I didn’t realize that I was biting my lip until his eyes dropped to my mouth. They traced its shape, bold and blatant. Without thought, I flicked out my tongue to lathe my lower lip. A muscle in his cheek ticked, and the hand on my back flexed.
His gaze flew back to mine, hot and intent. I swallowed hard. Jesus, someone needed to throw a bucket of water over me.
The music changed then, flowing into a tune that was a little faster than the previous song. “I need to use the restroom,” I said.
“I’ll walk you there.”
“That’s not necessary,” I assured him, but he did it anyway.
In the surprisingly fancy restroom, I did my business. I almost stumbled when I walked out of the stall to find Owen’s wife standing at the sink.
She paused in fixing her lipstick and smiled. “Hello again.”
“Hi,” I said simply. I quickly washed and dried my hands, eager to get out of there. I turned toward the door and—
“You weren’t just Owen’s friend,” Tiffany blurted out. “Were you?”
Shit. I slowly spun on my heel and just stared at her, not sure what to say.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
I inwardly groaned. “You really should ask Owen.”
“I did. He blew me off, which makes me believe there’s a lot I don’t know. Please just tell me. If you were me, you’d want me to be honest with you.”
Fuck if she wasn’t right. I licked my lips. “He and I dated in high school. We were also engaged for five months, but he broke it off and we went our separate ways.”
She swallowed and took a step back. “He must have regretted it. He named our child after you.”
“I was his friend for much, much longer than I was his girlfriend. We were better off as friends, and we both knew it. He was just the first to act on it. It was you he married. You he built a life with and had a child with.”
“And me he’ll soon be divorcing,” she said, a bite to her tone that told me she wasn’t as good with that as he seemed to think. “I hate that he gave her your name.”
“I hate it, too.” Because it caused unnecessary pain to people who didn’t deserve it. I opened my mouth to apologize, but the fault wasn’t mine. The guilt wasn’t mine to feel either, but the emotion settled in all the same.
Tiffany turned back to the mirror and took a shaky breath. Knowing I was the last person she’d want comfort from, I walked out of the restroom.
Dane was waiting a few feet away, deep in conversation with a man I didn’t recognize. Pasting an easy smile on my face, I crossed to them. “Thanks for waiting for me,” I told Dane, sure my needless guilt didn’t show in my expression or voice. But his eyes narrowed.
Before he could ask what was wrong, I introduced myself to his conversationalist, who flirted shamelessly with me. For all of five seconds. The moment Dane slid an arm around me and drew me close, his hold nothing short of proprietary, the other man’s sentence trailed off.
“It was good seeing you, Richard,” said Dane. “We’ll talk again soon, I’m sure.” He led me away and whispered into my ear, “What’s wrong?”
I sighed. “I saw Tiffany in the restroom. She asked me some questions. She’d already guessed there was more between me and Owen than being childhood friends.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s been staring at you most of the evening.”
He had? I’d been so wrapped up in Dane, I hadn’t noticed. “She’s hurting right now.”
“That’s his fault. Not yours.”
“I know. I still feel bad. In her shoes, I’d be devastated to hear my husband named our child after his ex. It’s not like she can change the kid’s name. Well, she could, but it would be hard to make the little girl understand why it needed to be done. I don’t know if he truly sees that what he did was wrong.” I let out an exasperated sound. “I wish he hadn’t come here tonight.”
“I don’t. He needed to see us together and get the message that you’re taken. And it’s better for his wife that she knows the truth. She would have learned it sooner or later anyway.”
“Maybe. But I detest that I was the one who put that look on her face.”
He slid his hand up my back and squeezed my nape. “Bear in mind that later—when she’s no longer hurting—she’ll be glad