Page 9 of Homewrecker

The thoughts tumbled through her head, hitting her like punches to the gut, one after the other and leaving her breathless. She stumbled to a halt, wavering on her feet. Somehow it seemed like a better idea than it had earlier in the day. It had been a fantasy before.

Now… God, it was tempting.

Then Rebecca would know how Ashley felt.

At least, as close as she could get, considering Ashley’s mother had been faithful and blindsided, whereas Rebecca’s mother was a scheming, cheating bitch. But it fit. An eye for an eye. A marriage for a marriage.

A father for a father.

The only question was whether or not Mr. Black would go for it, especially considering the way she’d just spoken to him. On the other hand, he’d been the one to come up to her, hadn’t he? And he caught her when she’d stumbled. There had been a spark.

Had there been a spark?

She thought there had been a spark, but it was also hard to tell when she was this drunk. It could have been her imagination.

Only one way to find out.

The bartender slid another water to her. Ashley took it without protest—and without ordering another drink. She needed to sober up a little if she was going to test this theory.

“Okay everyone, this way, this way… please make your way into the reception and find your seats!” The wedding coordinator was making her way through the crowd, gesturing. Grabbing hold of her water glass, Ashley blended in with the other people, ducking behind a particularly tall man when the coordinator glanced in her direction.

Her father hadn’t mentioned her coming into the reception with the wedding party, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Someone came up beside her and took her arm, making her jump—then sigh in relief when she realized it was Uncle Kellar. He looked back at her with both sympathy and amusement.

“How drunk are you?” he asked. Ashley shrugged. He didn’t want the real answer to that. A tiny smile quirked the side of his lips. “Come on, I’ll help you get to your seat.”

“If it’s at the head table, I’m running.” She probably wouldn’t make it far before stumbling and falling flat on her face, but she figured she should give him fair warning since he would be the one who had to pick her up.

Fuck. If she was going to test the waters with Mr. Black she really did need to sober up some more. Or would she need to be drunker in order to go through with it? Sure, he was physically attractive, but she’d never had sex with a married man. Especially not one who was so much older, even if he wasn’t actually twice her age the way her dad was with Rebecca.

Rebecca sure as hell didn’t have any trouble fucking my married dad, so why should I let that get in my way?

“Here you are,” Uncle Kellar said, pulling out a chair. “Right next to me.”

The table was with him and the rest of her family members on her dad’s side, which was going to be torture but not nearly as bad as being seated near her dad and Rebecca. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. If nothing else, Uncle Kellar’s presence should make the dinner bearable, then she could make her escape.

Unless she was going to stick around to try to seduce Mr. Black, of course.

It wasn’t like Mrs. Black would care. Heck, if Ashley got pictures, Mrs. Black might even thank her. And if she was pissed… well, this farce was partly her fault. She definitely hadno problem with Rebecca marrying Ashley’s dad or that they’d been having an affair.

She could get a taste of her own medicine.

I can’t actually do it, though… can I?

She didn’t know.

Music started to play and everyone who was still standing hurriedly sat down.

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen… let’s welcome the parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. Black!” The DJ’s voice reverberated around the room as the doors swung open to reveal Mrs. Black clinging to Mr. Black’s arm, beaming brightly as cheers broke out around the room.

The noise made Ashley’s chest tighten, aching. While her mother was at home, wondering where her life had gone wrong, all these people were celebrating a fucking travesty. Her gaze zeroed in on Mr. and Mrs. Black. Rebecca’s father had a small smile on his face as he looked around. If Ashley’s words at the bar had bothered him, he’d gotten over it pretty quickly.

Grimly, Ashley reached for the glass of champagne in front of her.

“Ashley, that is for the toasts,” Aunt Jeanine whispered from across the table.

“Leave her alone,” Uncle Kellar whispered back. “If she needs to drink to get through this, then let her. I know I’m not going to be far behind her.”

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