Seduced The Unexpected Virgin - By Emily McKay Page 0,42
ten lines. He’d been cast only because his wife wanted him in it. And suddenly it was his movie. Ana smirked to herself. Thank God she didn’t have to deal with him anymore.
She should have walked away then. And nearly did. Ward could obviously fend for himself.
But then Ridley was saying, “Man, she is one tight little piece of—”
She was about one syllable away from socking the guy in the jaw herself, when Ward interrupted him.
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” Ward said smoothly. His voice was calm. Completely rational. Containing none of the blustering indignation her own set-down would have.
She stilled, listening intently, but trying to hide it behind sipping her drink.
“What?” Ridley asked stupidly.
“I suggest,” Ward said politely, “that you speak about Ms. Rodriguez with more respect.”
“Or what?” Ridley scoffed.
“I have a lot of friends in Hollywood, Mr. Sinclair. Probably more than you do. Despite your wife’s success. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Ward left Ridley standing alone. The idiot seemed to have barely realized he’d just been threatened.
Ana slipped quietly away, all too aware of what had just happened. Ward had come to her defense. She hadn’t needed him to. If Ridley Sinclair had had the balls to say those things to her face, she would have socked him in the jaw. But he hadn’t. He’d said them to Ward. And Ward had stepped up to defend her. He’d calmly and effectively threatened the man’s career. For her.
She’d never wanted anyone to rush to her rescue. Had never needed that before. Somehow Ward’s behavior completely disarmed her. She dashed back down the hall leading to the bathroom. Finding herself suddenly alone, she leaned against the wall and pressed a hand to her stomach.
She hadn’t wanted to come to this stupid Valentine’s Day ball in the first place. She hadn’t wanted the dress. She hadn’t wanted the romance. And the last thing she needed was some romantic hero to sweep her off her feet.
No, her feet needed to stay firmly planted on the ground. If she stayed here at this party. Wearing this dress. With Ward here to gallantly come to her rescue. He wasn’t even going to have to sweep her off her feet. She was very much afraid her feet were going to float right off the ground.
After ditching Ridley Sinclair, Ward searched for Ana for several minutes before stumbling upon Jack, who he’d been hoping to find alone for most of the evening. Ward pulled him aside. After talking for a while, he quietly slipped an envelope into Jack’s hand, glad there was no one around to see the exchange. He’d made the check out directly to Jack, with the understanding that his friend would quietly shuffle the funds over to the charity. Every year he made a donation and every year Jack argued with him about it. But this was the first year he’d been able to do it in person.
Jack accepted the check without looking at it. “Are you sure you don’t want a receipt for your tax records?”
“If I wanted a receipt, then it would no longer be an anonymous donation, now, would it?”
“Good point.” Jack tucked the envelope into the interior pocket of his tuxedo jacket. “And since you seem determined that people not find out that you donate money to a good cause, who am I to dissuade you?”
They both knew the real reason Ward wanted the donation to be anonymous. Cara had been obsessed with distancing herself from any of the cancer charities. She’d been terrified of having her life’s work overshadowed by her death and had made Ward promise not to besmirch her legacy. He honored her memory by never letting the media know when he donated to the causes she’d so stubbornly ignored.
Before Jack could press the issue, CeCe walked up. Jack instantly pulled CeCe to his side. CeCe slipped her hand onto Jack’s chest with an easy familiarity that made something ache deep inside of Ward. He remembered, just barely, what it had been like to be as relaxed with another person. As comfortable.
But it had been a long time since he’d felt that. And even then, it had been more illusion than reality.
To distract Jack from the issue of the check—or perhaps to distract himself—Ward asked, “So where’d you ditch my date?”
“Ana?” CeCe asked with a frown. “Actually, she’s why I came over. She and I talked for a while, but as soon as I left her alone for a minute, I saw