Page 90 of Finding Lord Landry

The sound of her gentle laughter garnered attention from a few people sitting close to us. People’s eyes had been on me all night, but the fact I was now seated between the prime minister’s wife and the Lord Speaker placed me directly in the limelight.

“My lady, thank you again for coming,” I said, addressing the Lord Speaker, Baroness Colborne, on my other side. “I understand from Teddy that you and your husband have recently returned from a holiday to Santorini. How did you find it?”

She and I both knew this was a dance in which a certain amount of small talk needed to happen before delving deeper. Teddy had arranged for us to have coffee in his office the following morning with a few other influential MPs, so it wasn’t necessary to talk shop at tonight’s event anyway.

While she explained her Christmas holiday and the joy her grandchildren found in visiting a place they’d only seen on television, I recognized the universal look of joyful affection on her face from sharing tales of her family with someone new.

I glanced over at Kenji and noticed he’d been placed close to Jamie Winthrop. The older woman between them seemed perfectly happy to be entertained by Kenji and Jamie sharing stories with her from both directions, and it was clear the three of them had created one of the more fun pockets along the large expanse of guests.

My fingers curled into a fist. I’d forgotten just how tedious and ridiculous these events were. Teddy leaned over his wife to ask me a question about whether a certain MP had contacted me to arrange for drinks the following week. He reminded me of several other contacts who were here tonight I hadn’t had a chance to speak to yet.

As we spoke, my eyes kept moving over to Kenji, who was obviously having a grand old time yukking it up with Jamie. Jamie’s face split into a happy grin, punching asshole dimples into his cheeks. Kenji’s normally cool demeanor in situations like this was nowhere to be seen tonight. He was happy and talkative, warm and bright.

I wanted to absolutely murder someone. Everyone.

One person in particular.

How dare he tell everyone we were married, then turn around and flirt at my family fundraiser? Didn’t he know everyone was watching? Didn’t he know there would be more photos on the internet of him beaming up at the guy as if Jamie Winthrop was the greatest thing since Wi-Fi?

I was being irrational. I knew it, and I didn’t care. The straightjacket of my self-control was in tatters. The steel box where I’d been keeping my emotions was pulsing like a boiler about to explode.

It took me a moment to realize someone was tapping on my shoulder. Cora’s strained smile alerted me right away to a problem.

“Pardon me for stealing your dinner partner away,” she began, smiling to the ladies on either side of me. “But I need to ask Landry a quick question in private. Please excuse us.”

I glanced over at Kenji’s part of the table only to see his empty seat.

“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as we were far enough away from the table.

“I have no fucking clue,” she hissed. “But you’re going to fix it. Your husband—you know, the one you’ve been glaring at for the past forty-five minutes—is in the cloakroom waiting for you. Figure out a way to get past… whatever the fuck is going on, and don’t come back until you’re ready to lose the murder face.”

She walked away, throwing on a winning smile and flicking the skirt of her gown in place.

I stormed out of the library and down the hall to the coat room, which was really just a deep alcove in the ancient stone building covered by a heavy velvet curtain on a thick brass rail.

As soon as I entered the space and yanked the curtain closed behind me, I saw Kenji on the opposite end in front of a large window past neat rows of winter coats. He stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing?” we both snapped at the same time. Kenji’s was more of a low hiss while, I’ll admit, mine sounded a bit more unhinged.

His eyes darkened as he stalked toward me. “I’m trying to be a dutiful viscountess, my lord. Charm the masses. Look friendly and approachable. Convince a room of influential people that my husband is the perfect candidate for this cockamamie scheme.”

I almost snorted at his use ofcockamamie. It was a word I’d heard his grandmother use on the phone with him before. But I was ten miles past the exit on this bad-mood highway, and nothing was bringing me back.

“Oh?” I snarled. “That was you trying to help me? Flirting with every fucking man in the room?”

I hated how insecure I sounded. Somewhere in the back of my brain was a rational human wincing at my own words and unfair accusations. But that rational human had zero access to my mouth at that moment.

Kenji let out a soft laugh. “You’re being a complete ass right now. I’ve been trying for days to talk to you. I’ve been nothing but friendly and agreeable tonight. I’ve tried to help you, but you can’t?—”

I took two long strides until I was right up in his face. “Help me? Help me? Eye-fucking Jamie Winthrop does not help me, Kenji. If anything, it’s distracting me from being able to do my job,” I growled.

He was so beautiful, so striking in the cool moonlight coming in through the window behind him. A few stray wisps of hair had come loose from the half knot and brushed the side of his face tauntingly. His lips were dark and his angled chin firm. I’d seen him in tuxedos before, but never one custom-tailored for his body. It fit him like a lover, like the way my hands knew him in the dark.

He took a breath as if trying to recenter himself and remain calm. “How would you like me to help you, then?”

My back teeth ached from biting back the words I’d wanted to say to the sycophants and the self-interested power brokers in the room. From biting back words I wanted to say tohim.

From loving him for three goddamn hopeless years. From wanting him every minute of every day.

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