Page 59 of Tangled in Temptation

Without a backward glance, I turned and walked away. I wanted to run out the front door, but then she would win. I hadn’t put on a lipstick and heels just to go right back to my cheap hotel room. I was here, and I was going to have at least one drink. My heart pounded in my chest. Yes, it was shattering into a million pieces, but I refused to let it show.

I supposed part of me should have known. It had been foolish to show up in an attempt to surprise him. Although I suppose I had surprised him. He wasn’t expecting to see me at the same party with his ex-wife. I was too late. Regina had been waiting in the wings. Rather, I had been waiting in hers. The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.

As I ventured deeper into the throng of people, I could feel Regina’s icy gaze bore into my back. But I kept walking, head high, shoulders squared. Not to show defiance, but rather my resolve. A resolve that told her I wasn’t going anywhere. I might have been a contractor, but I was not to be scoffed at.

I found myself in a dimly lit hallway, its emptiness a stark contrast to the crowd of revelers beyond its walls. I leaned against the wall, willing my trembling limbs to steady, to regain some semblance of composure. I inhaled through my nose, taking one deep breath after another.

“Catherine.” Timothy’s voice cut through my silence.

“Go away,” I told him. “I plan on leaving in a few minutes. I won’t interrupt your night. I’m sorry I showed up at all.”

“Please, let me explain.”

I turned to face him. “There’s nothing to explain. I showed up uninvited. It’s my own fault. You and I ended things. I shouldn’t have expected you would still want me to come tonight.”

“I did want you to come tonight.”

“Are you going to tell me you aren’t here with Regina?” I questioned.

He closed his eyes. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It really doesn’t. I get it. I don’t want to get in your way. I’ll leave in a few minutes. Just let me have this little bit of dignity, please.”

“You still have your dignity, Catherine,” he murmured. “You’ve always had it. More than anyone I know. You make me so proud to know you. No one has ever had the courage to stand up to her like that.”

The sincerity in his tone surprised me. But my heart hardened, refusing to cave in to his soothing words. I was done with that game. I had given in to his bullshit too many times. “It’s not your job to reassure me, Timothy,” I told him, my voice bitter.

“Maybe not, but I care about you.” He reached out like he wanted to touch me, a gesture so familiar and yet so alien. I stepped back, putting distance between us.

“Then why are you here with her?” I demanded. “What are you doing? Is this fun for you? Do you enjoy stringing women along? What do you tell her when you’re in bed with her? Do you tell her I’m just the chick that occasionally crawls into your bed but she’s really the one you love?”

“Definitely not,” he said. “I do not, nor will I ever share a bed with her. I have not touched that woman in years.”

“She touches you,” I hissed.

“Because she thinks she’s going to pull me back in, but it is never going to happen. Ever. It would be over my dead body.”

“Then what is going on?” I asked with my heart in my throat. “Why do you keep telling me there is nothing, but every time I turn around, there she is.”

He took a deep breath. “I would prefer to have this conversation in private,” he said.

“I’m not about to go anywhere with you,” I told him. “Because you’ll just kiss me and I’ll end up naked on my back.”

He dropped his head. “I brought her with me tonight because that was part of our deal.”

“What deal?”

“She will let me keep Paisley for a year,” he said. “I had to bring her here tonight to look for her next victim. Her current husband filed for divorce. She’s going to be single soon and has apparently been blowing through the divorce settlement I gave her. She’s been dipping into the trust fund I set up for Paisley. Yes, I could go after her for that and get into a drawn-out legal battle, but it wouldn’t solve the Paisley issue. She would still send her away. Paisley would suffer the consequences. Regina swore she would leave me alone if I introduced her to some eligible bachelors. That, and she basically gets the trust fund I set up for Paisley.”

“You’re setting her up with one of your friends?”

“No. All of my friends know Regina, and they wouldn’t get within five miles of her. I’m just introducing her to some people. Not everyone here is my friend.”

“And she gets Paisley’s money?” I asked. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“I’ll set up another fund for Paisley,” he said. “My concern is for her well-being right now. I have to focus on the present and worry about the future later.”

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place, painting a picture of manipulation and deceit that left me reeling. Regina, with her calculating smile and predatory gaze, had set her sights on Timothy, using him as a pawn in her twisted game. She was far worse than I could have even imagined.