The Doctor's Secret Bride(69)

“Am I that obvious?”

“It’s all over your face, man.” Russell took a sip from his wine glass then leaned in closer. “Look, I know what you went through when Cassie died. Your heart was ripped apart. Life as you knew it ended. There’s a time for moaning and grieving. You’ve done it. Nobody would blame you for moving on, Erik. You deserve it. My goddaughter deserves a mother.”#p#分页标题#e#

“There are still so many questions I need answered before I can make that move, Russ.”

“And what if you never find them, Erik? Are you going to let that beautiful woman slip away from you? Just look at the attention she’s been attracting from all the eligible doctors here tonight. I tell you man, if you don’t make a move, one of them will. You can’t play around with a woman like that.”

Erik took a sip of the warm crimson liquid in his glass. He’d been nursing that drink all evening. It was his only one. He wanted to have a sober, level head when he went back to his room. He and Michelle had waited too long for this for him to spoil it with inebriation. He intended to make hard, slow love to her, all night long.

He smiled at Russ, wishing he could share his secret with him. When he’d proposed marriage to Michelle last night, he’d told himself that it was for guiltless sex. But deep in his heart, Erik knew it was more than that.

And until he could admit that to himself, he could not tell anyone else, not even his parents. He had to work this thing out by himself. He couldn’t tell Russ that he’d already put his claim on Michelle, and that by the end of the night, she would be in his bed, and under him—his wife in every sense of the word.

“Excuse me, Gentlemen, but I believe one of you owes me a dance.”

Erik went rigid at the sound of Bridget’s voice behind him. He closed his eyes for a few tense seconds and inhaled deeply. When he opened them, she was standing in front of him, her blue eyes fixed on his face, her scarlet lips twisted into a smile, meant to enthrall him. “You’ve been avoiding me,” she said to him.

Russell cleared his throat. “I think I hear my wife calling.” He gave Erik an ‘I wouldn’t trade places with you for the world, friend’ look, rose to his feet and made his way through the throng of swaying black and white tuxedos and colorful floor-sweeping gowns.

Erik knew exactly what his friend was thinking. It wasn’t too long ago that Russell had told him Bridget had commissioned him to put in a good word for her. Russell had thought the request humorous, since his opinion of Bridget matched Michelle’s.

“It’s just you and me now,” Bridget said, holding out a hand while batting her eyelids at him.

With an inward groan, Erik set his glass on a corner table and pushed to his feet. As he looked Bridget over, he finally realized the verity of Russell and Michelle’s perception of her. Bridget was a phony—from her thin, carefully drawn eyebrows, her false eyelashes, to her scarlet Botox lips. He knew for a fact that she’d had breasts implants done. He thought of Michelle’s breasts—real and perky—and the feel of her brown nipples against his tongue.

“I’ve been waiting to dance with you all night, Erik.” Bridget placed her hands on his arms, indicating that she would not take no for an answer.

“Okay, Bridget,” he conceded, to avoid a scene. He’d succeeded in brushing off her advances in the past, but tonight she was extremely aggressive. He hadn’t missed the shock on her face when he’d walked in with Michelle. She hadn’t hidden her disappointment that he’d turned down her request to escort her to the party, and stay overnight. Bridget was an attractive catch, for a man who liked dolls. He wasn’t that man. Michelle was the only woman he wanted, the only woman he burned for.

“One dance.” Erik placed his hands on Bridget’s waist and led her unto the floor. Although the room was cool, he was suddenly feeling very warm. He tried not to be too rigid as he forced himself into the rhythm of the band music.

“So, what’s going on between you two?” Bridget asked.#p#分页标题#e#

“Who?”

“The golden princess you brought to the gala. Who else?”

“Careful, Bridget. Your claws are showing. There’s no need for name-calling and jealousy.” Especially not at my wife.

“Is that because there’s nothing to be jealous about? She’s just your daughter’s nanny and nothing else, right? She’s not even your type, Erik. You have nothing in common. You and I, on the other hand, are compatible in countless ways. I can’t imagine you having an important conversation with her, except if it’s about Precious, of course. Does she even have a college degree?”