Trapped In The Wrong Arms

Selene's POV

I had told myself it didn't matter.

For six weeks I had been very disciplined about telling myself that. It didn't matter that he would be here tonight. It didn't matter that I had checked the sponsor list four separate times since that Sunday in my garden. It didn't matter that I had selected my outfit since two weeks ago, and had hoped Marcus would approve.

The dress was black. Simple, and I packed my hair just the way Cade used to like it. I tried to convince myself it was nothing, I just needed to look different.

Marcus looked at me twice, and approved with a nod. I was glad.

The gala was everything these evenings always were. The Langham's ballroom dressed in white and gold, two hundred people performing wealth and generosity at each other with practised ease. I knew this room. I knew these people. I knew exactly which smile to use with which face. I moved through the evening gracefully giving no clue about the turmoil happening in my belly.

Marcus was in his element. The handshakes, the laughter that reached his eyes because here there were cameras and witnesses. I stayed the appropriate distance from his elbow and said the appropriate things and was, by every visible measure, the perfect accompaniment.

I looked at the entrance constantly.

At 8:14 PM, he walked in.

I knew it before I saw him, some thing that my nervous system registered before my eyes caught up. And then there he was. Dark suit. That jaw. That particular way he carried himself like......

I felt the breath leave my body.

And then I saw her.

She appeared at his side from just behind him, tall, polished, on a beautiful burgundy dress that complimented her perfectly. Her hand found his arm, and she said something close to his ear and he tilted his head slightly to hear her and the gesture was so casually intimate that something in my chest turned over and kept turning.

Of course, I thought. Of course he brought someone.

What had I expected? Five years. He was Cade Mercer. He had the looks, and certainly the money. He definitely wouldn't be single.

I looked away.

Back to Marcus. Back to the couple we were talking to; the Foresters, property developers, Marcus's current priority. I smiled at something Mrs Forester said. It was one of my better smiles. Nobody could tell.

The evening moved the way these evenings moved in long slow circles, having the same conversations over and over again. I ate nothing and drank one glass of champagne and made sure not to move past one part of the hall. I was particularly avoiding the part Cade was.

But the universe has a very ironic sense of humor. As, Mrs. Alderton, whom Marcus had warned me about moved towards me to talk about something.

"Mrs Hale, you simply must come and thank the Mercer man personally," she said, materialising at my elbow. "Tremendous sponsorship package. Your husband's been meaning to, I'm sure, but you know how these evenings go....."

"Of course," I heard myself say interrupting her.

Because what else do I say.

He was standing with a small group near the sponsor display, the woman beside him, one hand still at his arm, laughing at something one of the other guests had said. Up close she was even more polished. Composed. The kind of woman who looked like she belonged anywhere she stood.

I approached with my best smile already assembled.

"Mr Mercer." My voice was perfect. "I wanted to thank you personally for Mercer Logistics' generous support this evening. The Foundation is very grateful."

He turned.

For one fraction of a second, something moved across his face. And then it was gone and he was looking at me the way a stranger looks at a stranger and extending his hand.

"Mrs Hale." His voice was even. Unreadable. "The Foundation does important work. We're glad to support it."

His hand around mine. Five seconds. The same hands. The exact same hands and I was not going to think about that.

"This is Diane," he said, and the woman in burgundy smiled, and she even looked more perfect. This is Cade's exact spec. She's polished, and elegant. He must have settled for me back then.

"Lovely to meet you," I said.

"And you," Diane said warmly.

I turned and walked away.

I found a quiet corner at the bar. The champagne in my hand was something to hold and I held it and watched the room from a distance and told myself I was fine, I was always fine, this was nothing.

I looked back once.

He was adjusting something on Diane's shoulder, her wrap, a strap, and as he straightened his eyes found mine across the room.

I didn't know whose gaze dropped first. I told myself it didn't matter.

I finished my champagne. Set the glass down. Decided to find Marcus, just to have somewhere to walk toward, and something to do with the rest of this evening.

I found him at the back of the building.

The side door that led to the private car park. Slightly ajar. I almost didn't push it open.

I wish I hadn't pushed it open.

Marcus. And a woman I didn't recognise. His hand in her hair. Her back against the car. His mouth on hers with a hunger I had never once seen him direct at me in five years of marriage.

I stood there for three seconds.

He didn't see me.

I let the door close quietly, the way I did everything in that house. Quietly. Without a trace.

I walked back into the ballroom, found my smile, and wore it for the rest of the evening.