Page 25 of The Marriage Deal
"Something like that," I said, waving my empty wine flute. "I need another refill." Spending time in their presence made me want to drown myself in a barrel of wine. I went to the buffet table to pick up a full glass of champagne when a hand reached for the same glass I was going for.
"Sorry!" Billie yelped. When she saw me, her face fell."Oh. It's you. Sorry," she said again.
I snorted. "Are you? You seem quite unapologetic."
Billie rolled her eyes. "I know how it looks, but you have to know that we didn't want you to find out the way you did. We had planned on telling you properly."
My hand shook from the slow bubbling rage percolating inside me. I gripped the stem of the wineglass with force. Any tighter and it might break. "And how long was this planning? Did it take you all summer in the Hamptons to plan it out?"
Billie had the decency to blush.
"Spare me the apology. I don't need it."
"Would it make you feel better if I told you I love him? I didn't do it out of malice; I fell for him."
A scornful laugh bubbled out of me.
She blanched. The pleading in her voice was gone, replaced with a slight accusatory tone. "You, of all people, should understand."
I scoffed. "Explain that one to me. How the fuck does that make sense?"
She darted her eyes to Levi. "You were having an affair of your own."
"I—that's not—"
"You should have seen how hurt Wyatt was when he found out. The betrayal goes both ways."
I placed the wineglass down, almost tipping it over because of my shaky hands. I held them together so I would not punch her fucking face. "Poor Wyatt. Did you suck his sadness away? I mean, it was only the morningafterI saw you two fucking in my bed that he saw me at Levi's place.Nothaving sex with him, mind you."
She gave me a tight smile. "Of course you'd see yourself as the victim."
"That's because I am!"
I was so loud that the room went quiet, and everyone's gaze swiveled to us. I didn't need to see their faces to know they were staring at me. Billie's wide-eyed stare only made me seem like I was a crazy person who had lashed out at an innocent bystander. I dared not look at anyone until the crowd went back to minding its own business.
Levi materialized beside me. "Everything okay?"
I picked my wine up again and said to him with a tight smile, "Yes." We went to sit in our chairs as the auction was about to start.
"What was that about?"
"Nothing."
Beth, who was sitting on my left side, did not seem convinced, and Levi, who was on my right, knew I was lying but did not push it any further. The auction began soon after. While the auctioneer shared the auction rules and starting values, my gaze trailed to Wyatt and Billie. They took their seats a few rows ahead of us. Wyatt was flipping his bid paddle in Billie's face playfully. I rolled my eyes.Please, by all means, ham it up for the crowd.
Levi squeezed my hand. "Don't mind them."
"Levi?"
"Yes."
"You better fucking win."
And the auction began.
The starting bid was five hundred thousand pounds. All bidders raised their numbers. Then it went to five hundred fifty thousand pounds. And up and up it went. The higher the number, the fewer the paddle numbers went up. When the bid reached ten million pounds, only three bidders remained: Levi, Wyatt, and a private bidder.
"Word on the street says it's a Saudi prince," Beth said in my ear when the man on the phone raised his bid card.
