Page 73 of The Alpha's Uncovered Mate
"You were about to fall when I caught you." He smiles at me before holding out his hand. "I'm Robert, by the way."
"Cynthia." I shake his hand. "Where did you get the juice from? I thought they were just serving alcohol at this party."
"I bribed one of the servers." Robert winks at me.
"Nice," I laugh quietly, sipping the apple juice.
We stand there in comfortable silence for a while, and then I glance at him. "Who're you hiding from?"
"I was invited as a guest." He sighs. "I'm not fond of such large functions."
"Same here," I murmur. "I'd do anything to be back home in my pajamas."
He grins. "Well, hey, we do have something in common."
It's very easy talking to him. I see his smile fade a moment later when a group of young women pass by us. One of the women coughs in her hand, snickering. "Look, Frankenstein came."
As she passes by me, I press my heel into the tail end of her dress. A sharp ripping sound has her gasping. I immediately cover my mouth, pretending to look shocked. "Oh, no! Did I do that?"
The girl shoots me a hateful look before rushing off to check the damage.
"That should keep her busy," I murmur, taking another sip.
"Now, that was just mean." Robert laughs. "What if you ended up ripping her entire dress?"
"What a pity," I sigh. "It would have been an excuse to leave."
"What're you going to do?" He grins at me. "Rip the dress of every woman here when they make a nasty comment about my face?"
"I don't have that much free time on my hands," I comment. "You could always share the burden."
His laughter is delighted.
Feeling a pair of eyes boring into the side of my face, I look over to my left and see Adam and Tina standing together at a distance. Adam's hand is on Tina's lower back as she leans into him.
"They make a nice couple," I murmur, my tone sad.
"Who?" Robert follows my line of sight. "Them? Nah. She's trying too hard. I don't see the chemistry."
"They fit well together," I disagree, knowing that while each word out of my mouth is hurting me, if I don't face reality, I will never overcome it.
"Are you blind?" Robert peers at them. "They mix like oil and water. I don't see it."
"Well, they're together, aren't they?" I demand, annoyed now by this man's persistence to not let me dwell in my misery. "Do you need to see them kiss to see what I see?"
"Meh." Robert makes a face. "You and I are standing together as well. Doesn't mean we're a thing."
"He's holding her––"
"Like this?" Robert puts his arm around my waist. He doesn't touch me, but he positions his arm such that it gives off that effect to onlookers.
"Cute," I narrow my gaze, "now step away before I break your foot with my heel."
Grinning, he holds up his hands, stepping away.
"Uh-oh," he murmurs, "I think we upset somebody."
I look over to see who he's talking about when I catch Adam glowering in our direction. I turn my head away, saying coldly, "Ignore him. Maybe he's jealous of your tie."
