Bonus chapter #3
Obediently, the girls formed a line. Leo took a long sip of his whiskey, bracing himself for what was about to happen.
He hadn’t even met half of these women; he’d been too busy talking to Tem in the study.
Now he assessed them slowly, dragging his gaze along the line as he approached the podiums. Tem was standing in the middle, sandwiched between two girls he’d never seen before. Perfect.
He walked toward her slowly, drawn by a force greater than himself.
Kora, she looked good in that dress. Tem’s eyes remained defiantly on Leo’s as he approached.
All his senses seemed to magnify when he was near her—his sense of smell, his eyesight—even his mouth watered.
He saw her in sharp focus, as if a magnifying lens were centered on her.
If he wanted to, he could have counted Tem’s freckles from here.
Instead he leaned toward the girl next to her, tilting his head and saying into her ear: “Sorry, darling.”
The girl let out a whimper but Leo hardly noticed.
He took a sip of whiskey before turning to the girl standing on the other side of Tem, leaning in and saying the same two words to her.
He’d chosen the girls next to Tem on purpose—so he’d have a chance to be close to her—so he could hear her sharp intake of breath when he dismissed them.
Both girls were escorted away, leaving a deserted space around Tem.
Leo already knew what he had to do next.
His father had prepared him for it the night before: it was time to rank the girls based on their looks.
The podiums would serve as visual markers for the process—the prettiest girl on the tallest, the homeliest girl on the shortest. First and last. It was obvious to Leo who the prettiest girl in the room was.
But he couldn’t rank Tem first. He would not reward her insolence, nor would he allow her to know she held any power over him.
If one of them was to have the upper hand, it was going to be him.
Leo pointed at girl after girl, placing them in order until there were only two podiums left: the tallest and the shortest. He pointed at a blond girl and jerked his head toward the tallest podium.
She climbed it gleefully. Then he looked Tem straight in the eye.
The entire ballroom seemed to go silent as they stared at each other.
Leo didn’t bother pointing at the last podium.
He simply held her eye contact, daring her to move.
She didn’t. He knocked back the rest of his whiskey.
She still didn’t move. Instead Tem tilted her chin up in defiance—a motion Leo was quickly getting used to—and stared right back at him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Leo heard: “A round of applause for our winner!”
The crowd burst into applause. Leo repressed the urge to roll his eyes as the girl on the tallest podium waved at them triumphantly.
He could not care less about her. He only cared about the girl still staring at him—the girl who refused to claim her spot.
Without another word, he turned and pushed through the crowd.
He was already in the hallway about to ascend the stairs when a voice came from behind him:
“Leo,” he heard, “Stop.”
He turned to face her, experiencing a deep thrill as he realized she was upset. Anything was better than her indifference. “Something the matter, Temperance?”
She strode right up to him. “You ranked me last.”
“So I did.”
“Care to tell me why?”
“I didn’t think you’d notice.”
“You might as well have called me ugly. Of course I noticed.”
Leo leaned in. It took every ounce of his self-control not to kiss her right there and then. If he thought it would help the situation, he would have. Instead, he said: “You made it clear you don’t want me to call you beautiful. Why shouldn’t I call you ugly?”
“Because it’s a lie.” Before Leo had time to be surprised at her brashness, she stepped closer. “And I’d prefer you didn’t lie to me, Leo. Plenty of people do that already.”
Tem was using his own words against him. If nothing else, it proved that she listened when he spoke. Not that it mattered; she clearly didn’t like what she heard.
“I saw the way you looked at the skull,” he said, the protest ringing thin even to him, “not to mention the way you look at me. You don’t respect my family. You don’t even want to be here.”
He hoped she couldn’t hear the plea in his voice—hoped she couldn’t tell it hurt him that she didn’t want to be here.
Tem leaned in. “Do you want me to be here?”
She was mere inches away. Her body was so close, tilted in his direction, temptation personified.
Her cheeks were still flushed, although now he suspected it was with anger.
Leo’s eyes raked down her neck to the tiny golden charm that hung between her breasts.
It was expensive jewelry—something only a lover would have given her.
Was she taken already? Was her heart occupied elsewhere?
It did not matter. The answer to her question was the same.
“Yes.”
She leaned back, her eyes bright with victory. “Then act like it.”