Page 72 of One Sweet Day is Never Enough

She watched as Stacey pulled him out onto the dance floor and began to shake to the beat. It was a fast, popular song from the early 2000s, and Gia laughed nervously as Seth tried to keep up with Stacey. He laughed and started to dance and Gia covered her mouth and looked away because it was turning her stomach to see him out there with her.

This was the girl Seth used to have real feelings for. What if Stacey reminded him why he used to love her? What if she convinced him to take her back tonight? Gia turned and walked away. She couldn’t watch.

An hour later, the sun had gone down and the tiny white lights strung from the trees lent a hint of enchantment to the evening. Gia did a quick lap around the party, scanning the crowd. It looked as though most people were enjoying themselves. She saw Tim and Abigail mingling near the bar with more of their guests, all of whom seemed lost in discussion or storytelling.

So far, so good. Fifteen minutes later, she ended up back at the dance floor where most of the action was now focused.

The music changed to a softer melody from the 1990s. Gia knew the song well. It was a love song, one of her favorites from that era, still regularly played on the radio. The cover band was doing a great job tonight. She made a note to let Noreen know. Her boss always liked to know which bands were crowd-pleasers.

Gia stopped to listen to the song, wishing like crazy that Stacey hadn’t shown up tonight. Gia would be swaying to the music, her arms wrapped around Seth right now if she hadn’t.

Gia raised an eyebrow as Seth tried to leave the dance floor, urging Stacey to follow him. He locked eyes with Gia for a quick second and she smiled supportively. He returned an affectionate glance. She scrunched up her nose and gave him a knowing look.Miss you.At least he wasn’t going to slow-dance with Stacey. Thank heavens for small favors.

In the next moment, Seth’s attention was drawn back to Stacey as she refused to leave, dragging him back out onto the dance floor. Gia’s expression changed as she watched him shake his head at her. The crowd thinned around them to give them space over their apparent lovers’ quarrel, and Seth must’ve noticed the looks they were getting. Two seconds later, Stacey had folded her hands together behind his neck and pulled herself in close to him. She rested her head against his chin and they moved to the music.

Gia watched, her smile gone. She felt her pulse in her throat as Seth locked his hands behind Stacey’s back. It looked like a comfortable, old habit for them. Gia swallowed, folded her arms, lowered her chin, and walked away.

That should have been her.

How was she going to get the image of them, locked in an embrace, out of her head?

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