Page 36 of Beautiful Broken Love

I looked at EJ, who sat in an empty chair close by.

“She’s fine as fuck,” he said.

“You werestaringat her pictures, Deke?” Whitney asked, eyes widening.

I wasn’t about to answer that. I finished off my champagne and stepped past Whitney to get to the bar again. I needed something stronger than the bubbly.

“Deke. What did me and Camille tell you about her?” my sister hissed.

“What are you talking about?” I flagged the bartender down.

“You need to leave her alone.Do notcross that line.”

“What line?”

“You know exactly what line I’m talking about. Look, I get it. She’s really, really pretty. But didn’t you say on our last call that she lost her husband a couple months ago? That’s just ...”

“Just what?” I demanded, dropping my eyes to hers.

Whitney’s brows puckered, and she straightened her posture. “That’smessy, Deke.”

“Well, maybe I’m okay with it being messy.” The bartender appeared, and I requested a neat whiskey. The irony of my drink of choice wasn’t lost on me.

“Okay—you know what? Whatever,” Whitney muttered. “Do whatever you want, just like you always do. But, Deke, I’m telling you, if you sleep with that woman, you’re gonna fuck her up even more. I saw her eyes. She isnotokay. She’s smiling and looks happy on the outside, but she’scryinginside. After experiencing that sort of pain firsthand, you of all people should know that tampering with it doesn’t help. Don’t make matters worse for her.”

Whitney took off with those words lingering in the air, and I blew a breath, collecting my drink and leaving the ballroom to find a quieter space.

EIGHTEEN

DAVINA

To my relief, the party ran smoothly.

There wasn’t the slightest hiccup, and I was grateful Tish made sure of it. If there was something that went wrong, she didn’t bring it to my attention.

It was nearing ten o’clock, and it seemed the party should’ve been winding down, but instead it was ramping up. The drinks at the bar were unlimited, courtesy of Chester, who was roaming around somewhere, and that was probably why no one was going home.

The guests had everything they needed in this big, beautiful building, which cost a fortune—food, drinks, entertainment—and it was worth staying.

I stood near the stage and watched the slideshow on the screen above it. There was a shuffle of images, some of our employees in action or posing for the camera, others of our products staged nicely on beige-and-white backgrounds.

And of course there were the images of the main manandthe reason many people had rapidly RSVP’d to the rebranding party, Deke. When an image of him slid across, I peeled my eyes from the screen to find him. He was coming in from the lobby, and as if he were looking for me, too, our eyes connected.

He tossed a hand up with a crooked smile. That was clearly his signature move. It was cute and always caused a flutter in my belly. I gave him a quick wave back, then turned my attention away, gulping some champagne down to cool the simmering in my throat.

“Vina, we’re ready for your speech,” Tish said from behind me. I turned to find her, and she looked stunning in her black-and-gold gown. Her newly appointed fiancé, Lorenzo, was at the party as well, dressed in matching gold and black and helping himself to as many barbecue meatballs as he wanted.

“Right.” I followed my best friend to the stage, ready to get my speech over with.

Tish got everyone’s attention and primed the crowd. When it was my turn to take the floor, I thanked the necessary people, then called Deke to the stage.

The crowd went into an uproar when his name was announced. Whistles were in the air, and the spotlight flickered to Deke as he made his way toward the crowd, with a bashful smile, like he was a young boy who didn’t know how to receive all that glory.

When he was onstage, I handed him the mic but didn’t miss the way his long fingers slipped over mine or how his eyes demanded that I look at them. His cologne wrapped around me, and I cleared my throat as he took center stage.

“Wow. Thank you for the warm welcome. I think that might’ve been better than it is at my games,” he said, and a cacophony of laughter erupted in the room. “I’m not that good at the whole speech thing, so don’t expect me to be up here too long. I mean, Davina told me I should prepare one, but I don’t have much to say. All I can do is express my gratitude. I appreciate GOC for choosing me to be the face of their brand for the next couple of months and only wish the best for it.” Deke extended an arm, gesturing to me. “I admire this woman right here. She’s a boss to a lot of you, but she works hard, and I respect that. So thank you, Davina, because none of this would be happening if you didn’t have a vision and a plan.”

Heat crept to my cheeks, and the silliest smile took me over. I waved and blew a few air-kisses at the applauding crowd, and as Deke finished up his speech, I took a deeper look at all our guests.

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