The Fixed Trilogy(Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever With You)(47)

When I sent a casual look toward him midway through the meal, his smile made my chest tighten. It may have been for show, but my reaction was genuine. I realized that no amount of elastic band snapping would stop whatever I was beginning to feel for him.

After dessert and coffee, the ballroom became a bustle again with people visiting with other tables and more guests arriving who’d only purchased tickets to the fashion show. Chandler found a group of younger girls to hit on, and Mira roped Adam into assisting with her backstage where she was managing the models and designers.

Though I’d liked getting to know Mira and Adam, and while Chandler never failed to entertain, I was glad to have a minute alone with my date. I trailed my hand across his shoulders and down his back, drawing his gaze to me. I saw longing, the few flecks of copper blazing in his eyes. He grabbed my thigh and leaned in, but the anticipated kiss never came.

“Oh, you don’t need to be all PDA on my account,” a silky voice purred behind us. “Remember, I know.”

Hudson stiffened under my hand and my eyes followed his, landing on the leggy blonde taking a seat next to me. She was intimidating, not because of her attitude, but because she was drop-dead gorgeous. I tucked my hands into my lap, though Hudson’s hand remained secure on my leg under the table.

“I’m Celia.” She smiled, showing white perfect teeth. “I thought we should probably meet. Though, it doesn’t look like Hudson’s too keen on it.”

I glanced at Hudson who indeed appeared uncomfortable.

“No, you’re right. You should meet,” he said, his hand stroking my thigh. I felt purpose behind his touching me, but wasn’t sure if he meant it to claim me, calm me, or calm himself. “Now you’ve met.”

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, you oaf.” She smirked at Hudson then delivered another smile to me. “Believe it or not, we’re actually friends.”

I believed it. She felt comfortable around him, and he didn’t even flinch when she’d called him an oaf. It made my stomach wrench unexplainably. Then, when I wondered if they’d had sex, a sharp stabbing began in my chest. I didn’t need to flick the elastic band, already associating the thought with pain, but I did anyway since my hands were finally free under the table to do so.

Hudson sighed. “What do you want, Ceeley?”

Someone Hudson actually called by a nickname? The stabbing deepened.

“I wanted to personally thank Alayna for this whole charade.”

So, she really did know. Which really put me at a disadvantage since I knew almost nothing about her.

Celia leaned into me as if confiding a secret, but loud enough that Hudson could still hear her. “You can’t know how dreadful the idea of marrying that pain in the ass has been.” A teasing grin appeared on her lips.

“Um, I can imagine.” The stabby pains in my chest made me want to stab Hudson, too. “He’s not the settling down type.”

Hudson removed his hand from my leg, and I instantly regretted my words, even though they hadn’t been that mean, had they?

Celia giggled. “Wow. You already know him so well.” She giggled again.

Ugh, she was a giggler. I wanted to puke. Or hate her. But something about her also drew me in. “It’s nice to talk to someone else who knows.”

“But isn’t Hudson amazingly good at pretending?” She narrowed her eyes at him, and I caught the daggers he shot her in return.

“He is.” I thought about our time together, the touches, the kisses in public. Some of them had been confusing, and I had blamed that on my own tendencies to create more when there wasn’t more. But maybe it hadn’t been my overactive imagination. “Quite good.”

“I’d love to continue this wonderfully entertaining conversation, but I see someone I need to talk some business with.” Hudson stood and reached his hand out for me. “Alayna?”

I had the strange feeling he didn’t want to leave me alone with his almost-but-not-really-fiancé. The last time I’d felt that way, I’d received rather interesting tidbits of info from his little sis. “Go ahead, H. I’ll hang with Celia.”

“We’ll be fine,” Celia assured him. “And we’ll end our conversation with a pretend catfight if you want to up the charade.”

Hudson’s jaw tightened. “No catfight. In my script, you’re friendly toward each other.”

“Then she and I should sit and chat, since we’re supposed to be friends.” Celia winked at me. “Right, Alayna?”

“Right.” I winked back. I couldn’t help it. She was sort of adorable. “And since we’re friends, you should call me Laynie.”