Page 287 of The Grand Duel
Turning, I search for the tent opening but my eyes only find his.
I freeze.
Charlie is standing just a few metres away with a group of men, one hand in his tux pocket whilst his other nurses a glass of something amber. He’s beautiful—devastating—and he’s watching me.
The most tortured blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Blue eyes I never thought could hold such angst. Not whilst looking at me, at least.
My eyes blur, and I turn back to the bar.
Megan hands me a shot of something orange, and I bring it straight to my lips, drinking it back.
“Cheers to you, too, Lissie,” she says jokingly.
Without another word, knowing I’m not handling this well but not making a thing of it, she hands me another.
“Why don’t you come meet the lads? They’ll distract you.”
I neck the shot, cringing when I ask, “The lads?”
Megan looks at me and grins.
Charlie
The man standing opposite is talking to me, but my heart is pounding so hard it’s all I can hear in my ears, the rhythm sending adrenaline pumping throughout my entire body.
She’s everything I know and more, and yet tonight, she’s so much more.
I watch as she shots something, the loose curls in her hair brushing her back as her head tips.
I look away but my eyes snap back, not wanting to miss a second.
Megan leans in to speak to her, and my brows crease, a forced smile gracing her beautiful lips a moment later.
“What do you make of it, Charles?”
I hate that she can’t smile without putting something behind it.
I hate that she’s walked into this room without me.
“Charlie,” Elliot snaps, hitting the back of his hand to my chest.
I look down and then around at the men. “Sorry?”
“The Deadman-Smith merger. Your thoughts.” The man, whose name is lost on me, tips his chin as if the merger is important to me when it isn’t.
“Charles is busy working on personal projects of his own at the moment. He’s looking to acquire acompany, but the owner isn’t interested.”
I narrow my eyes on him. Prick.
“Ah, we’ve all been there,” the guy tells me.
I look back towards the bar, finding Lissie has disappeared. I search for Megan. Lucy. Nina. Scar…and then my eyes fall on a table on the other side of the room.
My jaw flexes, nostrils flaring as I try to tamp down whatever emotion is spreading in my chest.
“We have all been there,” I agree, turning towards Elliot and speaking into his ear. “Would you like me to let your wife know that you’re here whilst I go and handle my impending acquisition, or are you happy with her sitting at the table of rugby players tonight?”
His smile drops, and he looks behind him, to his right, his eyes eventually spotting them across the room.