Logan, anxious to ease the tension, admired the view of her plump breasts provided by the low-cut black silk dress he'd bought. “You look beautiful, Krissy,” he purred in her ear as they followed Nick to a large table overlooking the ocean. He held her back in a protective gesture, gazing into her eyes. “Please try to be nice.”
The nervous smile crossing his face failed to captivate her this time. An anguished scream was stifled in her throat, and the night had only just begun.
I feel like a clumsy elephant. Look at them all staring.
With her confidence dwindling, she pulled her shoulders back and waddled past the endless tables of pretentious, overdressed, bejeweled patrons, pretending to ignore them.
When they reached their table, she swayed, on the verge of passing out. Before she could blink, Jonny popped up, his beady eyes glazed by the liquor. A voluptuous, bleached, platinum-blonde woman and another bald, bulbous-eyed man stared up at them.
This can’t be happening!
Kristen's heart palpitated, beating faster and faster, until she was breathless. She slumped against Logan. Jonny veered closer. Panic-stricken, she turned to Logan, her mouth and eyes widened in shock. He avoided her gaze, unable to hide the innocent grin lighting up his face. She watched in astonishment as his hand reached out enthusiastically to Jonny's.
When Jonny faced her, a hideous glint in his eyes, her face stripped of whatever color remained and she stood speechless.
“Kristen, nice to see you again.” Her limp hand lay locked in his firm grip.
Logan couldn’t control his fidgeting as he looked on. Oblivious to the brewing turmoil, Nick sprang into the seat next to the blonde.
“Tony Spatino.” The bulbous-eyed man's loud, thick Italian accent rang in her ears. His clammy hand grabbed hers just as it dropped from Jonny's.
Overwhelmed with helplessness, she dropped into a chair. Somewhere in an alternate reality, Logan’s fingers latched onto her knee, squeezing it. When she lifted her eyes to his, the twinkle of laughter she found amazed her. It was devastating, but clear. He had set her up.
How and when did he build a connection with Jonny? Without blinking, she dug her nails into his hand and ripped it from her leg.
The huge lump in her throat continued to choke her. She gulped repeatedly to get rid of it, making no attempt to focus on the blurred menu. Everyone drank, abandoning themselves to the liquor buzz, while she was forced to remain in a painful, sober state. Even though she willed her mind to shut down, the sound of laughter and animated voices invaded her subconscious. Over and over, the realization that Logan knew Jonny would be there, that he had betrayed her, that she still couldn’t trust him, coursed through her mind. She pictured Jonny scurrying back like the little rat he was to rub her grotesquely pregnant condition in Jake’s face. To tell him how deliriously happy she was with her loving husband.
The walls were caving in, the feeling unbearable. Without a sound, she leaped to her feet and tore out of the room.
Logan's face dropped. Shaken by humiliation, he made an indiscernible comment about hormones and took off after her.
“Come on, Kristen! You can't stay in there all night. Please…”
No matter how hard she pressed her hands to her ears, she was unable to prevent Logan's desperate voice from penetrating the restroom door.
A commotion ensued—someone argued with him, their voices receding into the void, as she battled waves of nausea. The sound of footsteps grew louder and closer, followed by pounding on the stall door.
“Miss, there's a Logan outside, he insists he's your husband. He wants to come in and talk to you.” The woman's voice sounded apologetic.
“No! Tell him to go away!” Kristen cried out between shudders.
“I told him he’s not allowed to come into the ladies’ room, but he keeps arguing. Please, miss, go out to talk to him before I tell the manager and he calls the police!”
With a defeated sigh, Kristen exited the restroom. Logan's hand shot out, clasping her arm. One rough jerk sent her into the darkest, most isolated corner he could find.
“What the hell, Kristen? Why don't you just fucking kill me now?”
“Give me the gun, Logan!”
Logan flinched at the fiery defiance in her face. “How the hell was I supposed to know he was gonna be here? Do you think I want to see him?”
“Yes I do, Logan! You don't give a shit about my feelings! All you care about is fucking Nick and your god damn deals! Oh, I forgot—and most of all, yourself!” The intensity of her own words incapacitated her. Seeking a release, she collapsed against the cold concrete, hoping to blend in.
“Why the hell do you care so much anyway? Huh? Does he bring back memories?” He didn’t bother to check around. Stepping in, he used his strength to trap her. She refused to look at him.
“Go to hell, Logan.”
“Kristen... you are really pushing me to my limit,” he sneered, trying to pry her hands from the wall.
Too distraught to struggle any longer, she yielded to him. No longer able to control her tears, they cascaded in endless streams down her cheeks. “Just leave me... go back to your friends...”
He embraced her, holding her close. “You still care about him, don’t you? Why else would you be acting like this?”
Her body shook violently against him, the sobs choking her. “Leave me alone.”
“No—you should’ve been over him by now!” His face contorted in anguish as his fingertips pressed into her back. “This is sick!”
“You should know.” She sniffled, peeking up at him through long strands of hair.
His hands fastened onto her jaw, lifting her face up to his. He took a long, exasperated breath, then grinned. “You are going back to the table with me and you are going to behave. You have no idea what these guys can do to us, so you better apologize to them.”
She cringed, taken aback by the threat. After a moment, she held her head up high, glaring brazenly at him.
With no more patience left, it was time to end the games. He brushed tangled masses of hair out of her face with his hands, then clumsily patted them down. Satisfied, he reached over to an unattended food cart grabbed a napkin, rubbed it along the smudged makeup stains on her face, and smiled in triumph. “Better, let's go.”
“I may throw up—just saying.” And she wasn’t kidding, the nausea continued rising as the table came into view. She felt him pinch her waist. Her reflexes kicking in, she grounded herself, lifting a foot to kick his leg.
“Don't!” He glared at her, hissing through clenched teeth. Pouting, she slowed down to a crawl behind him, her eyes filling with disdain at the sight of Jonny.
“There she is! Kristen, feeling better?” Jonny jumped up, pulling out a chair next to him, gesturing to her.
No, you disgusting pig!
Blinded by hate, she felt Logan squeezing her thigh.
“Yes.” The word tumbled out of her mouth as she fell into the chair.
“Good! Must be tough being knocked up, huh?” Jonny paused, savoring the infuriated look on her face. Logan sucked in a deep breath and began tapping anxiously on the table.
Nick raised his eyebrows peeping over the menu at Logan.
“Hey, let’s get some food. I'm starving!”
Kristen scanned the menu, pointing at the most obscenely expensive items she could find.