Page 113 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

“She has the same dress.”

“What?”

“She has the same dress as me.”

I pulled back to look at Red’s face. “Really?”

“Caleb. You didn’t even notice?”

“I wasn’t paying attention to her. I know what your dress looks like.”

“And you didn’t notice that she’s wearing the same dress as mine?”

“Um…”

She rolled her eyes, laughing softly. “Caleb.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not my fault.”

I only had eyes for her. Was that a sin?

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?”

The band stopped playing. I looked up to see Ben on the stage in front of the band, holding a glass of champagne, ready to make a toast.

“I have a very joyous announcement to make.”

And suddenly, I was grinning. A very, very wide grin that hurt my face. I looked down at the face of the only girl I’d ever loved, the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And I knew, as I knew every time I looked at her, that she was the one. Even after I died, even in the next life and all the lives after, she was the only one.

She stared back at me, her eyes shining with the same excitement as in mine as we listened to Ben say, “I am overjoyed to announce the engagement of my only brother, Caleb Nathanael Lockhart, to Veronica Strafford…”

A round of applause broke out around us, and I blocked out everything else after that. Ben was still talking, and as soon as he finished, the band started to play another song, but all I could think about was my girl in my arms.

Her eyes were shimmering, her cheeks flushed, and she was the most beautiful thing I could possibly dream of.

But the most unbelievable thing was that she belonged with me.

This girl belonged with me.

There were congratulations after that, invites to several parties and dinners, pats on the back, women asking to see her ring. And all I could think about was when I could get her alone again. When at last the commotion died down, I led her back to a table, snagged two champagne glasses from the server, and handed one to her.

“Thirsty, love? I could get you water if you like.”

“Mr. Lockhart? I’m sorry to disturb you, but you have a phone call from a Mr. Darcy. He said it’s urgent.”

Damn it.

I nodded at Ben’s assistant. “Thank you. I’ll be there in a moment. Red? I need to find Ben and deal with this. This particular deal is time sensitive. Come with me?”

She shook her head and smiled at me reassuringly. “I’m okay here, Caleb.”

“Cameron is around. Find him for me, will you? Stay with him until I get back. Mom is probably busy socializing right now.” My gaze roamed around us, looking for my mom, but she was nowhere in sight. “When I get back, we’ll find her.”

“Sounds good.”

I pulled her into a close embrace and kissed her hair.

“I’ll be right back, Red. Don’t go anywhere.”

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