Page 42 of The Exception

He tossed back the rest of his champagne and let his father’s voice drone on in the background as he settled in to enjoy the view.

Cue improper thoughts about his preceptor in 3, 2, 1…

* * *

If she’d really taken the time to imagine how walking into this event alone would feel, Sonya might have pretended she didn’t get the invite in the mail. The click of her heels sounded too loud to her own ear as she crossed the ballroom, glancing at the table assignment clutched in her hand. The entire event was made for couples. Low light, soft music, plenty of booze. Why hadn’t she taken Dani’s advice and hired an escort for the night?

Right.Because she’s not Dani and that would have been awkward as hell. Cat and Emma had both offered up their husbands, which was sweet considering they’d be left home alone with young kids on a Saturday night if Sonya had made Josh or Adam come with her, but embarrassment was a stronger weight than guilt. Showing up with a paid fake date was one thing (even though that was never an actual option) but borrowing your friend’s man was somewhere between desperation and rock bottom.

Sonya was only swimming upward from now on, even if it meant dodging pity looks all night.

She spotted her table, but instead of taking a seat, she made a hard right to the bar and ordered a martini. She needed something stronger than her usual wine, and now she’d have something to do with that left hand everyone kept staring at.

Okay, maybe she was imagining the collective stares of the entire room. She wasn’t vain enough to consider herself the topic of everyone’s conversation, but there were a lot of people here who she didn’t see on a regular basis and it was bound to come up. She was just preparing. With vodka.

As she wove her way through the tables, she spotted one pair of eyes that she definitelywasn’timagining a stare from.

Trav was a few tables away, seated next to his father and a woman who Sonya assumed was Dr. Travis’s wife, given her fur stole and ostentatious jewelry.

Trav’s mouth tipped into a grin as he watched her swerve around a tuxedo, and she smiled and waved.

He didn’t look away, and she gave him awhat?!look.

He only chuckled.

Weirdo.

Table six belonged—thank God—to Abi and her husband, Amanda from Med Surge who Sonya sometimes went to happy hour with, her date. And Sonya.

There was an empty chair and she leaned in to see who the sixth spot belonged to, hoping it would be someone interesting and maybe another dateless person so she wouldn’t feel so alone. But when she glanced at the name at the place setting beside her, her jaw practically unhinged.

What in the everloving hell...

She’d specifically emailed the coordinator of this event to let her know her plus one wasn’t coming. She’d been very clear in her instructions to take Marcus off the list. She’d taken meticulous care with this to avoid this very scenario anderrrr.Wasn’t anyone proficient in their job?

Fingers shaking around the stem of her martini glass, she slid into her chair, ignoring the gold calligraphy screaming at her from the next place over. Would it be gauche to tear the little card into pieces and stomp on them with her stiletto?

To her utter humiliation, she actually felt the corners of her eyes begin to burn.For God’s sake. This is the last thing I need.

“Sonya,” Amanda greeted, oblivious to the fire burning behind Sonya’s eyes. “You look amazing. Where’s—”

Whatever had just happened on Sonya’s face without her permission stopped Amanda mid sentence.

She gulped her water and waved a hand in the air. “Nevermind. It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” She was vaguely aware of being introduced to Amanda’s date, then she went through the motions of making small talk with Abi. By the time the band started up, and both women dragged their men to the dance floor, Sonya felt a headache brewing. Probably the vodka. She should get more to fend it off.

She wrapped her fingers around the edge of the table, pushing her chair back, but it clunked into a solid mass.

“Ouch.”

She looked up to see Trav looming over her, a smile on his lips. Somewhere in her chest, a little pressure released and it took her by surprise. She was relieved to see him. She had no idea how much she needed his silly grin until it was right in front of her.

He dropped into the seat beside her, Marcus’s seat, and gave the place card a cursory glance before tossing it over his shoulder and replacing it with the one he’d taken from his own table.

Her jaw unhinged again.

That was cathartic, even second hand.

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