She blinks nervously.
“But I know the real you. You throw crumbs to the crowd, all the while dining on caviar and basking in unjust adulation.” I shoot her a cynical look. “I’m going to strip you bare, expose you for what you are.”
Silence, then suddenly she titters. The sound grates on my nerves—reminding me of a phone call we had five years ago.
Shaking her head, she says, “You should keep your plans to yourself. That way, it’s easier to do what you set out to do. Didn’t you also vow to take what matters the most to me?”
So she hasn’t forgotten. That explains her endless interference early on. Maybe she gave up after a while because she realized she couldn’t stop me, or maybe because she’s confident she’s untouchable.
“I’m not like you, Elizabeth.”
Until I found out the truth, she was Liza to me—her grand full name of Elizabeth Lucrezia Catherine Pryce-Reed reduced to two simple syllables, as though she was just a sweet, everyday American girl.
“I don’t hide behind a pretty, friendly mask,” I continue. “And exposing you is the least I can do for what you did to screw with my life after we were through.”
She lets out a long sigh, the sound heavy with fatigue and sadness. “You’re right. You were always honest about everything.” She gives me a bright smile, the change in her mood too abrupt to be natural.
Don’t get sidetracked. She’s faking everything, just like always.
“I don’t have anything that matters much to me, but I suppose you can have your pick.”
I almost snort. Like I’m supposed to believe that?
“As for ‘exposing’ me… I doubt you’ll succeed, Dominic, but if you do…I hope it brings you nothing but joy.” She shrugs out of my jacket and gives it back to me, her motions elegant and refined.
I take it, murmuring, “Oh, it will,” as I watch her walk back inside, her head held high. Her disgrace will finally assuage the empty, aching void in my heart I haven’t been able to fill.
Not with success, not with fame, not with women.
Chapter Fifteen
Elizabeth
I settle onto a long couch in one of the sitting rooms and roll my head this way and that.
Exhaustion descends upon me, worsening the mild headache that’s been throbbing between my eyebrows since I discovered a mishap with one of the guests at the dinner. I rub the spot where a small hollowness has settled in underneath my breastbone, telling myself I’m worried about my sister-in-law, who took a tumble down one of the staircases.
But that’s a lie. I’ve been feeling the void since ten years ago, and it’s only gotten worse since I spotted Dominic in the crowd.
God. He’s gotten even more absurdly perfect.
His beloved face. Those stunning blue eyes. The proud and slightly arrogant bearing.
When our gazes locked, I felt like every cell in my body was waking up after a decade’s hibernation. My vision became clearer, colors more vivid. My heart beat a little bit faster, a little bit harder. Blood flowed a little bit louder, a little bit hotter.
Is this love—or just extreme sexual attraction?
How can I still feel it?
No. I’ve felt attraction before. But nothing like this. What I feel for Dominic now—what I felt ten years ago—makes every other man seem insignificant and colorless.
Even before he achieved his success, Dominic shone like a supernova in the night sky. Now he’s like a demigod—a dark, vengeful demigod who’s set his sights on me.
I thought my heart would burst when he draped his jacket over me on the balcony, enveloping me in his body heat and scent—that hint of malt, spices and soap.
I liked the way our scents mingled way too much, more than the warmth his jacket provided. As long as I held on to it, I could take his angry words. I knew he’d say them when we finally faced each other anyway…even though hearing them cut so much deeper than I imagined, and it was all I could do to pretend I wasn’t hurting.
It took all my willpower to return the garment before going back inside. If it were up to me, I’d keep it forever just so I could smell him over and over again.