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.Amara’s eyes skirted around the room, relieved when she spotted Lisbeth and Brandon—the only friendly faces she knew in the sea of strangers.Lisbeth smiled as she approached.“You look so pretty,” Lisbeth complimented as Amara stopped to stand beside her.“Likewise,” Amara said, returning her smile.“Did you go home and change?” Brandon asked as he walked up.“Yeah, I didn’t really want to wear pink to a cocktail party.I wasn’t sure what the rules were.”“Oh, honey, there are no rules,” Liz said, laughing as she sipped on her drink.“Maybe a two-drink minimum rule though,” Brandon said, his eyes crinkling in a smile as he tapped his wine glass with Lisbeth’s.Liz laughed.“Yeah, maybe that.You want a glass of wine?”“Sure,” Amara said with a shrug.Brandon stood beside Amara and people-watched as he nursed his wine.“So it’s a company party only, right?”“Pretty much.We like to keep it sporadic.I’m pretty sure John came up with this yesterday afternoon.”“Who’s John?” Amara asked looking around.Liz returned and handed Amara a glass of red wine.She was glad to have something to do with her hands.“John is my boyyyyfriend,” Liz answered in a low voice that was above a whisper, below a shout, definitely louder than she intended.“You are such a lightweight,” Brandon said with a chuckle.“I know,” Liz whined.“What department does he work in?”“He’s the head of accounting,” Brandon answered as Liz ran off in the direction of someone she wanted to speak to.“An accountant that likes to party.That’s cool,” Amara said, smiling.Brandon raised his eyebrows with a smile.“It seems this entire company likes to party.”Amara smiled, not knowing what to say.She didn’t know very many people, but Colin wasn’t much of a partier.“There he is, the man of the hour,” Brandon said, breaking into Amara’s thoughts.Her eyes snapped up to the door where Colin stood, taking her breath away.He was wearing a white button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up on his forearms, and blue pants.His wavy hair was in its usual, organized disarray, the way only he could pull off.Colin smiled as he greeted everyone; the side of his mouth was pleated in a grin, the lines nearly hidden under the beard on his face that filled in more each day.Amara didn’t like facial hair, but his was well-kempt and looked ….decidedly sexy.She found herself smiling with him, his laugh contagious.Amara’s smile faltered when she noticed the woman beside him.Clad in a red, knee-length dress, her blonde hair piled up into an up-do that matched her impeccable make up, was Molly.She wasn’t an extraordinary woman—wasn’t beautiful—but she had a smile that radiated confidence.Molly walked forward, greeting one of the women standing by the door and flashed the ring on her left hand in the process.The engagement ring.Even from where she stood, Amara could make out the huge rock on her finger.She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply to keep her stomach from heaving.The thought of him picking out a ring for another woman and his ensuing proposal made her feel sick.His proposal.How had he asked her? Had he gotten down on one knee? Did he take her to a fancy restaurant or plan a picnic? Did he ask her beneath the stars? Amara forced herself to stop thinking about it.She had to shut the thoughts out of her brain before she lost control.“You okay?” Brandon asked quietly.Amara looked at him and nodded with a small smile.“How long do we have to stay?”“You ready to run off?”She nodded again, suddenly not feeling like using her voice.Despite the warning bells ringing in her head, Amara looked back toward Colin, his eyes finding hers.He looked surprised for a moment, as if he were startled by seeing her.Perhaps he was too busy paying attention to his fiancée to think about Amara.He had to be aware of the way her heart felt like it was being stomped on with every minute she remained in the room.She wanted to run—wanted to let the wine glass fall from her hands and run out of there as fast as she could, but Colin’s eyes, the intensity in them as they blazed, locked on hers and kept Amara rooted in place.And in that moment, she was angry.Beneath the pain tearing up her stomach, there was a bubbling anger that she hadn’t felt in a long time.She was angry at him…at Molly…at herself… at everyone, even her mother.Colin’s gaze shifted from her face, to travel down the length of her body slowly, the way he did when he was mentally undressing her.He did it purposefully when he wanted her to be hyper-aware of him.He liked it when he made her heart feel like it was sputtering out of her chest, and the longer she stood there, clutching her glass so hard she was afraid it would shatter, the more she felt like clawing his eyes out.He had no right to look at her that way.Not when they were in a room full of people, among them, his fiancée! Colin licked his lips slowly, dragging his tongue along the seam of his mouth and placing it between his teeth before sucking it back into his mouth.It was something he knew drove her crazy.How many times had she leaned into his mouth and sucked his tongue into hers when he did that? He was doing it on purpose, seducing her with his eyes…his lips…in a way that made her feel like she was burning from the inside out.Amara stood beside Brandon, who was busy on his phone, until she finished her glass of wine.Molly still stood beside Colin, but thankfully had kept her hands off of him.Amara had had enough.Putting her glass down with a clink, she turned to Brandon as he finished his call.“You want another drink?” he asked.She shook her head.“No, thanks.I’ve reached my limit.”“One glass is your limit?” he asked, whistling out a breath.“No, I’ve reached my time limit for being here.I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said with a smile.Brandon nodded in understanding, then leaned toward her ear so that only she could hear his words.“I don’t blame you.You did good.”A ghost of a smile appeared over her face.“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”He laughed and shook his head.“One day you’ll tell me.”“Nothing to tell,” she said with a shrug, then reached up to kiss his cheek.“I’m almost ready to go.You sure you don’t want to stick around a couple more minutes?”“I’m positive.”Amara weaved through the crowd until she reached the door of the room, then turned and looked over her shoulder at Colin, one last time
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