Stone Cold Fox (64)

I smiled at Dave and he held out his hand for me to shake. He made no mention of our prior meeting. I received his hand. It was charged. And who can really say that about something as dull as a handshake, especially when we were giving off the energy that all we really wanted to do was hump each other? I pulled my hand away and fast. He called so loudly to my hedonistic side. A side that I had all but muffled due to Mother’s influence. I didn’t trust anything that beckoned on that primal level of lust, and I completely lusted for Dave Bradford. “Great to meet you, Bea.” He grinned.

“This is Dave Bradford,” Collin continued, not picking up any of the signals we were throwing down. “He’s one of my oldest friends, but he’s been back and forth to London these days, so we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like. Glad you could make the wedding, bud. Means a lot.” Well, that was a creative way to disguise the real reason Dave wasn’t around much. Dave merely had business in London, not repeated torrid affairs with married women.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” He smiled, answering Collin, looking at me. “I won’t be in London for too much longer actually. I’m moving some investments around. Planning to be back in New York the majority of my time with this new company I’m adding to the portfolio, save for some essential travel to Seattle, where the founders are based.” How was this man making a conversation that would be so mind-numbingly boring with anyone else so completely riveting? “Congratulations on bagging such a fine fellow, Bea.” Dave finally turned his full attention to me. “Collin Case is a true gem of a man.”

I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or snide. “Oh, he’s all right,” I teased lovingly, squeezing Collin’s hand tight for effect. As if that would make it any better about feeling outrageously horny for another man right in front of him.

“Well, go on and keep that newlywed party train moving. You have a lot of schmoozing to do.” Dave shooed Collin and me away, his hands on the smalls of our backs, as we returned to the crowd. “Insane guest list. Good luck.” Dave’s touch actually made me sigh aloud. Drat. My arousal was becoming too palpable and it was not for public consumption. I needed to reel it in. “Bea, it was a pleasure. Coll, we’ll catch up soon.”

“For sure, man,” Collin replied, leading me away to the next table. Thank God. I needed to get away from Dave and not a moment too soon. I spied Gale at the other end of the room, speaking with Syl, of all people. Syl looked miserable, the poor dear. Her neanderthal fiancé lingered nearby with a Heineken in hand, not even considering coming to her aid. No one wanted to be cornered into conversation with Gale Wallace-Leicester.

What the hell were the two of them even talking about? I didn’t like it, but Syl would spill later. We were friends. Besides, Collin and I were married.

Gale had lost.



* * *



? ? ?

I STOLE AWAY to the bridal suite for a breather, feigning that I needed a lip gloss touch-up, as if the makeup wasn’t etched into my skin to last for a solid ten hours. The reflection in the mirror felt new somehow, the veil and gown notwithstanding. Who was this woman? Who was Mrs. Beatrice Case going to be? I had built her up for so long, a version of her, and now, here she was in the flesh. She officially existed in the world. Free to be herself, whatever that meant. She would never want for anything. She would always feel safe. Secure. She was a fixture. A full-blown member of the Family Case, a new branch on the ancestral tree, a new bullet point on their Wikipedia page, a blank slate ready to be written upon. Would she be the chair of a philanthropic board? Would she start a line of resort wear? Would she take on a senior role at the Case Company? Would she run for office one day? Jesus. She could do anything.

But I had no earthly idea what my actual interests were now that I was finally here with her, as one. What would we do with all of this free time? An intoxicating question and one that required careful thought. The boring and dull choices were always what I had envisioned. But a lifetime of that? Was it even possible for someone like me? If pre-marriage Bea got excited at the mere whiff of mayhem, what would married Bea do when something juicy presented itself, which it inevitably would? Such is life.

A tighter leash could be required.



* * *



? ? ?

IN THE MIDST of our continued greetings with guests, I idiotically turned around to sneak another peek at Mr. Bradford. He was brazen. A sensual lip bite in my direction with zero remorse. You know the kind. That subtle type of facial body language amongst humans that literally translates to “I can’t wait until we fuck later.”

I was in imminent danger if I kept it up.

But I wanted to keep it up.

Dinner was divine. Options of chateaubriand or lobster or both. The various speeches from our line of attendants went off without a hitch. I could not have cared less about what Wren Daly had to say about our pseudo–best friendship, but I smiled during her performance all the same. Soon it was Gale’s turn to speak.

I bunched up my toes in my shoes with excitement. I yearned to hear her praise our union, but I also wondered if she’d try something. Something wild in the name of taking me down in front of everyone they knew. I’d have to think fast, spring into action, fix the problem immediately. It was the first time it occurred to me that this might always be how it was with Gale Wallace-Leicester. On alert, feeling unwieldy, a threat. Married or not. She was here to stay, a fixture herself, not in the Family Case, but in the larger kingdom itself. We could always be connected if I didn’t actively do something about it.