Grant Vance, another member of my team, approaches as we enter, whispering updates in my ear. “All clear inside, sir. We’ve done a complete sweep. Jake is already stationed near the main entrance.”
I nod my acknowledgment. “Keep the usual perimeter. Tatiana is your priority today.”
The networking event is already in full swing when we enter the main conference room. Young tech entrepreneurs, finance prodigies, and business school graduates network aggressively, everyone trying to make an impression. I spot several familiar faces, including Christopher and Lucy Blackwell across the room, deep in conversation with a venture capitalist. Gideon and Ava King are with them.
“There’s Christopher,” Tatiana says, the first words she’s spoken to me since the car. “I should say hello.”
“We’ll go together,” I tell her, placing my hand on her lower back in what appears to be an affectionate gesture but is actually me guiding her movements. “Remember, we’re the happy couple today.”
She shoots me a look that could freeze hell. “Of course, darling. Whatever you say.”
We make our way through the crowd, stopping occasionally when someone important intercepts us. I play my part perfectly, introducing Tatiana as my wife with my arm draped possessively around her waist. She’s equally flawless, smiling and charming everyone we meet.
We’re halfway across the room when Tatiana suddenly freezes beside me. Her entire body goes rigid, her face draining of color. I follow her gaze, scanning the crowd until I spot what caused her reaction.
A tall man with perfectly styled brown hair stands near the bar, laughing with two others. He’s conventionally handsome in that bland, forgettable way that somehow lands on magazine covers. When he turns slightly, his profile becomes visible, and Tatiana’s sharp intake of breath tells me everything I need to know.
This must be the ex. The one who left her at the altar.
Anger rises in me, hot and immediate. This fucker humiliated her, abandoned her on what should have been the happiest day of her life, and now he has the audacity to be here, in the same room, acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
Without thinking, I tighten my hold on Tatiana’s waist, drawing her closer to my side. My eyes find Jake across the room and I give him a subtle nod in the ex’s direction. Jake understands immediately, positioning himself and Grant to create a human barrier between Tatiana and her former fiancé.
“Tatiana,” I say softly, close to her ear. “Are you all right?”
I’m barely restraining the instinct to march over there and punch the fucker in the face.
She nods stiffly, but I can feel the fine tremor running through her body.
“Do you want to leave?” I ask.
“No,” she says, her voice barely audible. “I won’t give him the satisfaction.”
Pride surges through me at her strength, even as I want to rush across the room and fuck the bastard up.
“That’s him, isn’t it?” I ask. “The man who left you at the altar.”
She gives me a startled look, then slumps slightly. “I forgot you had a detailed background profile on me to memorize after we were married.”
“Just as you had one on me,” I tell her.
“Yeah, though somehow I suspect yours wasn’t quite as detailed as mine,” she says bitterly. She glances her ex’s way again, swallows hard. “Rylan Mitchell. We were engaged for eighteen months. He... he married someone else three months after leaving me.”
The rage intensifies, burning in my chest. “What a fucking coward.”
Like me. Like fucking me.
Her eyes dart to mine, surprised by my vehemence.
“He hasn’t seen us yet,” I tell her. “We can avoid him entirely if you want.”
She takes a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “No. I won’t hide.”
“Then let’s give him something to regret,” I say, shifting to stand directly in front of her, blocking her from his view. I place both hands on her waist, looking down at her with an expression I hope conveys genuine affection rather than the storm of emotions actually raging inside me.
“What are you doing?” she asks, her hands coming to rest on my chest.
“Making sure he knows exactly what he lost,” I answer truthfully.