Page 15 of Cayden

It had sounded like a threat and the way she had said ‘schoolteacher’ made it seem as if Blair had been doing prostitution for a living. The woman had made it plain from the beginning that Blair was not good enough for her son.

Tonight, she was going to dazzle and call attention to herself. In the months to come, she will probably be wearing tents. Dr. Melbourne had also warned that there was every likelihood she would be carrying multiples and in that case, she would start to put on weight quite rapidly. She was not going to think about any of it tonight.

Not the fact that she was pregnant, and the risks involved, nor the pain of her husband not speaking to her. Any of it. She was going to focus on having a damn fun time. Her friends were going to be there and even if it meant flirting with a few men, including her brothers-in-law, then so be it. And to hell with everything else.

*****

“What the hell are you wearing?”

It was the first time he was seeing the dress as she removed her cashmere jacket and handed it to the attendant. They had dressed in separate rooms and by the time he came to escort her downstairs, she already had the jacket on.

“What does it look like?” She lifted her chin defiantly and met his furious gaze.

“If you intended to draw attention to yourself, you accomplished it.” His searing gaze slid down and rested on the tantalizing flesh exposed above the body of the stunning raspberry colored dress. The top was styled in a way that left her shoulders and most of her back bare and swirled around her legs whenever she moved.

Diamonds glittered at her throat, lobes and around her left wrist. Her hair was loose, the dark brown strands glowing past her shoulders. Her makeup was flawless, thanks to a crash course given to her by her personal stylist. Her lips, the bottom one full and inviting, were coated with the exact shade of her dress.

Before her marriage to Cayden, her only enhancement was slapping some lip gloss on and calling it a day. Now her vanity unit consisted of enough to outfit the beauty section in a storeand what they cost could feed a third world country for weeks. She had tried to stop feeling guilty about it, without success.

She was turning away when he took her arm and slid it through his arm. His body was tight with tension, and she felt nerves pulsing off her in waves. She was about to call a truce when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

“Claudine. What the hell is she doing here?” The ballroom was packed with people, the women vying with each other in terms of clothing and glitters. But she saw none of that, except the woman who was holding court with several men gathered around her.

“She hitched a ride with me last week.”

Pain radiated inside her heart, and she felt as if she was dying.

“She came with you. In the jet.”

His mouth tightened at her look of disbelief.

“Yes!” He clipped. “It was no big deal.”

“Big enough for you not to mention that tiny detail when you came home.” She started to drag her hand away when he clamped his hand over it to keep her in place.

“People are watching,” he hissed.

“I don’t give one blessed damn about appearances.” Her eyes flashed fire. “You had your mistress…”

“She’s not my damn mistress.”

“She rode on the same plane with you, the private jet. What did you do? Cozied up on the bed and spent the eight hours whiling the time away by having sex?”

“I will not grace that with a response.”

“No wonder, you came back loaded with guilt. Did you leave straight from her arms and come to mine?”

“This is neither the time nor the place!”

“You never mentioned once that she was with you.”

“It was no big deal. She asked for a ride, and I said yes. We were involved years before I met you…”

“The rumors are true.” Blair felt her heart breaking as she stared at the stunning blonde. Very soon, she was going to be fat and bloated and Claudine was back in the states to keep her husband comforted. “You picked a fight because you wanted an excuse to be with her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” His voice was sharp. Sensing the interest of several people, he steered her into a corner to give them some privacy. “I had that argument because of what you damn well did.”

“And have been ignoring me for a week.” Hurt and pain radiated through her and left her breathless. “Go to her, see if I damn well care.” Pushing him away, she evaded his hand and hurried off.

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