart didn’t flutter when she saw him? And who cared if his kisses didn’t enflame her?

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