The stranger looked down at her then, truly looked, as if weighing what kind of woman grabbed a stranger in public and asked to be kissed as revenge against a man who deserved wors\u201cDominic<\/p>\n
Bellardi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The name moved through the room before Vivian understood it.<\/p>\n
A man near the champagne bar lowered his glass. A couple who had been laughing near the auction display stopped laughing. One of Nathan\u2019s board members turned away so quickly he nearly<\/p>\n
stepped into a waiter.<\/p>\n
Vivian knew the name, but only the way respectable people knew certain names\u2014through rumor, through warnings, through doors closed before explanations began.<\/p>\n
Dominic Bellardi.<\/p>\n
The old boss of South Chicago. Real estate king. Private lender. Billionaire collector of vineyards, hotels, and enemies. A man newspapers had called a \u201cretired organized crime figure\u201d because newspapers enjoyed pretending certain men retired.<\/p>\n
Vivian\u2019s hand finally loosened.<\/p>\n
Dominic caught it before she could pull away. He turned her palm upward briefly, as if reading something written there, then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalk with me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked you to kiss me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t said no.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed one hand at the small of her back. Not possessive. Not theatrical. Just present enough to steady her. Then he guided her forward across the ballroom, directly toward Nathan and Maribel.<\/p>\n
Vivian\u2019s heart struck hard against her ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Vivian whispered.<\/p>\n
Dominic Bellardi did not look at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving him something worse than jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian almost stumbled.<\/p>\n
Across the ballroom, Nathan Wexler\u2019s face had gone pale beneath the golden light. His hand, still resting at Maribel\u2019s waist, slipped away as if her body had burned him. Maribel noticed it instantly.<\/p>\n
Her pretty mouth tightened. She followed Nathan\u2019s stare, saw Vivian approaching on Dominic Bellardi\u2019s arm, and for one delicious second, confusion shattered her practiced innocence.<\/p>\n
Then fear replaced it.<\/p>\n
Not fear of Vivian.<\/p>\n
Fear of the man beside her.<\/p>\n
Vivian felt Dominic\u2019s palm press lightly against her back, guiding her through the guests who parted without being asked. It was like watching the sea split for something ancient and unforgiving.<\/p>\n
Conversations died as they passed. Champagne flutes hovered midair. The quartet continued playing, but even the violins seemed to draw their notes softer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nathan recovered first.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian,\u201d he said, forcing a smile that did not reach his eyes. \u201cThere you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
There you are.<\/p>\n
As if she had wandered away from him. As if he had been searching. As if his mouth had not just been on her sister\u2019s throat eighteen minutes ago in a corridor smelling of bleach and lilies.<\/p>\n
Vivian lifted her chin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maribel moved closer to him, then seemed to think better of it and took half a step away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Bellardi,\u201d Nathan said.<\/p>\n
His voice was smooth, but Vivian was close enough to hear the crack beneath it.<\/p>\n
Dominic stopped in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWexler.\u201d<\/p>\n
One word. No greeting. No warmth. No effort to pretend this was a pleasant coincidence.<\/p>\n
Nathan swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t told you\u2019d be attending tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Dominic said. \u201cYou weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maribel let out a small laugh, brittle as thin glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, this is unexpected. Vivian, you never mentioned you knew Mr. Bellardi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vivian opened her mouth, but Dominic answered first.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maribel blinked.<\/p>\n
Dominic looked at her then. Fully. Quietly. The effect was immediate. Maribel\u2019s shoulders drew in, as if she had felt cold air enter the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet,\u201d Dominic continued, \u201cshe had better instincts tonight than anyone else here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Vivian felt the tension sharpen between the two men, invisible and lethal. She did not understand it. She had grabbed Dominic to survive humiliation, but now she felt as if she had stepped into the middle of a war that had already begun before she knew the battlefield existed.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s smile returned, thinner this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian, may I speak with you privately?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Dominic said.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s eyes flicked to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asking my fianc\u00e9e.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dominic\u2019s hand left Vivian\u2019s back. For one second, she felt the absence of his touch like stepping away from a wall in a storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can answer,\u201d Dominic said. \u201cBut you\u2019ll keep your voice respectful while she does.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words were not loud.<\/p>\n
They did not need to be.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s nostrils flared. Around them, people pretended not to listen and failed completely.<\/p>\n
Vivian looked at Nathan. She remembered the first night he brought her white tulips because she had once mentioned roses felt too obvious. She remembered him kneeling beside Lake Michigan with the ring glittering between them. She remembered believing every gentle lie because she had wanted love to be something clean.<\/p>\n
Then she remembered Maribel\u2019s back against the service corridor wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Vivian said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to speak privately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maribel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cViv, don\u2019t be dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nickname landed wrong. It always had, but tonight Vivian finally heard the small blade inside it.<\/p>\n
She turned to her sister.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maribel laughed again, louder. \u201cDon\u2019t what? We\u2019re at a gala. People are watching. You\u2019re clinging to some man you just met because you\u2019re upset about\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout seeing you with my fianc\u00e9 in the service corridor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence hit the room so hard it seemed to dim the chandeliers.<\/p>\n
Maribel\u2019s lips parted.<\/p>\n
Nathan\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
Vivian felt her own heartbeat in her throat, but now that the words had escaped, they did not frighten her. They steadied her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said, quieter but clearer. \u201cPeople are watching. So let them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan leaned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
Dominic moved one step.<\/p>\n
Not between them.<\/p>\n
Beside her.<\/p>\n
The distinction mattered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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