“Hi,” I greeted.
She turned around, her eyes wide and startled at my presence. Then the anxiousness I’d sensed earlier settled on her face as she glanced around the room.
“Hi,” she greeted, crossing her arms in a power posture mimicking one her father had adapted decades earlier.
“Finally, she stops running.”
“Running?” she balked, turning back to face me head-on with a wide-eyed expression.
“Every time that I’ve seen you tonight, you’re looking for an escape route.”
“I don’t need an escape route,” she scoffed.
“I think we should talk about what happened in that room, Z. What happened all those years ago.”
“It was a mistake, Lake. We hadn’t seen one another in a while until tonight, and it was nothing more than an emotional reaction to seeing one another again. That’s it.”
“That’s tonight. But what about then?”
Xiomara narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t you have other guests to mingle with,” she said, turning and walking away from me.
I caught up with her and grabbed her elbow to slow her progress.
“You’re the only guest that matters at this moment. Did I scare you, Xiomara?”
“Lake,” she said in a placating tone. “I think you need to stop. We’re not the same young girl and guy that we once were or the new college graduates we were when we last saw one another, new adults trying to figure our way in this world. We’re both different. You’re different and I...I’m different. I’m not that innocent, wide-eyed girl that you used to know anymore, Lake. I need to get back to my sister.”
Nodding my head in the direction of the dance floor, I said, “It doesn’t look as if she’s missing or needing you at the moment. Senait appears to be having fun. Look, I’m not trying to add additional pressure on you, Z. No expectations or pressure. Hell, we never talked about that summer,” I said, pulling my hands through my hair. “I’m trying to figure out what happened back there between us. That’s it. True, I missed my friend, but something else happened. And before I can figure it out, you’re ready to run again.”
“You seem to misunderstand my reality, Lake.”
“Then help me understand. The last thing that I want to do is judge you or this situation.”
“Situation?”
“Yes, this situation between you and me.”
Her laughter sounded like the tinkle of a bell, and it was unexpected. She didn’t have a light or high-pitched voice at all, and the delicateness of her laughter was incongruous with the rest of her. Yet, as beautiful as all of her. Always had been.
God, how I missed her laughter.
“You seem to presume something is pulling us together beyond our friendship. I promise you there’s not,” she replied.
Boldly, I reached out and took her hand, linking our fingers together, staring into her eyes and daring her to do something. Neither of us moved to disconnect our hands, but she continued staring into my eyes, that haughty attitude gone.
Her mouth parted slightly, just enough so I could see a slip of her pink tongue and feel the warmth of her breath. I wanted to kiss her again, to make her moan and whimper.
If I kissed her and we didn’t have the pressure of her life looming over her, would she fall into the kiss or be hesitant the way she’d just been? Would she loop her arms around my neck again, or would she grab the lapels of my dinner jacket? Would she press her body against mine or wait for me to pull her close?
“Xiomara! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you.”
And just in a flash, the moment disappeared as she jerked her hand from mine and pressed it against the back of her neck. That false smile on her lips back in place, she turned to stare at someone approaching us.
I didn’t turn to look at him but continued to stare at her, wondering what she was thinking and considering that mask she’d put in place again. For just a few moments, her expression had been so open, giving me a glimpse of the woman I remembered. Now it was gone as if it had never existed. The gaze she turned on him was shut off and carefully composed.
“I was just speaking with Lake about the fall festival,” she lied so brilliantly.
“Lake Chambers, I’ve been trying to get a meeting with you to discuss a business proposal,” Russell Darden said.
“Lake, I think you know my fiancé, Russell Darden,” she said.
The word fiancé was like a blow to my solar plexus and was forceful enough to pull my gaze from hers to the man standing beside her.
I knew.
I’d always known, but seeing them together like this and hearing those words out of her mouth wasn’t easy.
I hated that she was engaged to this asshole.
Somehow I’d missed the evidence of his existence before. But now, my eyes dropped to the little gold band with the diamond solitaire.
I couldn’t help the sneer that pulled onto my lips as I eyed him up and down before saying. “Yes, Russell and I are familiar with one another. What is it I can do for you?”
“Well, first, I’m impressed with your organization and all that you do for the community, and I’m an avid basketball fan. I support the Dragons in all their games.”
A brief dismissive nod of my head, and I said, “I’ll send you season tickets.”
Chuckling, he said, “No, that’s not exactly what I wanted. I already have those. I was interested in seeing how your organization could partner with our company in providing scholarships for underprivileged youth in the North Carolina area. We’re encouraging them to attend college and look to a life of success beyond athleticism.”
Scoffing, I couldn’t believe this asshole didn’t realize how he’d just insulted my organization and me. Playing along, I humored him.
“Sure, I can get a meeting on the calendar for you to speak before the
