Chapter Thirty-Two
Evie
Maykin had to pretty much kick me out of the car when we arrived at the venue. I didn’t want to see these people, and I didn’t want to see Collin. But. It had to be done. I had to be rid of him. He was like a dark cloud hanging over my head on a sunny day.
“You’ve got this, E.” Maykin slapped my ass. “If you need me, let me know.” She walked past me, heading straight for the bar, stopping to say hi to a few people on the way.
I took a deep breath and put on my Evie James smile. The one that said, “Don’t fuck with me.” The one that said, “I’m sorry you’ll never be me.” I said hello to the people I would normally say hello to. And I ignored the people I’d normally ignore. Going through the motions sober was a little depressing. I was a stuck-up bitch.
The ballroom at the Blue Diamond Country Club was dimly lit and smelled like the multitude of magnolias that were lining the tables and bars. We had money, and we liked to spend it. I’d worked closely with the florist to get the arrangements right. I’d met with a lighting specialist to make sure all pictures would come out looking flawless. Collin had overseen the food tastings, which made sense because I rarely ate. He’d told me that it was like a dry run for our engagement dinner. And I’d promptly popped a pill and fallen asleep.
“You look stunning, princess.” Collin came up behind me, his hands on my waist and his mouth by the shell of my ear.
“Thank you.” I stepped forward out of his grasp before turning to face him. “You do too.” I wasn’t blind, and Collin did fill out a tux nicely. But that was where my compliments would end. His mean streak made him unattractive.
He took my chin in his hand, holding me tightly in place so he could kiss my lips. I held still, not wanting to make a scene before it was necessary. But I didn’t kiss him back. “I have something for you, princess.” He held his palm out, revealing a tiny blue pill.
I shook my head, backing away slowly. “No. I don’t need it.” I’d already taken my pill for the day. I had a strict schedule that I was supposed to stick to. I’d done well for five days, and I wasn’t going to let Collin set me back.
He scoffed. “We both know you do.” He grabbed my arms, hauling me into a dark corner. “Now take it.”
“No.” I tried to shove past him. I’d planned to do this the easy way, the calm way. But he wasn’t really leaving me much choice. “Get out of my way, I’m leaving.”
“Like fuck you are.” He pushed back, putting my back against the wall. “You’re co-chair and I’m the fucking president. You aren’t going to make either of us look bad by leaving now.”
I wanted to laugh. Had there really been a time when I’d been able to pretend to give a shit about things like this? Co-chair? Really? Who gave a flying fuck? Had I ever? Because I certainly didn’t now. “We’re done, Collin.” I smiled happily. “Like, done done. And you can call my dad, you can go to the press, you can throw whatever kind of tantrum you want. I’m not playing this game anymore.” I moved to shove past him again and he grabbed my arm, his touch gentler than it usually was.
“Princess, wait, please don’t go.” He guided me back in front of him, not using half the force I was accustomed to from him. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Was he bipolar? Had that been his problem all along and I’d failed to notice because I was all high and stuff?
He put his hands in his pockets, managing to look contrite for probably the first time in his life. “We’re terrible together, we’re toxic. You’re right, things need to end, for both our sakes.”
“Uh. Okay?” Had I traveled to another dimension? Collin had never spoken to me in that soft, caring tone before. He and I were in a constant power struggle, a constant fight. We’d never had a real conversation in our whole time of knowing one another.
“Can you please do me a favor though? Can you stay until the ceremony is over?” He got down, eye level with me. “Stay with me for a little bit longer and then I’ll have my driver take you wherever you want to go.”
“Really?” Was I stupid to believe him? It wasn’t like he could hurt me here. We were surrounded by people. When he nodded, I let out a deep breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Yeah, I guess I could do that.”
“Thank you.” He placed a kiss on my cheek and then took me by the elbow, leading me into the ballroom to mingle.
My therapist had told me I couldn’t hide from my life, so maybe staying for a bit and being civil with Collin was actually the best thing for me.
A few minutes later, I felt my cell vibrate in my clutch so I politely excused myself and headed into the lobby. I hit accept and found a quiet corner just as Nicky’s face appeared on the screen. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I bit my bottom lip to keep my smile somewhat in check. “You couldn’t go more than two hours without seeing my face? Is that your limit?”
“I guess so.” His smile matched mine. I was guessing we looked like two dopey fools. “How’s it going? Everything okay?”
He was checking up on me. He was worried that I’d fall into old habits. But I wouldn’t, I didn’t want to. I wanted him. I wanted the life we were slowly creating. I wanted to be healthy and whole. I wanted so much more for myself than I’d ever realized. “I’m good, I promise.” I glanced at the clock over the front desk. “The ceremony should start any minute, and then I’m out of here.”
“Have you talked to Collin?” The way Nicky said his name, it was almost like it pained him.
I nodded. “I did, and, well—”
“Princess, come on, we’re about to start.” Suddenly Collin was in the shot, his mouth next to my ear and his hand on my elbow.
“Yeah. Seems like you’re just fine.” Before I could protest or try to explain, Nick hung up the phone.
I pulled out of Collin’s grasp. “What the fuck is your problem?” I’d told him we were through.
“You said you’d finish this event, and you will.” He grabbed my hand, holding it tightly in his. “As soon as we’re done here you can call your bad-boy phase back and let him know I was only keeping up appearances.” He squeezed my hand even tighter. “Until then, you play your part.”
I hated that Nicky was thinking the worst. It made me sick to my stomach. But this would be easier if I simply did what I said I would and got out of here as soon as possible. After that, Collin would be a non-issue in our lives.
Nicky would understand once I had a chance to explain.
We’d be fine.