4
And so Luke Gilbert walked out with Alison Pruitt.
No hesitation. No regret.
I watched their backs disappear through the door, and my heart was perfectly calm.
If anything, I felt relieved.
Seeing the situation was beyond saving, Will and Olivia Gilbert had no choice but to trail out after them, sullen and grim.
On her way out, Olivia kept sighing, muttering, "How did a perfectly good match turn into this? We were practically one family..."
The way she said it, you'd think I was the one throwing a tantrum and driving their good son away.
I didn't bother with her. I straightened my dress and turned toward the noisy ballroom beyond.
Just then, my father caught my arm from behind, his voice thick with concern. "Sandy, why don't I go tell the guests you're not feeling well and we'll reschedule? You don't have to force yourself through this..."
I reached back and patted his hand, smiling. "Dad, I'm not forcing anything. We're not the ones in the wrong here. There's no reason we can't say it plainly."
Tonight the Pruitts had invited half the elite of Havenport. If I slunk away now, who knew what stories people would spin about me afterward. Better to lay it all out in the open.
Seeing how set I was, my father didn't push it.
He just gave my shoulder a firm pat and walked out at my back.
By now.
Plenty of the guests already knew what had just happened, clustered in twos and threes, murmuring to each other.
The moment they saw my father and me walk into the ballroom, everything went quiet.
Every eye turned to me.
Some curious, some pitying, and more than a few savoring the chance to watch me humiliated.
I walked up to the stage at the front of the ballroom, took the microphone, cleared my throat, and said, "Sorry to keep everyone waiting. A moment ago, Mr. Gilbert left to look after another woman, so this engagement party has been changed, on short notice, into a broken-engagement party. Luke Gilbert and I are done, cleanly and completely, with nothing more between us. Please, eat and enjoy yourselves. On your way out, there'll be a gift waiting for each of you at the door, by way of apology for the trouble."
The instant I finished, the room erupted.
The buzz of voices swelled, and the amusement on many faces turned to shock.
Clearly no one had expected me to be so direct, to lay the whole thing bare in front of everyone.
I stood on the stage, watching their reactions with ease, without a trace of embarrassment.
The wrong wasn't mine to begin with. Why should I hide and cower?
Just then, a soft laugh drifted from the ballroom doorway, a low, pleasant male voice carrying through the air. "Miss Pruitt, since I've come uninvited, would I be lucky enough to stay for this broken-engagement party?" I looked up and saw a man in a black suit standing at the door, his features sharp and striking.
It was Joel Sanchez.
Head of the Sanchez family, Havenport's top financial dynasty.
I'd met him once, at the reunion dinner the Pruitts held when they reclaimed me.
But I hadn't crossed paths with him since.
Before I could speak, my father was already stepping forward with a smile.
"Mr. Sanchez, please, come in. We'd be more than glad to have you. Why on earth wouldn't you be welcome?"
Joel gave my father a nod, then let his gaze settle on me.
There was a faint trace of amusement in his dark eyes. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. After all, I've never been to a broken-engagement party."
At that, the murmuring dropped even lower. Everyone caught that something about those words wasn't quite ordinary.
I steadied myself, lifted the microphone, and let the corner of my mouth curve. "Then I hope you enjoy the meal, Mr. Sanchez..."
Joel nodded, then found a seat near the front and sat down.
And with that, the broken-engagement party got underway in high, lively spirits.
