Page 1 of Wife Unwanted
Chapter 1
Carey
THE PARTY WASa bore, and to make things worse, it was being thrown in my honor. Everyone was here for me and I didn't even know half of them. But that's the problem with office parties, isn't it? They're thrown not to celebrate the event, but to give the networkers a chance to hand out business cards to people who don't want them. Even the exclusivity didn't lessen the office nature of it all. You could put law nerds into ballgowns but that doesn't make them socialites.
"Carey!" Someone slapped my back. "So how does it feel to make partner?" my brother Ty said as he came around to face me. He was dangling a glass of champagne and took a sip before saying, "And why don't you look happy about it?"
I thrust my hand in my pocket and straightened my posture. "Who says I am not happy?"
Ty chuckled and stood beside me, his eyes darting around the room. "The birthday boy rarely dances alone. You made partner! If you aren't co-mingling with your mind-numbingly boring colleagues, you should be fucking some paralegal in the coatroom, at least."
We were at the edge of the gold and white ballroom, away from most of the crowd. I had chosen this spot because I had had enough of people I know and didn't know acting like the mostsickening sycophants in my presence. "And lose the partnership as soon as I make it?"
Tyler shrugged. "I doubt your fellow partners would have the balls to fire you, knowing Dad's reaction." Dad. If there was someone I didn't want to think of today, it was him. Ever since he got into his head that I could be more than just a defense lawyer, he has been interested in my career, more than I care to admit.
"Can we not talk about him right now?"
"Sure. As long as you—Is that who I think it is?" Tyler's gaze wandered to a spot behind me. Without knowing who he's looking at, I knew it was a woman.
"Found tonight's one-night stand?" I said.
Tyler nudged me. "Did you invite her?"
Curious, I turned to see what caught his attention and immediately got tongue-tied. Standing by the makeshift bar, nursing a cocktail was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Thalia MacNeal has always been pretty, but she had grown into a strikingly gorgeous woman. The little black dress she wore hugged luscious curves and teased a body made of sin and pleasure.
"Holy fuck."
"I had no idea little Thalia had a glow up," Tyler said. "Did you invite her?"
I shook my head, my gaze still on her. She looked up from her phone and we locked eyes. Hers widened while mine no doubt flashed with latent desire. A visceral rush to possess her came over me. One word flashed in my mind: mine. An old feeling that was now resurfacing.
The other men in the room had taken notice of her, and some looked like they were angling to make their move. Not if I get to her first. Without thinking, as if I am drawn to her like a moth to a flame, I made a beeline towards her. I could hear Tylerchuckling, but his voice and every other became background noise. I was aware of nothing else except her.
She was even more ravishing up close. She had grown out her hair into bouncy curls that fell to her shoulders and framed her delicate face. Her light brown skin seemed to glow under the warm light. Her eyes were the most captivating feature on her. They always have been, but now? I could get lost staring into her big black pools all day.
Time seemed to slow down with each step I took. When I finally reached her, she straightened her back and stared right back at me.
"Fancy seeing you here." I immediately wanted to kick myself. I couldn't think of anything clever to say. All of my quips seemed to have flown out of my head.
"Congratulations."
Her voice sounded breathless. I was mesmerized by her pillowy mouth and felt my groin tighten as a fire from the dark, erotic recesses within my body rose. Be cool, I told myself.
"Thank you. It's been a long time since I've seen you. Last I heard, you were in… LA?"
"San Diego. College."
"How was it'?"
"I got a degree."
"Congratulations."
"Three years ago."
"Oh. Right." I felt like a buffoon. Of courses, Thalia and I are only a year apart from each other. "Belated congratulations? What brings you back to these old parts?"
She shrugged. "Work. I recently got hired on the floor above yours. We got invitations to this thing, and I wasn't going to come until I heard you work here. Partner? Impressive."
