Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
MABLE
The wedding was beautiful, especially the couple. You can tell they’re madly in love.
The reception tent glows against the darkening sky, all white silk and twinkling lights. Wells keeps his hand on the small of my back as we navigate the crowd, his fingers often flexing as if to check that I’m still there. I try not to notice how many eyes follow us.
There is one pair in particular—sapphire blue, with a warm smile—that keeps finding me from across the room and locking eyes. I keep averting my own. Cordelia is even more beautiful in person. The woman is the antithesis of me.
I have been to very nice weddings and events over the years, but this is a whole other level, and I don’t mean the location. I’m talking about the guests here. I recognize many high-ranking officials from all over the world. It’s intimidating but exciting too.
“Caldwell!!” A booming voice cuts through the reception, and suddenly we’re engulfed by a whirlwind of energy.
The groom, I realize. Julian looks nothing like his brother—where Wells is dark and controlled, Julian is golden and vibrating with life.
“You made it! Mom said you were bringing a mystery woman, and here she is!”
He sweeps me into a hug before I can react. “Julian,” he announces, like I couldn’t have guessed. “The more charming brother. And obviously better looking.”
“Clearly,” I say, and he throws his head back and laughs. It’s loud but the kind of laugh that makes you smile because they do it with their whole chest.
“Oh, I like her.” Julian claps his hand down hard on his brother’s shoulder.
“Well, I like her more, if you don’t mind.” Wells tugs me back to his side. “Hug your own wife.”
Julian laughs again. “Don’t mess this up, Caldwell.
I can tell she’s a good one.” He winks at me.
He’s a whole lot more welcoming than their mother.
Who I thankfully haven’t had to talk to again.
I’m not sure how to handle that. After the way she treated me at the spa, I have no desire to have a conversation with her. But I know it’s inevitable.
“Working on it,” Wells mutters, but he’s smiling.
The bride is suddenly stepping toward us. She’s beautiful in a simple white dress, dark hair loose around her shoulders, and there’s something calm about her even in the middle of this circus. “Ignore him,” she says, extending her hand. “He thinks volume equals charm.”
“Doesn’t it?” Julian grins, unbothered.
Emery rolls her eyes, but I can tell it’s an endearment. She turns to me, and her smile is genuine. “I’m so glad you’re here. These events can be overwhelming. If you need an escape route, find me. I know all the hidden terraces.”
“I might take you up on that,” I admit.
She squeezes my hand before Julian drags her toward another group, already shouting greetings. She looks back once, giving me a small nod of encouragement.
“She’s nice,” I say to Wells.
“She’s perfect for him. Grounds him.” He snags two glasses of champagne from a passing tray, handing me one. “Julian’s the favorite. The charming one. I’m the...” He searches for the word.
“The brooding heir?” I suggest.
“Something like that.”
I sip my champagne, scanning the room. And there she is again—Cordelia, laughing at something an older man says, but her eyes flick to me, to Wells, to his hand on my waist. The smile never drops, but her eyes tell a different story. She’s pissed.
But I’m not confrontational. I never have been.
So I look away, focus on my drink, and let Wells pull me into conversation with a diplomat from somewhere I don’t catch.
Besides, what could I say to her? Stop giving me angry eyes?
I’d sound crazy, and Wells talks kindly about her.
Maybe I’m in my own head and I’m misreading her.
There’s just something about her that doesn’t sit right with me.
It’s not coming from a place of jealousy, either.
I suddenly see someone I know.
“Lily?”
The blond head turns, and I recognize her immediately. Lily Harrington. We went to prep school together—not friends exactly but friendly. Our mothers had been close.
“Mable?” She crosses the room in quick strides, already grinning. “Oh my God, I thought that was you! What are you doing here?”
“Date,” I say, glancing at Wells. That sounds strange to say. I’m on a date with a prince. Totally normal. “You?”
“Family friends. My cousin married a VanCleef.” She follows my gaze, and her eyebrows lift. “Wait. Caldwell? As in...”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit.” She grabs my arm, pulling me slightly away. “We need to talk. Girl talk. Now.”
I look at Wells, who has gone still beside me. His hand tightens on my waist.
“Just for a minute,” I say.
“I don’t...” He trails off, jaw tight. I can see him calculating the risk of me going off alone, what I might hear, and what I might believe. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
“I’ll be right over there.” I point to a group of chairs near the terrace doors. “I can see you from there.”
He exhales through his nose, clearly unhappy. But he nods. I have to fight not to laugh. “Ten minutes. Then I come find you.”
“Deal.”
I follow Lily to the chairs, feeling his eyes on my back the whole way. And hers. Cordelia’s.
“Girl, he’s intense and possessive of you,” Lily says, dropping into a seat and pulling me down with her. “Spill. How did you land the prince of Solaria?”
“It’s a long story.” But is it?
“Oh, trust me, I’m making the time.” She leans in, lowering her voice. “But first—you get to meet Cordelia VanCleef yet?”
My stomach sinks, sensing where this is going.
“Yeah. Why?” Lily is giving off Girl I gotta tell you something vibes.
“Because she’s been telling everyone since they were in diapers that she’s going to marry him.
And…” She drops her voice. “I saw the way she looked at you just now.” She squeezes my hand.
“Be careful, Mable. She’s not as nice as she pretends to be, and trust me, she has claws. ”
I look across the room at Cordelia, who is now laughing at something Wells said, her hand on his arm like she has every right to be there.
It didn’t take her long to make her way over in my absence.
The man doesn’t want me ten feet from him, but he can let her touch all over him.
Okay, not all over but whatever. I don’t like it.
“I know,” I say quietly. And I do. But knowing doesn’t make it easier to watch.
Wells appears exactly ten minutes later, like he set a timer. His hand finds my waist immediately, pulling me back against him. “Time’s up.” The charming smile he gives me has me sinking more into him.
“You’re ridiculous.” I shake my head up at him teasingly.
“With you, yes, I am,” he says, but he sounds dead serious.
Lily grins, standing with her eyes bouncing between the two of us, watching our interactions. “Nice to see you, Mable. Text me.” She glances at Wells, then back to me one last time. “And call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” I tell her before she disappears into the crowd.
“What did she say?”
“That you’re intense and possessive.”
“She’s observant.” His hand splays across my stomach, making his words all the more true. I glance down at his hand, and it hits me. We had unprotected sex. I’m not on anything either. “What else?” Wells asks.
I hesitate, not sure if I should say anything. I haven’t experienced firsthand anything actually rude from Cordelia. Even if she is right now talking to Wells’ mom and they look chummy as hell.
The music shifts to something slower, couples beginning to drift toward the dance floor. “She also warned me about Cordelia.”
Wells stiffens slightly. “What about her?” His brows pull together, concern taking over.
“That you two are getting married and it was planned years ago.”
Wells shakes his head. “That’s old gossip people make up. Ignore it.”
“Either way, I don’t think she much cares for me.” Wells follows my line of sight, still watching Cordelia and his mom, now laughing.
His eyes search my face. “Why do you think that? Did she say something to you?” I shake my head no because she’s only been kind to my face, and I do not want to be the girl that doesn’t like another girl because of jealousy over a man.
I also don’t want Wells to think I can’t get along with any of the women in his life.
“I think...” Cordelia slightly turns toward us, her perfect smile still fixed in place. “I think she touches you like she has every right. And you let her.”
Wells blinks, genuinely surprised. “I don’t—”
“You do.” I pull back slightly, creating space between us. I can tell instantly he doesn’t like that. “You didn’t pull away when she grabbed your arm. But you wouldn’t let me walk ten feet to talk to an old friend without a countdown.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
He stares at me. “Because...” He drags a hand through his hair. “Because Cordelia is... she’s harmless. She’s been in my life forever. She’s like family.”
“Family doesn’t look at you like that.”
“Like what?” He’s either a great actor or he genuinely doesn’t notice it. I suppose that really goes to show me that to him she is platonic at least.
“Never mind.” I don’t want to start an issue. I haven’t met all of his family. I don’t want everyone thinking I’m full of drama when that’s the opposite of who I am.
He kisses my forehead, my nose, and my mouth. “Let’s go make it real clear to everyone who we’re with tonight.”
Before I can ask what he means, he’s pulling me toward the dance floor.
The music has shifted again, slow and romantic, and he pulls me into his arms. All those watching eyes, all the whispered conversations, and Cordelia’s piercing glare from the edge of the dance floor remain trained on our every move.
Wells ignores them all. He looks only at me. I do the same. I’m not here for any of them. I’m only here for him.
“Put your arms around my neck,” he says softly.
I do; he’s too hard to resist. He pulls me closer until there’s no space between us. His hands settle low on my waist, possessive and deliberate, and he begins to move. I can feel the hard outline of his cock pressing into my stomach.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Showing them,” he whispers against my hair. “Showing everyone the rumors are bullshit. I have never danced this way with anyone before. You’re the one I want. The only one.”
He dips me suddenly and dramatically, and I gasp, clutching his shoulders in surprise. He holds me there, suspended, and kisses me. Not a polite press of lips—a real kiss, deep and claiming, in front of everyone.
The crowd makes noises—surprise, delight, and scandal. I don’t care. I kiss him back, lost in it, lost in him.
When he pulls me upright, I’m dizzy.
Normally I don’t care for such attention, but that was kind of perfect. I don’t need to glance toward Cordelia to know she wholeheartedly disagrees.