Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

I’m not doing a good enough job at this. I’ve gotta get it together. The last thing I want to do is
tarnish Charity’s wedding day. Even if eventually I do end up telling her, I have to keep it together
right now.
We make our way back to the ballroom without really talking about anything. She comments on
how pretty the centerpieces are, I tell her I helped out designing the place cards, and it’s almost like
this is an ordinary wedding reception where my world hasn’t been turned upside down.
I walk Georgia back to her seat and thank her. She knows I’m thanking her for more than I let on,
so she offers a supportive smile and gives me a hug before I make my way back to the table where I’ll
be sitting beside Charity.
___
I lose sight of Calvin for a while, but I can feel him watching me, so it’s impossible to relax.
I finally find the bastard when dinner is being served. There are a lot of people at Charity’s
wedding so it took some time, but now that I’ve found him, I don’t want to let him out of my sight.
My appetite is suffering in the presence of Calvin Cutler, so Charity and her new hubby finish
eating before I do. As soon as they hit the dance floor, the rest of the bridal party goes to join them.
I go to take a sip of my water and realize the glass is empty, so I put it back down. Before I can
decide whether it’s worth going to grab another one and risk encountering Calvin, Steve pauses by my
chair and startles me with a hand on my shoulder.
“You want to dance?” he asks.
I shrug off his touch without thinking how it might look and offer up a fake-as-hell smile as I
spear a piece of salad on my fork and hold it up as my excuse. “Still eating. Sorry.”
“Right.” He shoots me a funny look, but walks away to find someone else to dance with.
I feel a little better once I’m sitting here alone. The bridal party sits at a long table in front of all
the other tables set up around the room, so my back is to a wall and I can keep an eye on—
Where did he go?
Calvin was in his seat beside the girl in the purple dress just a moment ago, but now the chair is
empty.
I tense immediately, knowing he’s out there but unsure where. I try to find him, searching the
dance floor and the edges of the room, but I don’t see him anywhere.
I try to finish eating, but I’m hopelessly distracted. He should show up at his table again, but a
few minutes pass, and he still hasn’t returned.
I can’t leave the safety of my seat unless I know where he is. My back is to a wall and I’m in