It seemed like a lifetime ago that everything bad in her life happened. Perhaps it was. Time had come to be an abstract thing that was neither here nor there. It simply carried on, day after meaningless day; the one constant in her life that lacked reality or significance.
To a certain degree, Nate had changed all of that for her. He had brought her a small amount of happiness on some level; made her feel somewhat whole again; helped her to feel pretty again. She was grateful for that. She rolled the stem of her wine glass between her fingers while wondering about her rationale for accepting his proposal. Deep down, she knew the reason. It had been out of gratitude and sense of indebtedness she felt toward him. He had made her forget about how she had fallen in love with a man who would never love her in return, even if he had only made her forget for a moment.
Frustrated with where her thoughts were going, Elsa quickly drank down the remainder of her Blackstone. On the day that was supposed to be a festive celebration of her future, why the hell was she dwelling on the past when there was nothing she could do to change it?
“Your fiancé must be feeling brave to be drinking on a weekday.”
The deep, familiar, eerily calm voice sent chills down her spine, making her nearly drop the empty glass tumbler in her hand.
“She does like her wine,” Nate answered with a light laugh.
Her barstool was abruptly spun around, bringing her face-to-face with the man who wanted to share his life with her and the one who had completely wrecked her life.
“Elsa, this is Victor Laurenzo. He works for the FBI.”
Her mouth hung open as she stared into the most cruelly deceiving green eyes to ever look back at her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he reached his hand out to her.
Unable to move, all she could do was stare back at him, wordless, while his eyes roamed over her face. He was sporting his usual just-got-fucked hair and was dressed to the nines in an expensive, black tailored suit and pink striped tie. When she inhaled his familiar scent, memories of their time together flooded her brain. As one corner of his mouth twitched into a faint smile, she forced herself to take his hand into hers, shaking it woodenly.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” he held onto her hand tightly.
The well-mannered and gracious response that came out of his mouth was anything but heartfelt and the contempt in his tone was glaringly apparent. At least it was to her.
She quickly snatched her hand away from him and tucked herself into Nate for protection, hoping he would hold her for a change. When he stood rigidly unmoving next to her, she clutched him tighter, trying to relay her need. Only then did he place an arm around her shoulders. When she glanced in Victor’s direction, he was watching their interaction with great interest. Irritated and flustered at seeing him and having felt his touch after so long, she forced herself to focus on something other than the man who had beaten her, rejected her love, and ripped her heart out.
Nate and Victor’s voices droned on around her as they made polite conversation about work, and for an instant, she got the feeling that they knew each other. It wasn’t entirely impossible since they were both Richmond natives, but Nate had never mentioned knowing Victor before. While she avoided looking in his direction, her mind was abuzz with nervous energy and alarm. She used to fear the day when Mr. Black would show up again. She knew it was inevitable, but after he had moved away, there was hope that maybe, just maybe, he was truly out of her life for good.
Dread began to creep up on her when she could feel his eyes on her, probing her, inspecting and scrutinizing her every move. Angry thoughts began to assail her as she stood in the wake of his gaze. When had he gotten back into town? Was this a business trip or strictly to make an appearance to remind her how he fucked her over in the worst possible way?
She bristled at the sound of his voice and held on tighter to Nate.
Who the hell did he think he was by showing up to her engagement party? Why the fuck couldn’t he just leave her alone? After what he put her through… What he did to her… How dare he show his face.
Unable to resist, she glanced in his direction and gave him her best get-the-fuck-out-of-here look. When his mouth twisted into a devious grin, it was all she could do not to scream obscenities at him for having interrupted her life just for the sake of his own sick pleasure.
As if sensing her intentions, his brows arched upward. “Have we met before?”
Nate’s eyes converged on her, making her shift uncomfortably in his arms. The coy question and smirk on Victor’s face made her cheeks flush with fury.
Clearly pleased with her discomfort, he continued staring at her, daring her to respond.
“I don’t think so…” she stammered and freed herself from Nate’s feeble grip so that he couldn’t feel her trembling.
If only she had the courage to say what was really on her mind…
She turned to flee, but had a sudden change of heart. She wasn’t the same girl that she was before Mr. Black’s harsh treatment of her, and there was no way in hell she was going to allow him one single moment of smug satisfaction. Peering over her shoulder, she eyed him warily but threw caution to the wind.
“I had a run in with someone named Mr. Black once. He was a real son-of-a-bitch. You very much remind me of him.” Nate’s eyes widened, and his face brightened with embarrassment, but she continued, undeterred. “The resemblance between the two of you is uncanny. Are you related to him?”
***
The tendons in the back of Victor’s neck tightened, but he held his composure. Just as he opened his mouth in rebuttal to Elsa’s bold remark, she cut him off.
“Never mind. He was no one of importance.”
Her words struck a blow. She strode away, her curvy hips sashaying in time with the angry clicks of her heels on the hardwood floor, mocking and reminding him of how she had turned her back on him once before. The creak of his jaw from clenching it so tightly was loud in his own ears and blood surged through his veins at her audacity.
“I apologize for her attitude. She’s been in a real mood tonight,” Nathan stuttered. “It must be her nerves.”
Why the fuck was he apologizing for Elsa? She hadn’t done anything but be her insolent self. As he stood toe-to-toe and eye-to-eye with Nathan, he sized him up. For a moment, he considered suggesting a three-some with a cute stranger or hooker just to see if the man could remain faithful in the shadow of his upcoming marriage.
Fuck that.
The thought of having anything sexual to do with the man for whom his hatred had grown exponentially over the last month was nauseating. Especially knowing he would most likely go running back to Elsa and still end up marrying her.
He had watched her carefully for nearly an hour and her exchanges with everyone, paying close attention to the phony elation plastered on her face. It was so fucking obvious that every bit of her joyfulness was just a show. He found it astounding that no one else could see right through her charade.
His worst fear had been that she was truly enamored with Nathan. However, seeing her with him up close and how awkward they were together physically, his mind was put at ease. She didn’t love him; she was simply settling. He knew Elsa to be strong-willed; not someone who would accept anything less than exactly what she wanted. Hell, she left his ass when he denied her love, so why the hell was she now willing to marry this guy who couldn’t even show her affection in public?
As always, her actions mystified him. He had no idea where her head was at in this whole situation, other than to say he could tell he had upset her by making an appearance. That much was abundantly clear. Though, in reality, he expected nothing less after the way things ended between them. Ideally, he would’ve hoped she fell at his feet and begged him to fuck her senseless and take her back, but that was just his ego talking, and he knew it.