Bridget
Natalie shows up exactly when she says she would, and I feel just as unprepared as I did when she called me three and a half hours ago.
She stands in my living room in the most beautiful ruby red dress.
Its thin material clings to her slim and tall frame perfectly and pools at her feet, her silver heels peeking out from underneath.
The sweetheart neckline is delicate and accentuates her prominent collarbone and the chiffon ruffles that cover the dress from top to bottom give her usual sharp look a softer feel.
Her coloured honey blonde hair is twisted into a messy French pleat that enhances her chiselled features.
We both look like our mother with slightly turned noses and heart-shaped lips. The only visual difference between us, other than our height and body types, are our eyes. While I have our father’s blue eyes, my sister inherited our mother’s hazel eyes.
“You look great!” Natalie beams. “I knew you’d pull something together.”
As per my sister’s advice, I went for the navy dress that was tucked away in the back of my closet.
I bought it on a whim and hadn’t found the right occasion, or confidence, to wear it yet.
The satin material feels luxurious against my skin, making me feel like a million bucks.
The high and straight neckline accentuates my shoulders and while the sleeveless design makes me feel slightly self-conscious of my arms, the alarmingly high slit up the thigh makes me feel sexy.
I love the way the material gathers slightly at the waist and drapes fluidly over my curves, defining my silhouette.
“I like it when you wear your hair wavy,” Natalie compliments as she runs her fingers through the ends of my hair. “It suits you.”
I look down and kick at the excess material from my dress from under my feet.
I opted for a pair of nude heels to give my five-foot-six frame the little boost it needs, but it seems like I’m still not quite tall enough for this dress.
Reaching down, I smooth out the wrinkles on the fabric of my dress and look up at Natalie who is typing on her phone.
“We better head out, otherwise we’ll be late.”
I nod and follow her out of my apartment, but not before I grab a jacket and my purse. “Who the hell organizes a work event on a Sunday?” I grumble as we walk down the stairs.
Natalie snorts as she opens the front door and makes her way to the Uber. “Rich bastards, that’s who.”
As we sit in the back of the Uber and make our way into the city, I look over the e-invite Natalie forwarded to me.
The charity gala is being held at the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Vancouver, and I instantly feel nervous.
As the driver parks around the corner, I make a note of all the Teslas and limousines dropping guest off at the entrance.
Once we enter the lobby, we’re ushered toward the event room.
Natalie takes my jacket from me and hands it over to the young boy manning the coatroom.
There are servers standing in a line, directing us to the ballroom, holding trays of champagne, and I take one of the flutes with a polite nod.
I take a sip of the bubbles, and I know I’ll be knocking back several of these like no one’s business just to get through the night.
Natalie jabs her elbow into my side as I place my empty flute on a tray and pick up another. “For the love of all things holy, please do not embarrass me tonight.”
I roll my eyes and take a small sip of the champagne, rather than the huge gulp I took just before. “Calm down, you nervous Nelly, I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
My sister says nothing as we walk into the hall, and I struggle to keep my shock to myself.
White fabric drapes across the ceilings, winding around the three large crystal chandeliers that hang from the ceiling.
The walls are off-white, giving the room a bright and open feel.
The wooden floor quite literally gleams as you walk farther through the room.
Tables upon tables are scattered around the room, all of which are round with white tablecloths over the top.
Wineglasses, plates, and endless silverware sits atop the tables, along with small silver wrapped gifts.
Men clad in suits are walking with women in elegant gowns, people laughing and talking amongst themselves, as people continue filtering into the room. Natalie loops her arm through mine and drags me toward a group of people standing by the large stage at the front of the room.
A redhead turns to face us and her smile brightens immediately when her gaze lands on my sister.
She looks stunning in her silky floral dress that complements her peachy skin and auburn hair perfectly.
She throws her slender arms around my sister and the gold bangles on her wrist clink together at the sudden movement.
“Nat, you look glorious,” she says, her voice husky. “This colour looks wonderful on you.”
My sister winks and accepts the compliment gracefully, before turning her attention to me. “Lorna, I’d like you to meet my sister, Bridget. Sissy, this is my good friend, Lorna.”
Lorna looks over at me warmly before she pulls me into her, rubbing her hands down my back.
“She forgot to mention that I’m also her favourite colleague.
” She winks at my sister. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, I’ve heard such good things.
” Lorna pulls away, her hands resting on my elbows briefly before dropping down to her sides.
“Likewise.” My eyes drop down to her dress and I notice the way her spine straightens as she basks in the attention. “You look beautiful.”
Her laugh is harmonic as she flips her hair over her shoulder and shrugs modestly. “Well, aren’t you the sweetest.” My sister smiles at her compliment. “Natalie, you never told me your sister was such a charmer, I’m enamoured.”
Natalie joins in the soft laughter. “You can’t possibly tell me that husband of yours isn’t falling at your feet daily.”
Lorna’s face warms at the mention of him and her eyes start to wander around the room in search of him. “Of course he is, darling. He does anything I ask of him.”
The blonde next to her giggles. “An obedient boy, is he, Lor?”
Lorna’s brown eyes twinkle as she takes a sip of her champagne, smirking smugly over the rim of her glass.
“I have his balls in a vise, Quinn.” She snaps her teeth together playfully and then sighs wistfully.
“I suppose I did find a good man. He’s attentive, considerate, and level-headed.
He knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go for it. I’m so lucky, really.”
Quinn looks at me shyly and waves her hand. “Seeing as your sister failed to introduce me, I may as well do it myself. I’m Quinn.”
Natalie reaches out and squeezes her hand in her own. “I’m sorry, Quinny.” She looks at me. “Sissy, this is the sweetest woman in the world. Quinn works in media marketing for the company. Every ad you see online or on the TV? That’s all Quinn—she’s the best.”
The blonde looks bashful as she takes a sip of her drink. “I wouldn’t go that far.” She turns to look at me. “I cut back on my hours when I had my children, so I only work on the big ads now.”
“That’s very impressive, though,” I tell her.
“What do you do for work, Bridget?” Lorna asks.
“I’m a legal secretary.” Quinn and Lorna nod their heads approvingly. “I initially wanted to work in the medical field but decided against it. I’ve been a legal secretary for a few years now and really enjoy it. It keeps me busy.”
Lorna hums. “My husband is a doctor—he says it’s the most rewarding job. It’s admirable, really, the way doctors are so caring toward absolute strangers. Don’t you think?”
I hear the love in her voice as she talks about him and her eyes light up when they land on a blond man who is leaning against the bar talking to two other men. His back is toward us, but I don’t miss the wave of familiarity that washes over me as my gaze lands on his broad shoulders.
I clear my throat. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment. I’m going to grab a drink,” I tell the ladies as I try to shake the unsettling feeling that has rooted itself in the pit of my stomach.
As I weave my way through people and around the tables, I feel slightly at ease when my eyes lock on the bar. I lean against the marble bar top and wait for a bartender.
The air around me shifts, and that’s when I feel him. The way he domineers the space around him like it’s his goddamn puppet. He slides up next to me and rests his elbow on the side, looking down at me with a condescending smirk.
What I would do to reach up and wipe that look off his face.
That smarmy, slimy, sleazy look.
God, I hate him so much.
“Bridget, what a pleasant surprise,” the asshole says.
The mere sound of his voice has me wanting to smash his face into the bar, but I wouldn’t do that, of course—Natalie would kill me. I turn to look at him with what I hope is a pleasant smile, and I feel my skin crawl at the sight of him.
For a second, I wonder what I ever saw in him.
He still looks the same with silver wire-frame glasses that I’m pretty sure he’s had since before we started dating.
Naturally, his blond hair is greying slightly at the temples, he’s styled it back into an annoyingly perfect quiff, and I hate to admit it but it suits him.
His blue eyes sweep down my body, lingering slightly on my breasts as they heave with every quick breath I take, and I will myself to calm down.
I’m sure he’s already having a field day knowing he has me cornered, so I can’t show him that being around him affects me still.
“Tom, hello,” I say, my voice coming out shaky. “What a pleasant surprise, indeed.”
“Here alone?” he asks, his eyes still weighing heavily on my chest. “I’m here with my wife.” Tom’s eyes flick up as he says the last word and tilts his head to the side, as if he’s trying to get a reaction out of me.
In the six years we dated, the idea of marriage seemed absolutely ridiculous to him.
Any time someone would bring it up or even hint at the two of us tying the knot, he would scoff or dismiss it with some bullshit about how women and men didn’t need to be married to be happy and that we weren’t in the eighteenth century anymore.
Natalie knew how much it hurt me every time he shut down any conversation regarding marriage, or even having children, but now I look back at it and thank my stars that I managed to get rid of him.
“Oh, wow! Congratulations!” I say, matching the way his head tilts with my own. “I know marriage was a touchy subject for you.”
His eyes narrow in a challenging manner as he nods slowly. “Yes, of course. I just hadn’t met the right person.”
Dick. I want to laugh, but instead nod in understanding, because fuck it, if he wants to play this game then so will I.
“I know how you feel.” He frowns. “Meeting my fiancé was such a blessing, and you know how the saying goes, you have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince.”
It’s his turn to look at me like he wants to rip out my jugular, and honestly, the way his lips twitches in annoyance is so fucking rewarding that I can’t help the way my grin widens in delight.
“Is that so? He must work in the field then if you’re attending.”
Fuck.
I didn’t think this through, and the way that Tom’s lip lifts ever so slightly at the corner has me realizing he’s on to me.
I hum as I smooth my hair over my shoulder, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.
“That’s right.” I look around, pretending to search for the man in question, and then I wave my hand dismissively.
“He’s around here somewhere. Most likely schmoozing with other businessmen, you know what it’s like. ”
“Oh, of course he is,” Tom says as he looks down at me with a pitiful smirk. “He must be very good at what he does, to work at such a big company.”
I don’t answer, and he’s about to say something else, but the words die in his mouth as soon as an arm curls around my waist. I try my absolute hardest not to let my panic show as a large hand splays across my stomach, the hairs on my arms standing to attention.
Suddenly, I’m being pulled into someone’s warm and solid side, and I pray to God it isn’t some weird creep.
“There you are,” a deep voice says, his lips brushing against the top of my ear. “I thought I’d lost you, baby.”
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders.
Slowly, I let my head turn until I’m met with dark brown eyes.
Shit.
It’s the guy from the club.