Chapter 42

Kayla

Nicholas and I made our way into the banquet hall, pausing briefly in the entryway to take in the space. It was a large but cozy venue, with round tables scattered throughout and a stage at the far end of the room. A band was playing covers of popular songs, and people were dancing and laughing. I recognized the birthday girl immediately from her tiara and pink sash.

But for a brief moment, I felt every set of eyes in the room flick toward us like we were the true talk of the evening and not the birthday girl herself.

And I knew it wasn’t all in my head when some gazes lingered, whispers following us. Nicholas guided me to our assigned table, leading me along like his pet. He was his usual composed self, his hand resting lightly on the small of my back, but I felt like an insect under a microscope.

“Relax,” he murmured, leaning in so I could hear him over the pounding bass. “You look like you want to curl up and die.”

I shot him a sideways glance. “Do you blame me? Everyone’s staring at us.”

His lips tugged up into that maddeningly smug smile of his. “That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? To be seen in public as a loving couple?”

He was right, of course. I forced myself to relax, even if only outwardly. Inside, though, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I hated this much attention being on me, especially when I had to play a part that couldn’t be further from the truth.

We reached our table, and Nicholas pulled out my chair like the perfect gentleman before taking his own seat beside me. The other guests at our table offered polite nods and smiles, but I barely had time to introduce myself before the waiter arrived with a tray of champagne glasses.

I took one gratefully, hoping that the bubbles might settle my nerves. And it did, at least a little.

But after a few minutes of small talk, I decided I needed something stronger. “I’m going to grab a drink from the bar,” I told Nicholas, standing and smoothing down the fabric of my dress. “Want anything?”

He shook his head, too engrossed in a conversation with one of the men at the table to think about another drink.

The bar was situated on the far side of the room. I made my way over, careful not to bump into anyone as I maneuvered through the crowd. As I reached the bar, I caught snippets of a conversation between two women standing a few feet away.

“Is it true?” one of them whispered. “He’s really married now? I never thought I’d see the day!”

Her companion, a statuesque brunette who looked like she could be a model, gasped softly. “Him? Married? You’re joking.”

My grip on the edge of the bar tightened. They didn’t even need to say his name for me to know who they were talking about.

I placed my order with the bartender—a gin and tonic—and tried to tune them out, but my luck ran out when one of them spotted me and they both rushed over.

“Oh, my Goddess,” the brunette breathed, her eyes widening. She nudged her friend before practically beaming at me. “You’re his new wife, aren’t you? You’re married to Nicholas?”

Forcing a polite smile, I turned to face them fully. “Yes, that’s right. I’m Kayla Sterling.”

Both of the women looked utterly astonished, as though I had just announced that the sky was no longer blue. The shorter of the two, a blonde, tilted her head. “Married to Nicholas Reynolds. Wow. That’s… shocking. No offense.”

“None taken,” I replied dryly, already regretting this interaction.

The brunette’s smile dimmed slightly, her eyes flicking over me in a way that made my skin prickle uncomfortably. “It’s just surprising, that’s all,” she murmured. “Nicholas has never been one for… commitment. I mean, he’s never even had a long-term girlfriend. And now he’s married? To a wolfless woman?”

The words hit me harder than I wanted to admit. Of course everyone always had to make a point to remind me of my lack of a wolf.

My smile faltered for a split second before I quickly forced it back into place. “How do you know Nicholas?” I asked lightly, just wanting to steer the conversation away from myself more than anything.

“Oh, we had a bit of a fling a while back,” the brunette said breezily, tossing a lock of long, wavy hair over her shoulder. “He’s quite charming, isn’t he? But he never seemed interested in anything serious. Not with me, at least.”

As she spoke, her gaze sharpened, and she looked me over again. Her judgment was palpable; she wasn’t even trying to hide it behind her watery smile. “I suppose he must be the type who doesn’t marry for looks,” she said, eliciting a chuckle from the other woman.

I bristled at her obvious dig. “Sorry, you said you two had a… fling?” I managed, somehow keeping a semblance of composure—on the outside, at least.

The brunette nodded with a tiny smirk touching her slender lips. “Yes. Six months of seeing each other, actually. But he wouldn’t tie himself down to me.”

Her friend giggled. “You’d think a man like him would want a model like you at his side,” she mused, turning to the brunette with an evil little glint in her eyes. She cast me a sidelong glance. “But perhaps he’s the type who’d rather be married to a woman that other men wouldn’t try to steal away.”

“Or perhaps I bring both beauty and brains to the table,” I quickly said before I could stop myself, lifting my chin. “You might not know this since you two never had a deeper relationship, but Nicholas actually prefers a nuanced woman when it comes to true love. Not a one-dimensional Barbie.”

The brunette’s mouth opened slightly, as though she wasn’t sure what to say to that. Taking advantage of her stunned silence, I grabbed my drink from the bartender and offered them both a curt nod. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies.”

And with that, I turned and strode back to the table, my heart pounding in my chest. I was glad to have my back turned, because my face instantly dropped as I rushed away.

Oh Goddess, I thought, my fingers tightening around my glass. Did I really just say that? He prefers a ‘nuanced woman’?

As I approached the table, Nicholas glanced up from his conversation, his keen eyes immediately honing in on the slight scowl on my face.

“What happened?” he asked, keeping his voice low enough so that the others at the table wouldn’t overhear.

I shook my head and slid into my seat, carefully setting my glass down. “Nothing. Just some people being… people.”

His brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he turned his attention back to the table, picking up his fork as the main course was served.

I tried to focus on my meal, but the brunette’s words lingered in the back of my mind. I knew Nicholas was a playboy, but I didn’t know that he had never had a committed relationship before. The thought didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

Not that I was interested in him like… that.

But if I were, then what chance did I really have? He’d turned down a stunning woman, and probably plenty more just like her, in the past. If it weren’t for our extenuating circumstances, he likely wouldn’t have given me more than one night.

By the time dessert was served, however, I had managed to push most of my doubts aside, reminding myself that I really had no reason to give a shit what sort of relationships he liked to have with women.

The waiter placed a cupcake in front of each guest, chocolate with vanilla frosting and a decadent sprinkling of gold leaf on the top. My sweet tooth practically sang with joy at the sight.

Unable to resist, I picked up the cupcake and brought it halfway to my mouth. But before I could take a bite, a collective gasp rose from the table.

“What?” I asked, glancing around in confusion.

One of the women at the table lowered her voice. “Couples are supposed to feed each other the cupcakes…”