Page 152 of Beauty
There’snothing like the moment I set my eyes on my wife after we’ve been apart. I spend far too much time away from the woman because of our schedules, so when I’m in town and she’s busy like she’s been today, I turn into a caged animal, pacing and waiting for her return.
As Langfield Corp’s events coordinator, Lennox has been immersed in planning Josie’s Gala for weeks. It’s one of our family’s biggest events, so naturally, my wife has been gone all day.
When I spot her, with her pink hair in a pretty updo and the deep magenta fabric of her dress cutting across her curves in a way that leaves my mouth watering, I can do nothing but stare. The woman is a fucking vision.
“Pick up your jaw, Lep.” War waltzes by and snags his wife by the waist, tugging her against him.
I chuckle. As if the man isn’t just as smitten with his as I am with mine.
Though when I realize his wife is free to wander around the event with him, irritation rushes through me. Because mine is still busy.
She winks at me, then turns and walks in the opposite direction, leaving me wishing I could chase after her and beg for a little attention.
It’s tempting, but it would be a fruitless endeavor. So I take a look around the space instead, memorizing every detail so I can tell Lex how proud I am of the event she’s thrown.
Josie’s as healthy as any of the rest of our friends’ kids these days, but after witnessing her battle with lymphoma, our family is dedicated to making sure no child ever suffers through an illness alone the way she did.
The room is bathed in pink light, and each table is topped with bouquets of varying sizes and bright pink candelabras that set the entire room aglow. The tablecloths are a glittering silver, and the chairs are all adorned with pink silk tied in bows.
Almost every woman is wearing some version of pink, and if I had it my way, I’d be in a magenta suit tonight. But when I asked my sister to make me a pink tux, she begged off, claiming she was too busy. So I had to settle for a pink tie to match my wife’s dress.
I tap my foot, letting my knee bounce to music in my head while I continue creating the list of compliments I’ll have for Lennox tonight. I wish it was time to dance. It’s hard to stand in one place for this long.
As I survey the place, I catch sight of my teammates one by one. The more I find, the more obvious it is that all our ties are annoyingly similar.
I huff. I’ll have to pester Sienna about the tux earlier next year. When I spot Brooks and Sara, I head for our table. If I stick close to my wife’s best friend, I have a better chance of attracting my wife. Besides, Sara is entertaining as fuck.
“Thought we were supposed to be wearing pink,” I say by way of greeting as I approach.
Sara grins, twirling in her Bolts blue dress. “It’s got pink beading. Sienna told me that counts.”
I chuckle. My sister designed dresses for all of our wives, and damn, does each one of them look good. She managed to capture each of their personalities perfectly.
Sara, my sister-in-law who dyes her hair blue at the start of every season to support the team, can wear her favorite color while sticking to tonight’s theme. She’s right about the color. With the pink iridescent beading covering almost every inch of fabric, the dress looks blue from one angle, but from others, it looks pink.
My sister is fucking talented.
Why she agreed to come work at the main office is beyond me. She doesn’t belong there, even if I do love having her around.
When Noah joins us and eases into a chair, I shuffle closer.
“Sorry you got roped into sitting at the family table.”
He shrugs, a content smile on his face. The guy is always so easygoing. And he’s one hell of a winger. He never fails to set me up for a goal when the time is right, and no one can send a wicked wide shot into the back of the net as smoothly as he can. He’s truly one of the best snipers the game has ever seen.
I’m bothered by the rumors that we won’t extend his contract, obviously, but I think this whole setting him up with Ezra at our table thing is dumb.
“Appreciate the invite,” he says.
I’m jealous of his Bolts blue tux. I didn’t know that was an option. The vest underneath the jacket is a deep magenta that makes me think he had help picking it out. It’d be weird for a single guy to pick that out on his own, right?
Eh, maybe his sister is behind the outfit.
“Where’s Hannah tonight?” I ask, searching the room for Daniel Hall and his wife.
“They’re somewhere around here, I’m sure.” Noah waves a hand.
“You didn’t ride over together? Maybe get dressed over there?” I eye his vest again.
