Page 12 of The Betrayer
“I’ll go with you.”
I looked over my shoulder—Angela seemed like she was having a good time, and I didn’t want to take her away from that.
“No, really, it’s fine. You stay here. I’m just going to run through it one more time. It will only take a minute, and then I’ll be back out.”
I signaled as much to Tara, whose eye I had finally caught. She nodded, understanding the message and giving me a thumbs-up.
“I know you want everything to be perfect,” Angela said, suddenly by my side, her arm looped through mine. “Let’s go over it and get back out here.”
Though grateful for Angela’s help, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. I was thankful for the offer, but I really didn’t need her help. I was, in fact, looking for a few moments alone to breathe. Was she genuinely trying to help, or did she feel like I couldn’t handle the issue alone? Sometimes I wasn’t sure, especially as she began leading me away with something that felt a lot like dragging.
Was that why I wasn’t sure about Angela in the long term? Part of me felt like I should appreciate the forceful side of her even more, the side that let me, for once, take a back seat so someone else could make decisions. Instead of relief, it was simply irritating.
A large part of me could see us together, if not forever, then for the long term. More than anything, Angela understood my schedule and didn’t demand more of it, which wasn’t something easily found. But another part of me was resistant to the idea, as though it sensed something. Or knew something. It almost felt like something was missing from our relationship, or her, or me. I didn’t know. Maybe I was responding to something in her, or perhaps it was something in me—maybe I was broken somehow.
I couldn’t figure it out.
We found a small room with a couch and a few chairs, the change from a noisy room to sudden quiet making my ears ring. It was a relief, and I held myself back from loosening my bowtie as I wanted. Instead, I pulled the papers from the inside pocket of my jacket.
I was just starting to read them aloud when Angela pushed them down with one finger, her gaze catching and holding mine. A light I knew well echoed in their depths, a sparkle that usually succeeded in distracting me from whatever I was doing.
“Angela—” I started.
She drew the papers from my hand and pulled them away as I went to reach for them.
“Come on, Paul. You’re too tense and too anxious. I know exactly what will help—my offer from earlier still stands.”
I tried for the papers again, but she switched hands to keep them out of reach. It was supposed to be a cute game, some sexy flirting, but all it did was annoy me.
“Come on, Angela. Stop.”
She laughed, a deep, throaty sound, and stepped away from me as I tried yet again to grab for the papers.
“This isn’t funny.”
“It could be.” Again, her voice was pitched lower. She was already a throaty alto, and usually, the sound would start my blood boiling in a good way. Tonight, it had the opposite effect. I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her close, and she melted into me. Before it could go any further, however, I took the speech from her hand and stepped away.
Angela stumbled slightly from the lack of support as I readjusted my jacket, her eyes narrowing for a split second before she schooled her expression. “That was a dirty trick,” she said sullenly.
“So was yours.”
We scowled at one another for a moment, but then Angela sighed. “Fine, let’s practice your speech so we can get back out there. But you owe me.”
“When we pull this night off, I promise I’ll show you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
Angela’s lips twisted up in a smile that was more of a grimace, and she slipped away when I tried to plant a kiss on her bare shoulder. But she seemed mollified for now, at least.
At the moment, I had more important things to worry about than Angela’s moods.
