“Three.”
“Are you having fun on this trip?”
“Yes.”
Score. “Me too. I didn’t expect to have fun, especially tonight.”
“Neither did I, angel,” he murmured.
Take that, Samantha.
It had been too easy to pretend tonight, to fall into this illusion of a happily married couple. And it felt so real that my hopes were soaring beyond the limits of my control. Tomorrow, when reality came crashing back, it was going to be as miserable as the champagne hangover I’d undoubtedly have.
But . . . it wasn’t tomorrow yet.
“How many—”
A woman appeared at our side, cutting my question short.
Her blond hair was swept into a chignon. On her wrist was a delicate rose corsage. The resemblance to Samantha was uncanny. This had to be her mother.
“Ashley.” Jasper stopped our dance, shifting me until I was tucked against his side, his body slightly in front of mine. Like a shield.
“Hello, Jasper.” Ashley smiled, offering her cheek.
He kissed it but his arm banded around my hip stayed firm. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” She kept her entire focus on him, her gaze not even flicking my direction. Apparently I wasn’t worth acknowledging.
Or introducing.
Jasper didn’t give me a nod either.
Gee thanks.
“Charming wedding,” he said. “Though I expected nothing less.”
“Since I didn’t get to partake in yours, I inserted myself fully into this one. Much to Samantha’s dismay.”
Jasper’s smile was tight. Cold. “We appreciate the invitation.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d come.” Ashley’s attention shifted to me. The sneer on her face, the open disdain, was something this woman had clearly practiced for decades.
And here I was thinking we’d escaped the drama. Damn.
I smiled wider, leaning into Jasper and putting my hand on his stomach. Don’t say something rude. Don’t say something rude. By some miracle, I managed to keep my mouth shut.
This was the welcome I’d expected from his parents, the confrontation I’d prepared for. The nasty glares. The hostility. We’d been so close to avoiding it tonight.
“Jasper.” A man clapped him on the shoulder, holding out his hand. “Good to see you. I meant to come say hello earlier but it’s been a busy night.”
“John.” Jasper dipped his chin. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” John didn’t ignore me and his stare was more cautious than callous.
“This is my wife, Eloise.” Jasper loosened his grip so I could shake John’s hand.
“Pleasure,” I lied.
“Mine as well.” John kept ahold of my hand. “I haven’t gotten to dance all evening. May I cut in?”
Oh, no. I opened my mouth to protest, but John was already crowding Jasper out of the way, tugging me into his arms.
Jasper’s jaw flexed but he didn’t steal me away. Instead, when Ashley moved in to steal my place, arms raised for him to take the lead, he danced with her.
Well, shit.
This was awkward.
“Beautiful evening,” I said. How much longer was this song?
“It is,” John said. “Weddings are always a great excuse to bring people together. It’s been too long since we’ve seen Jasper.”
“He’s just so busy. It’s hard for him to get away.”
John’s eyes, the same muddy color as his daughter’s, narrowed. “From Montana.”
“Yes. That’s where we live.”
“And you work at a motel?”
Did I want to know how he knew about me? Nope. “I manage my family’s hotel.”
“Hospitality is a necessary industry.” Spoken like a true douchebag who snubbed those he considered beneath his station.
“Jasper mentioned you’re in politics, is that right?”
He gave me a curt nod, almost like he was offended that I’d switched the topic of conversation while he was trying to run me down.
A few feet away, whatever Ashley was saying to Jasper couldn’t have been good, given that angry muscle in his jaw was flexing.
“It’s not easy to see Jasper with another woman.”
My gaze whipped to John’s, but I bit my tongue, holding back a snarky retort. Or an education about his cheating daughter.
“They have an unbreakable bond,” he said.
“Yet it broke.” About the time she’d taken another man’s cock. I smiled sweetly. “So I’ll have to disagree with your opinion.”
“It’s a fact, my dear. One known by every person in this room.”
“Even your new son-in-law? Yikes. Poor guy. He must feel very welcome in your home.”
John’s nostrils flared. “He, unlike you, isn’t blind to reality.”
My gaze drifted around us, and for the first time tonight, I saw a pointed stare. A woman turned away too fast when she met my gaze. Had people been staring at me all night? Pitying me?
Did they see me as some pathetic standin? The woman who could never compete for Jasper’s heart? Not when it had belonged to the woman in a white gown.
The woman he’d loved his entire life.
“There’s a reason you’re in Italy.” John bent lower to speak directly in my ear. “Jasper will never let go of Samantha. He might pretend to care. He might even be fooling himself. But at some point, he’ll realize it’s fake. And then you’ll disappear. I have no delusions Samantha’s marriage will last. And once it fizzles, they’ll find their way back to each other.”
Fake. Jasper and I were fake. And oh, how I hated that word.
It took everything I had to hide a reaction. To keep it hidden that he’d fired a shot and hit me straight in the heart. Be tough. “Like I said, I’ll have to disagree with your opinions.”
“You’re a stupid girl to believe you’re anything other than a fleeting distraction,” he whispered.
A stupid girl Jasper had married on a drunken whim.
A mistake.
“Thanks for the dance.” With one purposeful step, I pulled away.
Jasper’s arms were waiting.
He swept me away from John and Ashley, the pair exchanging a look like they’d planned that interruption all night.
“What did he say?” Jasper asked.
“Nothing nice,” I admitted, struggling to breathe.
“I’m sorry.”
I shrugged, swallowing the lump in my throat. Don’t cry. “It was bound to happen. You warned me about it, right?”
My mistake had been thinking we’d get that attitude from his own parents, not Samantha’s. No bathroom run-in tonight. Just an ambush on the dance floor.
As Jasper led us around, I scanned the room again. People were staring. Whispering.
Damn, I was an idiot. How could I have let myself believe this was real?
Stupid Eloise.
Maybe Samantha had broken his heart, had betrayed his trust, but he’d loved her for years. We were at her wedding, weren’t we? Maybe John was right.
Maybe Jasper wouldn’t ever really let her go.
My chest ached, and the swelling of emotions made it hard to breathe. Goddamn it. Don’t cry. I would not cry tonight.