Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)(78)

“Did you need something, Mrs. Sinclair?”

“Yes, Jaxon. I would appreciate it if you’d ask my granddaughter to dance.”

“Of course.” He turned to Bryn. “Would you like to dance?”

“My grandmother would like us to. Is that the same thing?”

“Yes.” Her grandmother’s tone was teasing with a bit of edge. “Go out there and pretend to enjoy each other’s company.”

“Let’s get this over with.” Jaxon took her hand and they moved onto the crowded dance floor. “You’re responsible for what happened to Liam, aren’t you?”

“Karma is responsible for what happened to him.”

Jaxon shook his head, but he was smiling.

“Are you friends with him?” she asked.

“No. Quite the opposite. His father and mine rarely agree, and he always acts so smug. It’s annoying.”

Jaxon’s calling someone else smug caught her off guard, and she laughed.

He glared at her. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” She tried to maintain a straight face, but couldn’t.

“Are you saying I act like him?”

“You used to act like him. Now you’re not nearly as annoying.” He did not look appeased. “Now you’re downright charming. Warm and fuzzy, almost.”

He laughed and gave her a fake haughty look. “I’m a Westgate. We don’t do warm and fuzzy. It’s against our genetic code.”

“Someone at your house better do warm and fuzzy, because your mother is only going to become more hormonal.”

“I’m counting down the days until we return to school. She’s redecorating the entire estate to make it baby-safe. My father pointed out that the baby won’t be walking for a year, and she burst into tears. Now he’s ordering every babyproofing item on the internet and having the staff install them. She even put them in my room. It’s absurd.”

“It’s nice that your dad is trying to help her.”

“Please. He runs out the door on Directorate business at every opportunity, leaving me to pretend to be interested in baby blankets and strollers.”

“I wouldn’t mind spending time with your mom.” Where had that come from?

“Why would you want to spend time with her?”

“I like your mom.” And it’s not like she had a mom of her own to hang around. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a plot to walk you down the aisle. I could use a friend right now, and it sounds like she could, too. Unless you want to spend time looking at baby clothes.”

“No. You’re more than welcome to take over that duty. I’ll tell her you asked about decorations for the nursery, and she’ll take it from there, I’m sure.”

The song ended, and Jaxon stepped away from her. Another girl caught his eye, and he abandoned Bryn without another word. And it bothered her. Not that he was dancing with someone else, but that they’d been having a friendly, or so she thought, conversation, and he must have been counting the minutes until he could dance with someone else.

She stood there, unsure of what to do as couples started dancing around her. Did anyone else approach and ask her to dance? Of course not.

Fine. Holding her head high, she walked back to her table, which was empty again, damn it. Time to visit the bathroom. And she’d do it with a smile on her face. No reason for people to see that she’d been tossed aside again.

The losses in her life kept adding up. Zavien had been her emotional rock. Now he was gone. Her parents…best not to think about that right now. That left her with Jaxon. She’d been stupid enough to think they might be friends. He’d just proven that they might be allies, but nothing more.

Somehow, being rejected by her former nemesis was the final straw for the evening. She was done. If there were any way to have her feelings removed, at this point she’d be willing to look into it.





Chapter Thirty


How long could she hide in a bathroom stall before people noticed or someone came looking for her? Ten minutes ago she’d taken refuge in the ladies’ room. After five minutes of hiding in the stall, she came out and washed her hands multiple times.

Time to suck it up and head back out to the damn party where she felt like a social leper. She grabbed the door handle, and then backed up as it swung inward.

“There you are,” her grandmother said. “I was beginning to worry about you. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” That was a big fat lie.

“It’s time for us to adjourn to the small ballroom to open gifts.”

Aw, crap. She’d left the gift certificates for the gardening club and dessert-of-the-month at school. “I left your gifts in my dorm room.”

“Don’t worry, we can send for them later.” She waved Bryn out into the hall.

“What happens after the gift opening?” Was it too much to hope that everyone would go home so she could collapse in bed?

“After the presents are opened, we say good-night and guests are free to leave or mingle for a while longer over hot cocoa.”

Was she included in the list of people allowed to leave? The only way to find out was to ask. “Does that mean I can go lie down? I’m exhausted.”