The Game (Wagered Hearts Series, #3)(41)

Several people turned to look in their direction, but Rob didn't notice. He didn't seem to care. I noticed several pairs of eyes dart my way speculatively, and felt a flush of embarrassment at their pitying looks.

As if fending off Peter Stanwick wasn't enough, now I had to watch my supposed fiancé flirt with some other woman in a roomful of people. I didn't know whether to walk up to him and throw a drink in his face, or pretend like nothing was wrong. The third option was to just leave. I was very tempted to do that. It would serve him right, but I had no intention of running away. We were still engaged in the eyes of the public, and leaving would just cause more trouble for me in the long run.




I tried my best to look unconcerned, as if it didn't bother me, when inside I just wanted to cry. I tore my eyes away from the sight of Rob and the mystery brunette, and pasted a smile on my face, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I scanned the room looking for a familiar or at least friendly face. A grim smile twisted my lips as I watched Peter Stanwick limp into the room, his face scrunched up in pain. The sight was very satisfying, but not enough to forget about Rob and his whore.

"Hello, I don't think we've met." The accent was American and I turned around to see a tall blonde with kind eyes looking down at me. "I'm Lily Conrad. Rob's cousin by marriage," she said introducing herself.

"Emilia," I said. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of good things about you."

She blushed modestly and waved her hand in front of us nonchalantly. "I'm sure it's all exaggerated. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of yours. The Clan was such a good movie, one of my all-time favorites. I loved you and Erik Ralston in it. I'm sorry, if I sound like a fan girl; I'm not embarrassing you, am I?" she blurted in a rapid fire stream.

"No, no. It's actually nice to see a kind face in this sea of strangers. So compliment me all you like," I smiled.

Her face fell for a moment and I saw her dart her eyes toward Rob and the brunette. She shook her head imperceptibly, almost to herself, and turned back to me.

"I hope you don't mind my saying this, but Roman told me about you and Rob. He's being a complete jackass, and I really don't know what's gotten into him. I've never seen him so out of sorts before."

"Don't worry about it," I said brushing it off. I didn't know what to think about this relative stranger knowing my business. Rob had signed a confidentiality agreement and yet he'd seen fit to tell his cousin about our arrangement. I felt another burst of irritation at him. I must have let my annoyance show on my face because Lily was quick to apologize.

"I'm sorry if I've said something--" she began but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

"Like I said, don't worry about it. It's not your fault Rob is a sack of shit," I said.

The words came out before I even had a chance to censor them, but I didn't regret it. I needed to let off some steam and Lily seemed sympathetic and trustworthy.

Lily widened her eyes in shock before she burst out laughing. "Yeah, he can be kind of a...an ass sometimes, but he's really a good guy at heart. Just immature. And it wasn't all his fault. You don't know how nosy my husband, Roman, is. It's very hard to keep secrets from him," she explained.

As if hearing his name, a tall strikingly handsome man, with a slight resemblance to Rob walked up to us. He had a lopsided grin on his face as he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist.

"I felt my ears burning. Were you talking about me just now?" he asked.

His gaze was wholly focused on Lily and he looked at her with such love and devotion, it sent a pang of longing through me. What would it be like to have someone look at me like that?

"Like you weren't just standing there eavesdropping," Lily replied, smiling back at him.

I suddenly felt like a third wheel, an unwanted intruder in their little world. They did nothing but stare at each other for a while, and I was just about to inch away when I heard Lily speak.

"Sorry about that," she said. "This is my husband Roman, I'm sure you've guessed. And this is Emilia, Rob's fiancée," she said, giving Roman a meaningful glance.

He turned the full power of his attention on me and I found myself holding my breath. I don't know what it was about the men in this family, but they all had such a penetrating stare, it made you feel like they could see right through you. Before things could get too awkward, Roman smiled and broke the tension.

"Nice to meet you finally. I've heard wonderful things about you," he said.

"Have you now?" I asked, not able to keep the surprise off my face.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't my cousin tell me good things about his fiancée?" Roman asked.

"Maybe because I'm not really his fiancée, and our whole arrangement is a sham?" I replied.

I don't know what made me say it, but I was getting sick of the pretense. Especially now with Rob standing not 50 feet away, and acting for all the world like he didn't have a fiancée. And I knew Roman knew it was fake anyway, so what was the point in pretending. His eyes widened for a brief moment before he shot me a full, dazzling smile.

"That doesn't mean he hasn't spoken highly of you. Besides, I've got other friends who sing your praises as well," he said.