Page 64 of Tangled Vows

“This is going to be torture,” he lamented, and a wicked grin curved my lips. I’d intentionally worn his favorite perfume, knowing it would drive him wild.

“It’s only a few hours,” I assured him.

“Too long,” he groaned, his voice muffled by my collarbone.

It was tempting to just stay here, to let him undress me and tangle his hands in my freshly curled hair, but we couldn’t. We were both passionate about the charities that would benefit from this event.

“Come on. We better get going,” I urged.

“Fine,” he grumbled, sounding like a petulant child.

Weiss and his wife, Julianna, Kent and his sister, Luna, Tillman, and Claire were already seated when we arrived. Easton pulled out the empty chair next to Claire, and I slowly sank into it, afraid I’d damage my gown if I wasn’t careful. The moment he took the seat next to me, his hand found mine under the table. He didn’t let go until our food arrived, and he only released me long enough to cut his chicken. Otherwise, he kept a hand on me the whole time. He rested it on my thigh while I ate, immediately threading his fingers through mine once I was finished. Even as he spoke with others at the table, he didn’t release his hold on me, and that made my insides feel all warm and melty. My stomach dipped as he lazily stroked his thumb over my knuckles.

Following dinner, there was a silent auction. There were several items of Wraiths’ memorabilia up for grabs, including a signed jersey from Easton. With their growing popularity and winning streak, people were eager to bid.

Once the silent auction was over, there was live music and dancing accompanied by an open bar. Easton pulled me onto the dance floor, holding me close as we swayed to the music. Aftera few slow songs, we joined his teammates at the bar. We made our rounds, chatting with all the players and their significant others while we sipped champagne. The only person whom Easton hadn’t spoken with was Maxwell. He’d shot Easton a wary glance while conversing with Quinn and Slater, but didn’t say a word to us. Easton never acknowledged his presence, but the tension in the air was thick.

Had something happened between the two of them? Was Easton still holding what Maxwell said about me in the locker room against him?

A buzzing from my clutch drew my attention away, and I rifled through it to find my sister’s name flashing across my phone. Panic surged in my chest. She was home with our mom. What if something was wrong? I excused myself to take the call, but it had stopped ringing by the time I reached a private, quiet area. I instantly called her back, and she answered on the second ring.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as she picked up. My sister released an exacerbated huff before replying.

“Why would you assume something’s wrong?” Makenna snarked. I ignored it, eager to find out why she’d called.

“Is Mom okay?”

“Mom’s fine. I didn’t mean to worry you,” she replied, her tone laced with remorse.

“Oh.” Relief washed over, and my tense shoulders relaxed. “What did you need?”

“I just wanted to see if I could get your Movie Stream login.”

Lord above. Now I understood why people complained about teenagers so much.

“Sure,” I replied, pinching the bridge of my nose. It wasn’t her fault I assumed the worst when she called me. I needed to relax. Mom was doing okay. We hadn’t had any major issues in a couple weeks, and she was receiving the best care possible.

I promised to text her the info before bidding her goodbye. The faint sound of footsteps approaching sounded behind as I typed out my text and hit send. Assuming it was Easton coming to find me, I turned around, a smile on my lips. It died the moment I saw who’d joined me.

46

SHAYLA

“Dad?” My brows lifted in surprise. I hadn’t seen him all night, but clearly he’d been watching me, waiting for an opportunity to speak to me alone since Easton hadn’t left my side all night.

His face was blank aside from the tightness around his mouth that was present anytime he was disappointed. I’d seen it a lot growing up, but even more so in the years following the divorce.

“What have you done?” he asked, his voice hard. This was the first time we’d spoken since I'd gotten married. Easton’s lawyers had handled the transfer of my trust fund, and we hadn’t crossed paths at work. Clearly he wasn’t here to offer belated congratulations.

“What do you mean?” I asked flatly, crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn’t in the mood for one of his lectures, but I was curious to see what he would say.

“Easton. Walker,” he growled, his nostrils flaring. “How could you be so stupid?” I drew back, surprised, my hands going to my hips as anger surged inside me.

“Excuse me?”

“I see right through your sham of a marriage. You just wanted your trust fund, so you whored yourself out to the highest bidder to get it,” he sneered, his lip curling in disgust. My heart dropped, my stomach tightening at his words as a sick feeling settled there. Was that really what he thought of me? My own father? I opened my mouth to respond, to refute his claim, but no words came out.

“That is my wife you’re speaking to,” came a deep, menacing voice from behind me, and I stiffened. No, no, no. He didn’t need to witness this. It was bad enough I had to endure my father’s disdain, but for Easton to have a front row seat to it was the worst kind of humiliation.

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