Page 8 of Sweet Temptation

Despite the shock, I believed my father, and it left me unsure how to feel about him. That uncertainty had only escalated later in the night when Cress shared what she knew about the decades of rivalry between my father’s family and Noah’s. How my father would supposedly stop at nothing to destroy William.

I’d only just met my father, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would try todestroyanother person. I had no idea if Matthew would be attending the garden party, but I had so many unanswered questions after last night I knew I needed to speak with him.

When I entered the bathroom, I was surprised by just how bad I looked. I knew I felt like crap, but my skin was pale, my eyes were puffy, and my curls looked limp and sad. Even my eyes were a duller shade of blue this morning. I had hoped a shower would help, but once I was done, I still looked like hell. I tamed my hair as best I could and even put a little makeup on, but it didn’t seem to make much difference.

I emerged from the bathroom to find Cress had returned and was waiting for me, coffee in hand. She was wearing a similar style of dress to Anna, but hers was cornflower blue, making her reddish-brown hair pop. She smiled as she offered a coffee to me. “How are you feeling?”

“Like death warmed up,” I replied. “Thanks for getting us coffee.”

“It’s no problem. I figured we could all use the caffeine boost after last night.”

“Definitely.” I took a deep swig of the drink, relishing the feeling of it warming me from the inside.

“Here, put this on,” Anna said, passing me a dress that looked similar to her own. “Of course, it came from your magical closet that has every outfit a girl could ever need.”

I took the dress, somewhat relieved I didn’t have to try to figure out an outfit for myself. I had no idea what to wear to a garden party, and with the way I felt right now, there was every chance, if I was allowed to dress myself, I’d be leaving the room in sweats.

I slipped into the closet to quickly change. If my closet had been stocked with a perfect dress for the party, then maybe Matthew did know about the event and would be attending.

“Perfect,” Cress said as I stepped back into the bedroom. She had to be lying because I felt far from perfect. I looked like a zombie dressed up in an unconvincing disguise.

“We should probably go,” Anna said. “We’re already running late.”

I clutched my coffee cup tightly and followed Anna and Cress from the room. We weren’t the only ones running late, and there were lots of other girls out in the halls and on the quad rushing to get to the event.

The garden party was held at the principal’s cottage on the school campus, but when I saw the gorgeous stone house the principal lived in, I thought cottage was a little bit of an understatement. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. Vines almost completely coated the façade, and a wide array of bright and perfumed flowers bloomed in the front garden as though the house had been stolen right out of a picture book.

The soft sound of a string ensemble could be heard as we made our way out to the lawn behind the cottage, but it was hard to hear the melody given the chatter and laughter that overpowered the music. It sounded like the party had drawn quite the crowd, and I wasn’t sure if I was mentally prepared to deal with so many people this morning. Hopefully, Anna and Cress would handle most of the socializing. I certainly didn’t feel up to small talk or putting on a happy face.

A marquee was set up on the lawn with round tables covered in white linen dotted beneath the canopy. The area was already packed with students, parents, and teachers. Everyone was dressed far more casually than they had been for the ball with the women mostly in bright, modest dresses, similar to the one I wore, while the men tended toward slacks and button-up shirts.

As waitstaff weaved their way around the area with trays of canapés and drinks held high above their heads, I scanned the scene closely for signs of my father. I couldn’t see Matthew among the crowd, and I felt a wave of relief when there was no sign of Noah or his grandfather either.

I quietly followed the girls as we went to grab seats at one of the tables. They were all laid out beautifully with fine china teacups and towers of sandwiches and appetizers in the center of the table. I was glad my friends didn’t want to walk about and socialize with the adults. I could think of nothing worse right now. I gratefully sank in my seat and started to nibble on the end of a sandwich.

Anna and Cress were chatting, but I wasn’t really concentrating on what they said. I was too focused on trying to make sure I could stomach my sandwich. Even the small bites I was taking didn’t seem to sit well and swirled uneasily inside me. I wasn’t sure if it was my hangover, the chance of seeing Noah, or potentially confronting my dad for answers that had me so queasy. It was probably a combination of the three.

“Hey, Isobel.”

I swallowed the small piece of sandwich I was chewing and glanced up as Lily came to sit next to me. “Hey, Lily. How was your night?”

“It was pretty uneventful,” she said. “I only made a quick appearance at the ball before I went to bed. I’m really not a fan of this weekend. It’s all about schmoozing, and I’m absolutely terrible at it.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

“How about you? How was your night?”

“I’ve had better,” I quietly replied. “Noah and I broke up.”

Lily’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Seriously?”

I nodded.

“Shit, I’m really sorry, Isobel.”

“Thanks.” I shared a sad smile with her. “It sucks, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not like we were dating long.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” she replied. “I just can’t believe he broke up with you. It was obvious how much he liked you.”

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