Chapter Two Ford #2
There was a string quartet playing on a small stage, and a few other couples were dancing.
My hands settled on Delilah’s hips as she looped her arms around my neck and pressed herself closer to me.
Tightening my grip to keep her in place, I shifted back, purposefully keeping as much space as I could between us. She pouted as she looked up at me.
“Is there something wrong? You seem so stiff…”
I sighed through my nose, biting back the urge to tell her that I’d rather be anywhere else than in her arms. It felt too much like a betrayal of the woman I should have been spending time with.
Think of the job. There’s too much riding on this.
“I’ve never been much of a dancer,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
“I guess we never had the occasion to dance when we were together. But we had good rhythm in other areas.”
She flashed me her most charming smile, but my stomach felt hollowed out at the way she was talking and the heated look in her eyes.
“You know,” she continued, attempting to pull my face down to hers, even as I resisted, “we could go back to my place after this is over. For old times’ sake.”
Fuck no.
“Delilah…” I paused, considering how to let her down without upsetting her too much.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go there again.
It’s been two years since we split up, and sleeping together again would be…
”—terrible—“…like taking a step backwards. I don’t think that’d be good for either of us. ”
And I’d never cheat on Zoey. But I couldn’t tell Delilah that. Not while we were keeping the relationship a secret.
Delilah’s smile slipped. “You know, I really thought you’d realize by now what a big mistake you made by breaking up with me. We’re perfect for each other.”
No, we’re really not.
“I think ending our engagement was the right decision,” I said as gently as possible. “Besides, I’ve really been focused on my career. You know that.”
It was the excuse I’d used every time she hinted at getting back together.
Instead of shutting it down the way I wanted to, I always took the safer route of blaming my job for my reluctance.
It felt safer while I still needed her dad on my side in the boardroom.
It had been effective in the past, but Delilah had ramped up her attempts to get me back into her bed recently.
I didn’t know if she sensed that my romantic interest had shifted to someone else—even though she couldn’t possibly know that I was with Zoey—or if she suspected that my tolerance for her flirty behavior was dependent on my need for her dad’s approval.
Either way, she seemed almost desperate to reunite with me in the last couple of months.
Every interaction made my skin feel too tight.
I looked around the ballroom over her head and spotted Zoey again.
This time, she was alone and heading toward the hallway just off the ballroom that led to the bathrooms. Luckily, the song ended then, and I took the opportunity to step away from Delilah before she could suggest that we dance to another.
“I need to use the restroom,” I mumbled, turning away before she could respond.
Weaving my way through the crowd, I made my way to the hallway just as Zoey stepped out, looking like she applied a fresh coat of coral lipstick. The thought of those lips pressed to my skin sent a rush of desire through me, and I closed the distance between us with long strides.
After dancing with Delilah, I was desperate to get close to the woman I truly wanted in my arms. Zoey’s breath hitched as I yanked her body into mine, loving the way her curves felt against me.
Having her so close was familiar and exciting, but she also somehow made me feel settled, like she made the world around me quieter.
“Come with me,” I said, pulling her toward a door marked GREENROOM across the hall. No one in the ballroom could see into the hallway, but if anyone else headed for the bathroom, we’d be spotted.
But it was more than just a need to maintain the secret. Zoey was too sexy in this dress, her lightly floral perfume was going straight to my head, and the distance between us all night was driving me insane.
I needed a moment alone with her. Maybe a few moments, if I could manage it.
The door to the greenroom was unlocked, and I flipped on the light as we stepped inside. There was a counter in front of a mirror with lights over the top on one wall and a couch pressed against the other wall. The room was small, but it was more than enough.
Shutting the door, I pressed Zoey up against it, one hand at her neck with my thumb tracing the delicate line of her jaw, while the other snaked around her hip. But when I looked into her eyes, I saw that she wasn’t with me. The burning desire I expected to see was missing, and she looked… upset?
“What’s wrong, Angel?” I asked, using the nickname I’d given her the first time we slept together.
It started as a light-hearted comment about sleeping with her being a heavenly experience, something I muttered with a sappy smile on my face as I laid sprawled on my back with her naked body curled into me at my side.
From there, the nickname was born, and it stuck.
“Nothing,” she said, but her eyes didn’t hold mine. Zoey was usually open and honest, so whatever was bothering her must have been something she didn’t want to share for some reason.
But I needed to know. I didn’t like my girl to be unhappy.
“Talk to me, Zoey. We’re not going back to the party until you do.”
Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, and I felt another spike of arousal. I wanted to dig my teeth into that plump, preferably while I was inside of her.
I pressed my forehead against hers. “Are you going to make me beg?”
A smile flickered across her face. “The proud Dr. Whitmore would beg for me?”
“Absolutely. But if I end on my knees in front of you, there’s a good chance I’ll bury my head under this sexy as hell dress.” Now, the heat flared in her eyes, but I wasn’t going to let that distract me. “Tell me what’s upset you.”
She let out a long breath. “I saw you dancing with her.”
Of course. Understanding swept over me, and I wanted to kick my own ass for being so careless with her feelings.
“It was nothing,” I said. “I just didn’t want to piss off her dad, especially with the board meeting right after we return from the island.”
We’d be on a tropical island together next week for the marriage of Zoey’s brother Ryan, who happened to be a close friend of mine. I was a groomsman in the wedding, which meant I’d be spending a whole week on Sirona Isle with the rest of the wedding party and the family of the bride and groom.
That meant seeing my girl in a bikini in the bright sunshine and sneaking into her hotel room at night when no one was looking. I couldn’t wait.
“I know,” she said, but she didn’t sound as certain as I would have liked. “I know it’s just about being nice to her for the sake of your job, but it bothers me. I hate seeing her hang all over you.”