Found in You(70)

That should have been everyone, but near me, their backs toward me so I hadn’t spotted them at first, were Warren and Madge Werner. And Celia.

I tensed, so many warring thoughts in my head, emotions so strong that they spread through my body. Hudson hadn’t invited me, hadn’t wanted me at this social function, but Celia had been on the guest list all along. Was that the true reason he hadn’t told me about Sophia’s birthday? Both of us had agreed not to see her. Yeah, I had gone back on that deal, but at least there wasn’t a chance that I was going to jump her. At least I hadn’t almost been engaged to the woman. Had he not invited me to this dinner because of that silly agreement, or was it because he wanted to be alone with her? Well, alone as in without me, anyway.

And Celia, whom I had confided in and bonded with just that afternoon, hadn’t mentioned the dinner either.


My eyes flew from the blonde to the man standing next to me. His face was even. This was why he’d been quiet. He knew I’d be upset.

I was.

I couldn’t take it. I had to bolt. Through gritted teeth, I hissed, “I thought you said this was family only.”

Then I turned and walked away.





Chapter Eleven




Before I was out of earshot, I heard Hudson defending my departure. “She left something in the car. Excuse us a moment.”

Fuck, he was coming after me.

The sure way to lose him was to head for the bathroom, not that I put it past Hudson to follow me in, but I didn’t know where it was located, and I’d already made it past the host’s desk. My eyes scanned the hallway. There were the elevators, which would require waiting for a car, and a door to the stairs.

I took the stairs, and, realizing fifty flights down in heels was maybe not a good idea, I went up.

The breeze hit my face as I stepped onto the roof, the heavy door slamming behind me. I kept walking.

The roof was practically abandoned, so I knew the sound of the door shutting behind me was Hudson. Still I kept on, rushing through the gardens and leisure seating arranged across the building top, trying to find a spot where I could be alone, where I could breathe, where I could sort out my paranoia from the legitimacy of the situation.

At the corner wall, I stopped. I leaned over the edge of the cement enclosure, gulping in huge lungfuls of air. Deep breathing was the only thing keeping me from breaking down into sobs.

His footsteps were quiet behind me, but I still heard them, as if I was hyper-attuned to his movements. He stopped before he got to me, reaching out to me with speech instead of his body. “The Werners are practically family.”

At least he was smart enough to know why I’d run. And brave enough to not pretend otherwise. He deserved credit for that.

But I couldn’t give him anything but disbelief. “Right. Uh-huh.” I didn’t turn toward him. I didn’t want to see his face as he explained. If his expression said I was being ridiculous—it would break me.

“What, do you think I didn’t tell you on purpose?” His voice was calm despite his words.

I spit out a harsh laugh. “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”

“Actually, I do.”

I spun around. “No, you don’t.” I backed up until the high corner wall met my back. He didn’t get it. Chances were that my feelings were magnified—I had no way to judge their validity when I was this upset. Experience and counseling taught me to not deal with these situations until I calmed down. I needed time to get calm.

“Trust me when I tell you I do.”