Page 45 of Tempt
She didn’t appear fully convinced, but she nodded. “Okay.”
I left the room and pulled the door shut behind me.
CHAPTER11
MILLIE
As soon as the door closed, I let out my breath. Closed my eyes. Listened to the rapid fire of my pulse.
What the actual fuck was Idoing?
I’d just banged the father of the groom—at a wedding I’d planned—on mydeskwhile I was on thejob!
While myparentswere seated at the reception!
All that was bad enough without adding in the fact that the groom was my ex-boyfriend.
I opened my eyes and studied my face in the mirror, taking deep, slow breaths until my complexion returned to its normal color. “It’s fine,” I told the person in the mirror. “It’s all good. You’re going to go out there and act like you’re not a harlot with no moral compass who can’t keep her hands to herself or her panties in place.”
I mashed my lips together to make sure the face didn’t argue, then I gathered my courage and left the room.
Normally, I didn’t stay until the very end of a wedding, but tonight I did. Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was that I wanted to make sure every single detail at the reception was taken care of for Mason and Lori, maybe it was that the sooner I was alone with my conscience, the sooner I’d have to think about what I’d done.
Zach and I didn’t speak again after he left my office, and I was careful to avoid even looking in his direction for fear of establishing accidental eye contact and bursting into flames.
But peripherally, I noticed that he avoided the dance floor, stuck to the side of the room, and conversed with very few people. Around nine-thirty, I realized I hadn’t seen him in a while and figured he’d gone back to his hotel.
I’d probably never see him again, and the thought left a pit in my stomach.
The wedding wrapped up around eleven, and the bride and groom were among the last to leave. Mason and Lori both hugged me, saying over and over again that this had been the best night of their lives and they could not have been happier.
“It was my dream wedding in every way,” said Lori with misty eyes. “Thank you so much, Millie. I know this could have been awkward, but you never made it feel that way.”
I smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You’re the best, Mills,” said Mason, putting his arm around his wife. “In so many ways, this could never have happened without you.”
“I’m happy for you guys,” I said, and I meant it. “So you’re off to Aruba, right?”
“Yes,” said Lori. “We leave Monday.”
“I’m jealous! Have a great time.” For a moment, I fantasized what it would be like to take a trip like that with Zach. No one around who knew us, nothing to hide, just sun and sand and tropical drinks with little umbrellas floating on top. His hands rubbing sunscreen onto my skin. Crazy hot sex between cool hotel room sheets.
What waswrongwith me?
When everyone was gone and the staff was tearing down the room, I retreated to my office, ditched my heels, and fell back onto the small couch. Stretching out my legs, I stared at my toes, refusing to look at my desk, where Zach had taken me so roughly. It was intoxicating to be wanted that way by a man so self-possessed and restrained at all other times. I remembered how he referred to himself when telling me about the affair with Mason’s mom.I was a daredevil with a lot of anger issues and a short fuse.
It seemed like the ghost of old Zach was making an appearance. And speaking of the old Zach...he’d beenmarried? I recalled what he said about having a vasectomy—because his ex-wife had wanted him to. I wondered when that was, how long he’d been married—for God’s sake, did he have other children? Was he even for sure divorced? What did I really know about him?
Someone knocked on my office door, and I pulled myself together. “Yes?” I called. “Come in.”
It was Nelson, the manager, with a question about final count for a luncheon we were hosting tomorrow afternoon. I got up to find my phone and check my email, and Nelson noticed the broken glass.
“Shit. Accident? Or did you get mad and throw it?” he teased.
“Accident.” I avoided his eyes. “The count for tomorrow is one-thirty-five.”
“Got it. Want me to bring you a broom?”
