chair and traced circles on her shoulder. The need to touch her and get closer was unreal.
Foster was carrying most of the conversation seeing as how I was too love-dumb to focus on anything else. I was starting to feel bad for the way I’d judged Lauren for being so into Foster. Guess neither of us could help it.
“Adele, are you coming to the games next week?” Foster asked Adele.
“Where are they?” She looked to me.
“New York. Wednesday and Saturday. I finally have a legit excuse to fly to see you.”
“I’d love to come.”
After dinner was dessert, though most of us passed. We had an entire evening ahead of us still, so we enjoyed the chill environment a little longer before someone from our media office announced it was time to head to the party area.
“Now the fun begins,” Foster joked and stood and helped Lauren to her feet.
“I’m gonna go to the ladies’ room,” Adele said.
Lauren dropped Foster’s hand. “Oooh, good idea. I’ll come with you.”
“Hurry back,” I told Adele with a wink.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m just going to pee.”
I followed Foster and the rest of the team out to the main room. As often happened at these events, I got caught up talking to the media and posing for a few photos. The atmosphere was pretty lax, but I kept an eye out for Adele just in case she got lost in the crowd.
When Lauren returned without her, I raised a brow. “Where’s Adele?”
“She said she wasn’t feeling well. She stepped out to get some air.”
Foster and I shared a worried glance. “Everything okay?” he asked.
Lauren gave a rueful smile and then twisted her lips in a guilty expression. “I offered her a bump and she got all weird.”
“A bump?” I asked.
Foster’s eyes went big. “You offered her coke?”
She shrugged. “I was just trying to be friendly.”
Bile rose in my throat. “Which way did she go?”
She pointed to the front entrance and I pushed through the crowd. My body felt like it had turned to stone, I couldn’t move fast enough, and my hearing was temporarily gone. I heard nothing but the vibration inside me.
I didn’t breathe until I spotted her coming back through the doors from outside.
“Oh, thank God,” I said on an exhale as I reached her. “Fuck, baby, I’m so sorry. Lauren told me what happened.”
She laughed, a brittle sound. “I’m okay. I just needed a minute. She caught me off guard.”
I pulled her into a hug, and she nuzzled into me for comfort.
“Hey, look at me.” I placed a hand under her chin and eased her face up to look at me. “Say the word and we’re out of here. Booze and coke, my ex-fiancé – so much for a fun night, huh?”
“You can’t leave.”
“I’ll tell them I had an emergency.”
She pulled back and straightened her shoulders. “No, I can do this.”
Re-entering the party, I had an awful feeling that I couldn’t shake. This whole night was just fucked.
“There you guys are,” Kenton said and opened up to let us into the circle with Foster and Lauren.
I felt awkward about joining them and equally as awkward not. I was annoyed at Lauren, but I did my best to avoid looking at her. I grabbed Adele’s hand tightly.
“They’re calling for us to take a photo in the new area,” Foster said, nodding toward a woman from the PR office. She was gathering the team and giving them instructions from the looks of it.
“Might as well get it over with,” Kenton said.
I stepped in front of Adele and leaned down. “Are you okay? It shouldn’t take but a few minutes. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
She started to nod, but Kenton thrust a mixed drink at her. “Can you hold this for me while we take the photo?”
I waved him off. “Hold it your fucking self.”
“Come on, you know they won’t let me have it in the picture. It’s single malt. I don’t want to waste it.”
“I said fuck off,” I gritted. “She’s not holding it for you.”
“Dude, what the fuck is your problem?”
I spun on him, blood boiling and pulse throbbing at my temple. “She’s a fucking addict.”
There was a gasp at my outburst and then silence. People near us stared to see what the commotion was about. Kenton backed off, and I hung my head as I turned to face my girl.
Fuck. It was hard to look at her, to see the way her blue eyes pinned me with such hurt,