Page 17 of Bride of Betrayal
She pulled back too but Leo was already out of the car and coming around to let her out. Door opening, reaching for her hand. She’d prefer not to touch him again but it was impossible to get out of the vehicle gracefully so she had no option but to slide her hand into his, sparking a million nerve endings to life again.
They were walking up another set of steps now. Angelica was only vaguely aware of the location but it was a suitably formidable building and there was a steady stream of New York’s glittering crowd entering the main door.
Paparazzi spotted them and went predictably wild, but Leo didn’t want to stop. He tugged her with him until Angelica dug her heels in and he had to stop. He looked at her, his expression stormy, and bit out, ‘While the news coverage isn’t entirely unwelcome, I think I’d like to avoid hitting the front pages of every paper two days running.’
Angelica didn’t have time to ask him what he meant by that. She said, ‘I promised my friend I’d get the maximum coverage for her dress.’
Leo snorted. ‘Your altruism is to be commended. I’m sure it’s nothing to do with the fact that getting photographed in little more than a lace napkin is the main aim here.’
Angelica pulled her hand free with a forced smile and made a motion to shoo Leo aside so she could be photographed on her own. To anyone else it would look like the kind of exchange that happened between celebrities on the red carpet all the time.
Angelica took her time, making sure they got all the angles and made sure they knew who the designer was. When she finally gave a wave and turned to walk up the steps, Leo practically had steam coming out of his ears.
Angelica slid her arm through his, even though that brought her uncomfortably close to his body. But she steeled herself against her reaction and said, ‘If this is all too much for you, there’s a very quick solution.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A divorce.’
‘Not before everything is back in my name.’
Angelica pounced. ‘So you will divorce me, then, when I sign everything back to you?’
They were at the top of the steps now. Leo stopped and looked at her. ‘Not a chance, not even if you decide to attend an event in nothing but body paint. We agreed to three months, and that’s the minimum I’ll accept to rehabilitate my image.’
Angelica swallowed down her frustration and smiled sweetly. ‘It just so happens that I know a very talented body-paint artist who I’ve worked with on several campaigns. I must drop him an email.’
Leo urged them forward and into the event, where thousands of lights lit everyone and everything in a golden glow. Ominously he said, ‘Do your worst, Angel, it won’t change a thing.’
They were at the top of a set of grand marble steps that led down into a vast ballroom. Almost as one entity the crowd seemed to stop and turn to face them. A hush fell. Once again Angelica was pricklingly aware of herself. She would wear clothes like this for a shoot, no problem, but out in public was another matter. But she couldn’t regret it now. He’d just confirmed she was doing the right thing. A couple of events drawing all the wrong sort of attention and he would be begging for a divorce once she’d signed everything back over to him.
Leo started walking down the stairs and she could feel his tension. She gritted her jaw against the urge to turn and flee and return in something more suitable. Did he really mean it when he said he’d make her wait out the three months? She had the sinking feeling that if she did appear in just body paint, he would call her bluff and parade her in front of everyone, rendering her little sartorial rebellions futile.
The hush became a chatter of voices that stopped and grew loud again as they passed through the crowd. People seemed to be crowding around them and in the middle of the room, Leo stopped. Angelica felt his hand tighten on hers, almost painfully, and looked up at his face and her belly swooped. He was pale and there was visible perspiration on his brow.
She squeezed his hand. ‘Leo, what is it?’
His voice sounded thick. ‘Need to move, get some space.’
Angelica spied an opening and moved forward, tugging Leo behind her until they’d got to the side of the ballroom, where the crowd dissipated and there was space. She turned to face him. ‘Are you OK?’ Theatrics with her outfits and everything was forgotten. She felt a real stab of concern. She’d never seen Leo like this.
She saw his throat swallow. A waiter passed nearby with a tray of glasses. She snagged one. Luckily it was water. She handed it to Leo. ‘Drink this.’
He clasped the glass and she could see the knuckles of his fingers, white. The concern got more pronounced. He took a gulp of water and Angelica took the glass back.
‘Leo?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry… I felt something like this at the last event but it wasn’t as bad.’
‘Felt what?’
‘Claustrophobic. The crowd, around me…nowhere to go. Trapped.’
A chill went down Angelica’s spine. ‘You experienced this in prison, didn’t you?’
The deathly pallor was finally lifting from his face. The faintest colour coming back. He nodded slowly. ‘Something like that.’
Until now Angelica hadn’t truly appreciated what he must have gone through in prison but this was giving her a glimpse.
