Chapter 31
OLIVIA
“ Y ou weren’t kidding when you said this was the wedding of the year.
The food is out of this world,” Levi said as he speared a delicate morsel of lobster with his fork, swirled it around in its orange butter and Riesling sauce, and popped it into his mouth.
He closed his eyes and moaned dramatically.
I tried to smile. At least one of us was enjoying the evening.
It was some consolation, I supposed, for forcing him to fly out for the weekend to be my plus one at Lucie’s wedding.
I’d panicked at the idea of going by myself.
Who would I talk to? What if Jake did show up and saw how utterly alone and pathetic I was?
Since Callie was working, I’d called Levi and begged him to go with me. He’d resisted at first then finally relented when he heard the desperation in my voice, even refusing my offer to pay for his plane ticket.
And so here we were in one of the candlelit galleries of the Louvre that had been reserved for Lucie’s wedding reception.
Fresh flowers of every shade of pink, orange, and red were draped over the tables, filling the air with their heady scent.
I closed my eyes and listened to the tinkling of glasses layered onto the soaring music from the violinist perched next to the Winged Victory.
Despite being many champagne glasses into the evening, I still felt like a little country mouse among sleek city rats.
Everywhere I looked I saw a new celebrity: actors, fashion designers, models, and of course, some of the biggest names in food and luxury, people so far up the success ladder I had to squint to see them.
A waiter carrying a silver tray of amuse-bouches prepared by a three-star Michelin chef weaved through the laughing crowd. It all looked delicious, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat much.
I was too overwhelmed by the fresh hurt in my heart.
I’d spoken to Jin that morning and found out that Jake had lied to me.
He wasn’t in China like he’d told me; he was back in France.
It was bad enough that he hadn’t shared the news about selling his company, but to know that he was back in the country and had lied about it was like another dagger to the heart.
If I’d still clung to some hope that he missed me that put an end to it.
He didn’t miss me, and he would never love me. The sooner I accepted it and moved on the better off I’d be.
I tried to distract myself from thoughts of him by studying the printed menu card, but my eyes were immediately drawn to his name at the bottom: “Wine selected by Jakob Vos.” My insides twisted, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from darting around the room to see if he might have come after all.
When my quick scan of the crowd revealed yet another A-list actress, I turned back to Levi and caught him stealing lobster from my plate. “Don’t you feel out of place here?”
He shrugged. “I’m an orphan from a small Midwestern town. I’m always out of place in big cities and fancy parties. I don’t let it bother me though.”
He was the picture of unbothered as he continued to devour plate after plate of food, oblivious to the interested glances Lucie’s glamorous girlfriends threw in our direction.
Every now and then they’d drift over and brazenly flirt with him.
I suppose it was only expected when he resembled a young Paul Newman in his three-piece suit.
I’d picked it out for him from the same vintage store where I’d found my dress, which I’d spotted through the window on the way to school.
It was gorgeous—a dark red velvet that reminded me of a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
I’d never treated myself to anything so extravagant, though, and probably would have left it in the store if Callie hadn’t been with me.
She dragged me inside and forced me to try it on.
When she saw how perfectly it fit—skimming over my body in a way that emphasized the curve of my breasts and flare of my hips—she’d warned, “If you don’t buy this dress, you will have disappointed me like no one else in my life. It was made for you.”
Hearing those words made the ache start afresh in my chest, but I’d pushed it aside and said, “You’re right. I’m buying it.”
“Oh, I can’t wait until Jake sees you!” she’d said with a malicious grin. “It will serve him right for letting you go.”
Well, it didn’t look like that was happening. I sighed and stole a glance at myself in one of the gilded mirrors on the wall. I’d done my hair in a retro style to match my dress with gentle waves that fell over my shoulder. Yes, it really was too bad he wouldn’t see me like this.
A big band ensemble started to play and Levi, who loved nothing more than to show off his ballroom dancing skills, stood up. “Come on, Liv, you didn’t wear that dress for nothing. It’s a foxtrot. Let’s dance like it’s 1939.”
“Isn’t that the year World War II started?” I protested as he dragged me to my feet and pulled me onto the dance floor. “Wait, I don’t know how to foxtrot! You might not have any toes left by the end of this dance.”
But there was no stopping him, and I found myself swept into the graceful sway of his arms. “Just follow me.”
“Ha, that’s easy to say when you’re the one leading.
Oh my God!” I cried out as he attempted to dip me.
His mother had been a dance teacher, and it showed; he was easily the most graceful partner I’d ever had.
Laughing, I let him lead me around the room trying not to imagine all eyes were on us.
There were enough people on the dance floor that I didn’t feel self-conscious and even enjoyed myself, but that might just have been the champagne.
When the music ended, Levi dipped me one last time, and as I slowly came up the laughter died in my throat.
Through the sea of people, I spotted Jake in the doorway.
He was striking in his dark suit. So tall and elegant.
His dark brown hair had been cut recently, and he wore it swept back from his forehead.
My traitorous fingers still longed to run through the soft waves.
He glanced around the room, a solemn expression on his face. When his eyes finally met mine, he stiffened. I was vaguely aware of Levi saying something to me as the band began to play another song.
I didn’t hear anything. It was as if Jake and I were alone in the room of five hundred people. I knew then with certainty that I would never get over this man. Whatever it was that connected us, connected us still.
A group of women, each as beautiful and glamorous as Lucie, surrounded him, and I looked away, certain that my inexperience and lack of sophistication were even more obvious in this crowd.
But when I glanced again at him, his eyes were on me, and he gently pushed them aside and started to walk in my direction.
I couldn’t move or drag my gaze away from him. How did he still have this effect on me when I was still so hurt and angry?
“I’m going to get more food,” Levi yelled in my ear.
“No, don’t . . .” I tried to stop him, but he’d already walked off toward the buffet.
As Jake approached, I breathed deeply to steady myself. But when he moved as if to embrace me, I took a trembling step back. I couldn’t stand it if he gave me an amical kiss on the cheek.
“I didn’t think you were coming tonight,” I said finally, the words sounding cold to my own ears.
He stiffened, hesitating slightly, before replying. “I wasn’t planning to.”
His eyes ran over me, darkening. “You’re stunning.”
“Thank you.” I swallowed. We stood there like two awkward strangers making small talk. It was as if he’d never touched me, or laughed with me, or held me as I drifted off to sleep. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want him to see how much he’d hurt me.
“I saw you dancing earlier. I didn’t want to interrupt.” He came closer, his fingers grazing my wrist. “Olivia, can we talk?”
Just as I started to respond, Levi reappeared with a small plate of food. “Liv, you have to try this dessert! I think there’s avocado in it.”
“Excuse me.” I gripped Levi’s arm and led him away before I had to introduce them. If Jake thought that Levi was my date that suited me just fine.
“Wait, Liv, was that him?” Levi finally turned his attention away from his food and glanced behind us. “Don’t you want to talk to the guy?”
I shook my head. Jake’s sudden appearance had knocked me off my axis, and I had to get my bearings if I was going to make it through the night. God, I was still so angry with him. “I can’t. Not yet. I didn’t think he’d be here.”
Levi narrowed his eyes at me and gestured at my dress. “Really?”
“Okay, I might have secretly hoped he would be here,” I admitted.
“But you won’t talk to him?” Levi raised his eyes toward the ceiling and sighed. “I will never understand women.”
“Come on, let’s dance.” I led him back onto the dance floor determined not to search the room for Jake.
But as Levi spun me around, I caught a glimpse of him chatting with Anne-Sophie, the journalist who had interviewed him for the magazine.
When she threaded her arm through his, I averted my gaze before the hot sting of jealousy I felt made me do something crazy.
You know this isn’t real, right? The words ran through my mind as they had a hundred times since that horrible argument.
Maybe he was right, and I had just needed to see him here to understand that I truly didn’t belong in his world. I hardened my resolve to make him believe I was fine. Because I would be after this.
Each time he tried to approach me I dragged Levi to the dance floor. By the end of our fourth dance, Levi held up his hands and glanced toward the bar where a pretty, auburn-haired woman was standing. She raised her champagne glass at him, and he smiled. “I need a drink. You want one?”
“No, don’t leave me alone,” I whispered as Jake approached wearing an annoyed and determined expression on his face. I clutched Levi’s arm.