smile, and then added, "Let's make this the best New Year's ever!"
"Yes! Let's!"
The band began playing a light tune in the background. They were calling up my family one by one to the stage. I groaned inwardly. I didn't want to go up there and pretend to be the perfect family, especially after what just happened.
"You best get moving. We'll be here."
I rolled my eyes at my best friend. "Do I have to? Can you step in for me?"
"And stand next to Dragon Lady and not kill her? No way, Jose."
I turned to Holly and Hayden with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, guys. Duty calls. I'll be right back…again. This should be it for the night, after that, I'm all yours!"
Carefully, I made my way to the stage on four-inch toothpicks with three glasses of champagne streaming through my blood and loosening me up. I smiled, feeling good. Now that was a drink I could get on board with, unlike that disgusting vodka. I shuddered at the thought. Not that I had time to drink or anything, but it was delicious and went down easy, which wasn't a good thing.
Xavier held out a hand and guided me up the steps. One would never guess he'd been drinking and smoking from the way he held himself, but stand two inches from his face and look into his eyes and the evidence was plain as day. He must've filled up in the guest house after he left Dad’s office.
I stood between him and Dad, with Mom on the other side, thankfully. With the microphone in hand, Dad spoke to the crowd like a well-versed politician. He thanked everyone and meandered on about something so boring in the real estate world that I lost interest. Xavier became fidgety next to me. I stood poised and graceful, exhaling as I browsed the crowd of regulars. Roughly a hundred people were dressed in dark attire or glittery colors, except one person who caught my attention.
Katja.
She was wearing a virginal white cocktail dress that accented her curves. She was all wide hips, narrow waist, and heavy breasts, which were about to spill over. The dress stuck to her like glue and I was instantly filled with envy when I noticed a flat hand sitting low on her pelvis from behind.
I tried to balance my nerves as I studied her. Huge, full lips, the kind women in Hollywood paid for. A straight and sharp nose, high cheek bones, sparkling eyes, and tousled waves—Katja looked fresh off a runway.
It wasn't long before my gaze shifted upward. Locking eyes with Kova, all air left my lungs. Sound faded, twinkling lights disappeared. Faces dissolved into thin air and all that was left was us. I couldn't stop staring at him. His eyes were on me, though uninterested, like he was looking through me. I swallowed back hard. I hated that look. It was one I knew all too well, given to me by my mom. It conveyed that I was as insignificant as a fly on a wall. It was a you don't matter look.
Kova was devastatingly handsome, and I despised that he had the ability to make me feel two inches tall while my heart pounded for him. I was enthralled with this man and I had no idea why. A man who purposely set out to hurt me knowing full well I couldn't fight back. An underhanded move that was meant to hurt me. When I let myself think about the intention behind Kova's decisions, it hurt me, but what killed me the most was that even after all he's done to me, I was still spellbound by him in an obscene way I couldn't comprehend. An equation that didn't make sense. I couldn't connect the dots the way I could a sequence on the balance beam. It confused me more than anything because my feelings exceeded an emotional level so high I wasn't experienced enough to grasp the severity of them.
Another few minutes on the microphone, and Dad had finally finished speaking. As Xavier helped me down the stairs, my friends headed my way.
"Incoming, ten o'clock," Avery said from the side of her mouth. Hayden scowled under his breath when he spotted Kova and Katja as they made their way over to our small group. He walked to stand near me and placed his hand at the small of my back.
"Konstantin, glad to see you could make it," Dad said with a handshake. He moved to kiss Katja's