Kissing Mr. Bradley

Chapter 24

The event was far from over.

The party moved to the grand ballroom where the chandelier above sprinkled the guests with crystal lights. The band played a series of instrumental versions of popular pop songs and the dancefloor was occupied by the guests, some of which were dancing and others cheering with their champagne glasses at the marvelous night that seemed to have just begun.

"I'm going to find Katherine," Ethan said as he left my side and disappeared somewhere in the crowd. It was his chance to tell Katherine the truth about how he felt. Pretty soon, I would also have to tell him the truth about where I came from.

I felt a single tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Ezra.

"Where've you been?" he asked. "And you're glowing. You must be having a really good night."

"You noticed my absence," I said, ignoring the blush of my cheeks.

"Actually," he started. "I noticed my brother and sister were nowhere to be found and I was getting a little worried. Where'd you two run off to?"

"Last minute work obligations," I lied. "Work does not end for Ethan Bradley, not even on a night like this one."

"What about you?" he asked, holding out his hand for me to take. "Are you free to dance or do you have more work obligations to attend to?"

"I think I can schedule in some time for a dance," I said, taking his hand.

Ezra and I took our stance in the middle of the dance floor.

"I'm not a great dancer," he said. "But I do have some moves up my sleeve."

"I'll follow your lead."

We were dancing, not pretty well, but we had the attention of the guests around us. I figured we must have been doing something right because they stopped what they were doing to watch.

During a twirl, I glanced up at the grand staircase where Donna stood over the rail, looking down at me with a snarl that could be seen from a mile away. It was clear I was the one she was solely focused on.

She raised her chin and sauntered off into the darkness of the hall.

"Saffron," Ezra called to my attention. "What're you looking at?"

"Nothing," I replied. "I didn't know you were good at waltzing."

"Years of dance lessons as a kid," he said. "I guess I learned a thing or two."

He twirled me around again and we crossed the floor like professional dancers, creating a space just for us as the guests continued to look on in awe.

The music came to a slow beat and we matched its tune, dancing slowly as the others joined in on the floor.

"I don't mean to stare," he said. "You look pretty good tonight."

"As do you."

Ezra spoke but my mind was on Katherine. She caught my eye, staring back at me with flushed cheeks as the result of Ethan's truth.

"What now?" Ezra asked, looking around the room. "What's keeping your attention?"

"I'll be right back," I said as Katherine raced out of the front entrance.

"Fine!" Ezra called out. "You owe me another dance!"

I hurried outside to where Katherine had fallen onto the grassy patch, sobbing uncontrollably in her hands as if her entire world came crashing down on her. She didn't care if the curls were undone or her dress was stained. She was too distraught to care about the material things.

"Katherine," I called as she stood from the ground, avoiding my eyes.

"Great," she said carelessly as she looked down at her white dress that was stained with green. "My dress is all ruined."

When she stepped into the light of the moon, her eyes welled up with more tears. Even in hurt, the moonlight enlightened her everlasting beauty.

"Ethan broke off the engagement," she revealed, her voice barely audible through her sobs. "He said without our wealth, we have nothing more in common. We would both be miserable in the long run."

"I'm sorry," I said, reaching out to comfort her but she took a big step back and stared down at my hand as if it had teeth.

"Did you know all along?" she asked. "You've had to have known."

I didn't say anything. It wouldn't have mattered if I had known about it or not. Ethan's decision was set in stone. He wasn't in love with Katherine.

When I didn't say anything, she rolled her eyes and groaned. "I see the way he looks at you," she said. "And the way he touches you. He never touches me in that way, so caring and loving like that. It's like you have always been what he truly wanted."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but I knew that apologizing wasn't going to make the situation any better.

"That night in the conference room," she said, thinking back to the weeks prior. "I knew something was strange. The wine glasses and how close you two were standing near each other."

I reassured her again that there was nothing going on between Ethan and I but she didn't believe it. She claimed that her eyes never lied to her the way Ethan and I did.

"I can't imagine how you feel," I said instead.

"I just knew it," she continued, bringing herself closer to me. "Since the day I found out that you were his personal assistant, I knew the marriage was done for. I just didn't want to face the truth."

"Ethan and I," I started. "We're business partners."

She scoffed. "I've heard it all before," she said. "Before you came along, Ethan and I were business partners too. After that, we would sneak around in his office or the hotel rooms."

I looked down at the ground. "Would you like a change of clothes?"

"I don't blame you," she went on. "Ethan is out of this world when it comes to the bedroom."

I swallowed hard and bit my bottom lip from making any sort of expression that would be validating Katherine's suspicions.

"I wouldn't know," I told her.

She shrugged. "You'll be in my position soon enough," she said, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "It's only a matter of time before you're standing in my position, looking in the eyes of the woman your husband wants. He'll get bored of you, Saffron."

She fluffed her curls and muttered under her breath about the grass stain on her dress before bumping past me back to the Villa.

I slipped off my heels and walked along the grass. I didn't care how wet it was or how muddy my feet were becoming. The further I strayed away from the Villa, the more quiet and dark it became. I welcomed the serenity and sauntered off into the night.

When I came up to the gates, a single light post shone down on Ethan. He was sitting on the hood of his car, the collar of his suit unbuttoned and his tie loosened with an empty glass in his hand. His hair was disheveled like he had gotten in some kind of an altercation. Even then, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, undressing him in every way.

"Well," he said with a cheer behind his tone. "The conversation with Katherine went pretty damn well."

"I just saw her," I mentioned.

"I've never seen her so angry," he said. "She packs on a really good punch, I might add."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," I told him. "But you did break her heart and her emotions were all over the place already. She knew about us, Ethan."

He wrapped his arm around me and I laid my head down on his shoulder.

He let out a sigh of relief.

"We're free to be together," he said. "Unfortunately, we will be the talk of the event after tonight but I don't care. I've very smitten with you, Ms. Saffron Hastings."

He turned my chin up to meet his lips.

Together, we headed back to the Villa, preparing ourselves to be the talk of the event.