Faking Forever (First Wives #4)(61)

Something about Shannon being the quiet, reserved one. Up until now, Victor thought that was a joke. Shannon had been anything but silent since they met.

Yet here she was, listening to everyone tell their stories with very little to say about herself. He wanted to know more . . . How did she meet all the personalities in the room? And there were some pretty big personalities there. Money . . . lots of it. More than he had, that was for sure. Victor had met people through the years whose income dwarfed his, but seldom was it at an intimate gathering of friends. Then again, he wasn’t sure the last time he’d gathered with friends like this. The wedding, he supposed. But his buddies from school didn’t measure up financially, which always meant that Victor was paying the bill. He’d gotten tired of it and slowly pushed people aside. Which meant he spent a lot of time working and not a lot of time living.

Shannon must have felt his stare. Her eyes lifted to meet his.

His gut warmed with her soft smile.

“. . . you’ll have to come, Victor.”

His attention was pulled back into the conversation by Trina addressing him.

“Of course.” He had no idea what he’d just agreed to.

Someone on his left laughed.

Shannon snickered and sipped her wine.

“Okay, Trina, Wade. You gathered us all together tonight for a reason.” Lori shifted the conversation, which forced Victor into paying attention.

“We wanted to congratulate Avery and Liam.” Trina smiled.

Liam put his arm over his wife’s shoulders.

“And meet Victor.”

Yeah, he’d sensed that the second he walked through the door.

Wade walked behind his wife, a silly smile on his face, wrapped her in his arms, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He placed one open palm on her belly. “And one other little, tiny thing,” he said.

The women in the room screeched.

“I knew it!” Avery tore loose of Liam’s arm and stood.

Lori reached Trina first. “Congratulations.”

Shannon set her wine aside, moisture gathering in her eyes. Victor’s gaze followed her as she crossed the room to hug her friend.

Victor stood aside and watched a steady stream of handshakes.

Through the mix of hurried questions and excitement, he heard words of due dates and diapers.

And he watched Shannon. The happiness in her eyes shined, but there was a hint of sadness there, too.

He took the opportunity of the room swimming with multiple conversations to move to her side.

“It looks like you’ll have a couple of baby showers to plan this year.”

Shannon smiled with a nod. “Yes, it does.”

He looked at her, paused. “Do you want children?”

His question resulted in her blinking silently several times. “One day,” she said quietly.

Here she was again, the observer. Victor couldn’t help but wonder if it was a shell, a way of protecting herself from the elements around her. If the room was any indication, she was the last of her friends to be single, or divorced and unmarried, in any event. Clearly Victor was asked to join the party as a test of some sort. The protective nature of Shannon’s friends was evident in the questions they asked him, the way they made him feel welcome and yet didn’t put on fake airs. They were weighing him like a father did a daughter’s date on prom night.

He liked it.

“Do you think I passed the test?” he asked close to Shannon’s ear.

It took her a few seconds to understand what he was asking. The question chased the sadness from her eyes. “Were they that obvious?”

He touched her elbow, felt her tremble, and led her to a quieter part of the room by the window. “Your friends care about you. I think that says a lot about them and you.”

“What does it say?” she asked.

He leaned against the window, reluctantly removed his hand from her arm. “This whole party. Inviting me and not telling you . . . they want to make sure I’m worthy.” That I’m not out to hurt you.

“They’re protective.”

“You deserve their protection.”

“You barely know me.”

He smiled. “I’m going to change that.”

Her mouth opened and closed without words.

The need to hold her, kiss her, wrap his arms around her until she stopped trembling . . . or maybe until she trembled more. His palms itched to leave with her.

An eruption of laughter flowed toward them.

Shannon glanced away from him, stepped closer.

“Would you like to leave?” Shannon asked.

Victor did a double take.

Her jaw was tight, her smile forced.

The protective hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

“Please,” she said. “If we leave together, they won’t question my exit.”

He took her hand in his, found it cold and clammy.

Victor looked in her eyes as she blinked away the emotions surging to the surface.

He pulled her toward their hosts. Lori broke off the conversation with Trina and Wade when they approached. Her eyes shifted between the two of them, hesitated on Shannon, and then focused on him.

“It looks like I’m being given a coffee date two months early,” Victor announced. He glanced toward Shannon to see if she wanted to add anything.

He saw her swallow . . . hard. Her hand gripped his.