Page 74 of The Forgotten Wife

“Excuse me.”Belle smiled at Nick’s London right-hand man, Austin Benjamin, and his wife Tamara, and moved on to another couple. After chatting for a few minutes, she set her glass down and stepped out onto the balcony.

“You okay?” Nick approached her, looking breathtaking in his tuxedo.

She smiled up at him. “I guess. I’m not sure whether it’s my imagination, but I feel as if I’m being watched.” All through the dinner, which had been a raving success, she’d experienced the peculiar feeling.

Nick brushed his knuckle down her cheek. “Everyoneiswatching you,pethi mou.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I’ve escaped to the balcony? I’ve had enough attention to last me a lifetime. My parents keep watching me like I’m about to collapse in front of their very eyes. But it’s not that.”

He tensed. “What do you think it is?”

She shifted her shoulders but the unsettling feeling stayed with her. “I don’t know. Maybe Iamimagining it.”

“Just say the word, and I’ll kick all these people out.”

She laughed and shook her head as Alex headed their way. When he started to grill her on the precise state of her health, she threatened to sic Liz on him.

He backed off immediately. “Whoa. Consider the question withdrawn.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Liz?” she asked him.

Alex grimaced. “She’s a ball-breaker, that one. I prefer women who don’t look at me as if deciding where to stick their stilettos.”

“Hmm, I see a dinner just for the four of us happening in the future.”

“You wound me,agapita. And after I risked life and limb for you.”

“And I appreciate it, but this is too good to pass up. I think—” She stopped abruptly as an unexpected shiver coursed through her.

A waiter was walking past with a tray of drinks. He stopped beside her. His name badge read “Steven.”

“Champagne, madam?” he asked with a smile.

She looked up at him, smiled, and shook her head. “No, thanks, Steven.”

“Baby, what is it?” Nick demanded as soon as the waiter moved off.

Belle looked over Alex’s shoulder at the guests and waiters milling in the living room. Nothing seemed out of place, and yet…

“I’m not sure.” Her father was still talking to the Finance Minister; her mother was waving around her multi-ringed fingers in emphasis of some point.

Sighing, she pinned a smile on her face. “Can we go back in?” She saw Alex and Nick exchange a look, but Nick nodded.

She didn’t want to feel uncharitable, but now that dinner and coffee had been served, she hoped it wouldn’t be long before the evening ended. No doubt she was out of sorts, because she hadn’t seen most of these people for over half a year. But right now, she just wanted to be alone with Nick.

She loved him. She needed to tell him that. Even if he couldn’t say it back.

Her father beckoned. With a sigh, she widened her smile and went to him.

Nick left his study,dark satisfaction lightening his feet. He re-entered the living room and made a beeline for Belle.

“Something’s happened,” she said as he drew her into a quiet corner.

God, how well she knew him.

He nodded. “John Allen just called. Mwana’sfinallybeen tracked down to a small town outside Dusseldorf in Germany.Interpol is sending a division to the farmhouse he’s hiding out in.

We should have news in half an hour.”

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