Chapter Seven #3
Hayden stood near the bar with a glass of champagne in his hand, already watching me. His eyes moved over the red dress, the line of my shoulders, my collarbone, the waves of my hair, before returning to my face with an expression that made my chest tighten.
Five years had changed many things, yet the first thought that struck me was how handsome he still was.
The black suit fit him well, the white shirt sharp beneath it, and the thin black frames of his glasses sat on the bridge of his nose with an ease that made him look even more dangerous than I remembered.
His hair was a little longer now, softening the hard lines of his face, though nothing about the way he stood felt soft.
For a moment, the room seemed to fade around me. The look in his eyes held nothing polite or neutralIt was intense and possessive, his focus making it clear that he had noticed every detail the moment I walked through the door.
Then his attention shifted from me to Daniel, standing beside me. Something dark crossed his face, and despite the distance between us, the air felt heavier.
I forced my breathing to stay even, because seeing Hayden Stone in that room was the one thing I had not prepared myself for. I had been certain he would not be there, certain that at least one evening could exist without him entering it and turning everything inside me unsettled again.
For a moment, I stood still while the reception continued around us. Laughter moved through the room, glasses clinked, conversations drifted between tables, yet all of it felt far Daniel’s voice pulled me back.
“Are you alright?”
I blinked and forced my attention away from Hayden. “Yes,” I said, though my voice came out softer than I wanted.
“You stopped walking.”
I offered him a small smile and glanced around the room. “Just taking it all in.”
Daniel followed my gaze across the hall. “Quite the turnout. Half the university seems to be here.”
“Yes,” I murmured. Half the university, and somehow the one man I had spent years trying to avoid.
I reached for a glass of champagne from a nearby tray, grateful to have something in my hand.
The cold stem settled against my fingers and helped pull me back into the moment.
Do not look again. That was the rule I gave myself.
Tonight, Hayden’s presence could not matter the way it used to, because I had come here with Daniel, as a colleague, as his partner for the evening, and nothing beyond that.
Still, my eyes betrayed me.
They moved across the room before I could stop them, and there he was, exactly where he had been before, still watching. His expression had changed now, calm settling over his face in a way that felt practiced, although the intensity in his gaze had only sharpened.
For a second, our eyes met again, and the familiar pull moved through me at once.
Years had passed. There had been distance, silence, and enough pain to build an entire life between who I had been and who I was now, yet under the warm lights of that reception hall, I could still feel the same force that had once made walking away from him feel impossible.
Daniel’s hand brushed my arm gently. “Come on,” he said with an easy smile. “Let’s say hello to Lena and Marcus before the entire department steals them.”
“Yes, of course.”
We moved further into the reception hall together, weaving through small groups of colleagues who greeted us with friendly smiles and congratulations for the newly married couple.
I focused on the conversations around me, on Daniel beside me, on anything that kept my attention away from the far side of the room.
Even as I laughed at something one of the professors said, awareness lingered at the edge of my thoughts, because I did not need to look again to know Hayden Stone was still watching me.
Somehow, I had the feeling the evening had only just begun.
After a few minutes of greetings and congratulations, Daniel and I reached Lena and Marcus. Lena looked beautiful in her ivory dress, while Marcus stood beside her with the relieved expression of a man who had survived the ceremony and was ready to enjoy the rest of the night.
“Edwina!” Lena said, pulling me into an embrace before I could finish congratulating her. “You came!”
“Of course I came,” I said with a laugh. “You invited half the department. I would never hear the end of it, if I didn’t show up.”
Marcus grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
“And Daniel,” Lena added, “thank you for bringing her.”
Daniel gave a small bow. “It’s an honor to escort the most elegant guest in the room.”
Lena laughed. “I see flattery works well in our department.”
After a few more words and promises to catch up later, Daniel guided us toward a nearby table where several colleagues had gathered. Before we could sit, a familiar voice reached me.
“Finally.”
I turned to see Giselle walking toward us through the crowd with a confidence that made people move aside before they realized it. She wore a dark blue dress with a silver necklace at her throat, and her face brightened when she reached us.
“Edwina,” Giselle said, pulling me into a quick hug before stepping back to look at me properly. Her eyes widened a little. “Well,” she said, drawing the word out, “someone decided to make an entrance tonight.”
Daniel chuckled. “I told her the same thing.”
Giselle looked between us with amusement. “You two look very official. Almost like a couple.”
“Blame Lena’s seating rules,” Daniel said.
“And where is your husband?” I asked, glancing behind her.
Giselle’s smile faltered for a moment before she recovered it. “Busy again.”
The answer sounded easy, although I knew better.
Giselle’s husband did not like crowds, large gatherings, or most people, if I was being honest. Once, after a university event that had left all of us exhausted, she had described it to me with rare bluntness.
He avoids people the way others avoid parasites.
That was why she attended most events alone, smiling, holding herself together, and pretending the empty seat beside her did not matter.
“Well,” Daniel said, “at least you have us tonight.”
“Exactly,” Giselle replied, brightening as she gestured toward a nearby table.
We moved toward the table together. By some coincidence, or perhaps Giselle’s careful planning, the four seats were close for easy conversation. Daniel sat beside me while Giselle settled across from us, already reaching for one of the champagne glasses beside the table settings.
For a few minutes, conversation moved easily between us.
Department gossip, stories from the ceremony earlier that week, Giselle teasing Daniel about appearing as my official partner for the evening.
I let myself relax into it, laughing at something Daniel said as the room and music settled around us.
Then a familiar presence moved into the edge of my vision, and the air at the table changed. Before I could turn, a deep voice spoke beside us.
“May I?”
The only empty chair stood beside Daniel, and Hayden Stone was standing next to it. His presence drew everyone’s attention at once. For a moment, no one answered.
Giselle blinked, then recovered. “Oh, Dean Stone. Of course.”
Hayden gave a polite nod. “Thank you.”
Before anyone could say anything else, he pulled out the chair and sat down beside Daniel. Directly across from me.