Page 12 of Accidental Attraction

The car door opened, and he sent me one last smile before sliding out. Instantly, the sounds of yelling and clicking of cameras reached my ears. Taking one last deep breath, I grabbed Liam’s hand as he held it out for me. Praying that I wouldn’t fall and make a fool out of myself, I got out of the car and straightened up. Immediately, blinding flashes of light hit both of us. I gripped Liam’s hand tightly with my shaking one. I let him pull me alongside him.

With my free hand I gripped the bottom of my dress so I wouldn’t step on it. My head whipped in different directions as people called our names. Flashes of light blinded me for a minute, and I gripped onto Liam’s hand harder.

“Almost there,” he whispered down at me. Yes, even in five-inch heels I was still shorter than he was. Lennon’s voice echoed in the back of my mind as we walked toward the door, telling me to smile. I forced one on my lips so people could take photos of us and not think I wasn’t happy or something. Thankfully a minute later we reached the door and walked through it, leaving all the yelling and flashing behind us. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and leaned against Liam.

“You did good, Jenna,” he said and smiled down at me. I smiled back, feeling slightly better. Knowing that Liam was here next to me and not going anywhere made me feel better. He squeezed my hand reassuringly before we made our way deeper inside of the building, toward where the Benefit was being held. The moment we entered the room, it seemed everyone stopped what they were doing to look at us. I felt everyone’s gaze scrutinizing me. Not wanting to let them get to me, I held my head up and swallowed my nerves.

As we moved around the room, I noticed there were at least one hundred people here. All the men were dressed in expensive-looking suits, and next to them their wives were in probably more expensive gowns and jewelry. The women looked so fancy and rich, affirming Lennon’s teachings. She and Liam were right. These people could pick you up and eat you without so much as batting an eyelash. I noticed most of them looked around the room with a snotty look upon their faces as they judged everyone, even their so-called friends.

All along the walls surrounding the ballroom were paintings, sculptures, and other items, along with what looked like clipboards with stuff written on them. I briefly learned what the Benefit was about, but I was more concerned knowing who was who.

“Everything here can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. People can write down their price for a trip to Paris or something on those clipboards.” Liam gestured with his head as we passed them.

“But can’t these people afford to go any day they want?” I whispered.

“Yes, but this is for a special cause. Being invited here, they are expected to make some effort to buy or donate. We are raising money to help the children’s hospital here in New York. The money will help the hospital try to find a cure for various illnesses, as well as expand and get more doctors needed for the children.” I stared up at him in awe. I didn’t know he was such a giver and passionate about helping others, especially children. It was a great cause, and knowing that Liam’s family’s company was hosting the Benefit made me feel proud to know him.

“Liam Stanford! It is great to see you again,” I heard a loud, booming voice call from in front of us. Looking away from Liam, I saw a burly man coming toward us. He stood a good two inches taller than Liam and had quite a gut to him. His face had a slight red glow to it, hinting he has already started drinking, even though it was a little bit after seven. The man was a big guy, but something about him seemed jolly.

“Kenneth, it is nice to see you as well.” Liam dropped my hand to shake the man’s.

“And this must be your fiancé. Hello, love, I am Kenneth Poltz,” he said, sticking his hand out to me. I sent him a smile and shook his hand.

“Hello, I am Jenna Howard.”

“Wow, she is a pretty little thing. Good catch, boy.” Kenneth smacked Liam’s shoulder roughly. “Honey, come meet Liam’s fiancé,” he said over his shoulder. Moving to the side, he revealed a beautiful, tall, brunette woman. She looked to be in her late forties but still gorgeous. Her hair was in a curled bun, and she was wearing a deep blue dress that highlighted her bright blue eyes. She looked like she was of Hispanic descent.

“Hello, I am Maria.” She smiled kindly at me. I instantly felt relaxed around these two.

“Hi.” I awkwardly smiled back at her.

“Kenneth owns one of the biggest stores in America,” Liam said.I nodded, remembering hearing of him.

“That is impressive,” I commented. The sound of Liam’s name being called made us look in the other direction.

“I’m sorry, but my fiancé and I better go and see some other people. We will be back to talk, Kenneth and Maria,” Liam said regretfully. I could tell he would rather stay here and talk to the Poltz instead of going around to everyone else.

“Don’t worry, boy, we aren’t going anywhere. We want to learn more about your lovely girl.” He grinned at me, which earned an eye roll from his wife. Sending me a smile, she let me know she was used to her husband saying such things. I smiled back at them and trailed behind Liam as he led me to a new group of people.

For the next hour we went from group to group, meeting different people. I couldn’t be more thankful that Liam had Lennon teach me about them. At first introduction most of them stared at me weirdly, like I was some bimbo, but when I congratulated them on a business deal or said something about their business, they acted differently. Well, that was the men. After they checked me out they were fine, but their wives were another story. Most of the ones we met looked down at me rudely and scoffed whenever I talked. To say I wanted to strangle them was an understatement. But since I couldn’t, I just kept ignoring them and talking to their husbands, making the wives even madder at me.

As we drifted from group to group, I felt stares following me the entire time. It had only been an hour and I was already fed up with these people. At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle this, but now I wanted more than anything to yell at everyone to stop staring and mind their own damn business. After years of being talked about behind my back, I was done with people doing so. I didn’t care if these people thought they were all high and mighty.

My feet were starting to hurt, and my mouth was hurting and getting dry from talking too much. After breaking away from yet another group, I looked around, realizing there were still a lot of people to talk to.

“Um, Liam?” I asked, tugging on his hand.

“Yes?” He immediately looked down at me. “Is something wrong?” His voice was filled with worry. Smiling softly, I shook my head

“No, I was just wondering if I could get a drink.”

“Of course. No alcohol,” he said.

“Wait, how did you know I don’t like alcohol?” I asked, confused. I hadn’t told him I didn’t like it.

“I saw your face at my parents’ when we had wine, and whenever we eat you only ever have water,” he explained. I stood there, shocked. “I’ll go get you a water. You just stay right here.” Nodding, I watched him leave. When I looked around, I saw a few people duck their heads, not wanting to be caught staring. Feeling awkward standing there by myself, I opened my clutch and grabbed my phone. When I pressed on the home button, I saw Lennon had texted me an hour ago wishing me luck and asking me to tell her how it was tomorrow. I also got a text from Sophia asking how things were. Sending them both a quick reply, I put my phone back and glanced up, looking for Liam.

Thinking he got held up, I looked around for his mop of brown hair and instantly froze. I stared wide-eyed at the woman standing not even three feet in front of me. Her blonde hair was shorter than when I had last seen it and half pulled up. Her face was, of course, older, but had aged well. She still looked the same to me. I watched as she laughed, and then I looked around as my last shred of doubt vanished. A pair of familiar green eyes glanced over at me, then looked away.

I felt like everything around me vanished, leaving only me and her. My heart shattered and dropped to the pit of my stomach. The woman in front of me I thought I’d never see again. Hell, I was hoping to never see her again. Old memories I had pushed deep down rushed up and captured me. My eyes welled up with tears as I stared at her smiling and lacing her hand through a man’s. I watched as the man smiled down lovingly at her and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Even though it had been fourteen years, everything about her was familiar. She looked the exact same as she did all those years ago when she left me on the doorstep of a house, clutching my teddy bear. She kept glancing around her but didn’t seem to recognize me. All different kinds of emotions rolled around inside me, from anger to sadness to hate. My breath got stuck in my chest, and I felt myself breathing heavily trying to get some air.

“Jenna,” I heard Liam say, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the woman. “Jenna, what’s wrong?” he asked.

I didn’t hear anything he said after that as I stared at the woman who abandoned me when I was five. I stared at my mother. I never thought I would see her again.

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