Page 113 of Forget Me

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MIMI

“Let’s go, Mimi,”Natalie said. “Oh.”

More likeOhhhh.

What was Mateo doing at the gala? He stood alone, scanning the crowd. Gone were the jeans and tight T-shirt he usually wore. Tonight, he was gorgeous and elegant in a brocade tuxedo that hugged his shoulders and muscular torso and skimmed his powerful thighs. His bow tie was crisp and snug under his chin.

He looked like he belonged there in the glittering ballroom.

Shit, had he come with a date? He wasn’t that cruel. Though I deserved it after what I’d done to him. A fist clamped onto my heart.

“I need a minute.”

“A minute?” Natalie hummed in appreciation as she looked him up and down. “I’d need twenty. At least. Go on. I’ll get the audio techs ready for you.”

Natalie was gone in a click-click-click of her heels. But my gaze stuck to Mateo.

I took a step toward him, and that’s when he spotted me. His expression froze, his eyes wide. Then he perused me from my updo to the overspill of my breasts, to where the dress hugged my spandex-wrapped hips, following the long slit in my gown all the way to my toes in my beige heels.

His gaze rocketed to my face, and I wished I could smooth away the uncertainty that settled in the groove between his eyebrows.

I tripped toward him, as fast as I could go in the too-tall heels, until I stood in front of him.

“Mateo, I—”

“Mimi.” My name was a sigh, a hope, a reunion. He reached out a hand as if to touch me but yanked it back.

Me? I must have been angling for the night’s most-awkward-moment award. Horrified and unable to stop it, I watched my hand extend toward him for a handshake.

He glanced down, and his eyes creased in pain as if I’d kicked him. Still, always the better person, he folded his hand into mine and squeezed it.

“Mimi.” This time when he said it, my name came out strangled and stiff.

He released the pressure on my hand, but I hung on like Roger on the sisal-wrapped cat gym.

“Mateo, I’m sorry. I should never have said those things to you. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you were a steppingstone in my career. All you did was help me, and I threw it in your face. I never meant to hurt you.”

His mouth tightened until his plush lips went pale. “It’s all right.”

“No.” He had to understand this, that no one should take advantage of him. That no one could insult him and push him aside the way I’d done. “No, it’s not. I took everything you gave me. And you gave me so much. Help with the gala. This dress. And so much more. Yet I was ungrateful.”

His mouth was a thin line. “It’s fine. I’m glad everything turned out for you.”

I was doing this all wrong, but I didn’t know how to stop. So I dug in deeper. “It did. It really did. Jackson just offered me the director position. Not assistant director. Director. And I think I’m going to do it.”

His stiff face cracked, the corners of his mouth turning up. “That’s great, Mimi. I’m happy for you.”

“But I—” Why was this so hard for me? Why was I stuck on everything that was irrelevant? Why couldn’t I tell him how I felt about him?

I looked up into his eyes, kind and soft and warm as a summer sky. And I understood why I couldn’t speak. This was all wrong. It wasn’t enough for me to tell only him. The world, or at least everyone in this ballroom, had to know how wonderful he was. He deserved not only my appreciation, but a roomful of it.

I levered up on my tiptoes and pecked his lips. “Stay here, okay? Don’t move.”

Turning toward the stage, I weaved among the people waiting for the band to resume until I reached the steps and ascended them.

“Ready?” I asked, taking the microphone from Natalie.