Chapter 214
Summer's POV
Mia and I stood hand in hand, bowing to the audience. Camera flashes popped from the edges of the stage. My cheeks hurt from smiling, but it was a real smile this time. We'd done it. We'd actually pulled it off.
I was about to turn and head backstage when someone walked up the side steps.
Not someone I expected. Not someone I wanted to see right now.
Damian Sterling appeared on stage like he owned it, all confident strides and perfect hair. I'd never met him in person, but Victoria had been dropping his name into conversations for weeks now. "Such a lovely young man." "His father's company just expanded into Europe." "You two would have so much in common."
He was older than me. Early twenties, maybe. Brown hair slicked back with too much product. A Tom Ford suit that probably cost more than most people's monthly rent. And in his hands, an enormous bouquet that looked like it had been assembled by a professional florist with an unlimited budget. Pink and yellow roses, hydrangeas, tulips, all wrapped in layers of expensive paper and ribbon.
"Summer, you were incredible!" His voice boomed across the stage.
Before I could react, he pulled me into a hug. A full hug, with his arms around my shoulders and everything. I stood there frozen, arms pinned to my sides by the massive flower arrangement he was shoving at me.
"This is from my mother," he said, stepping back but keeping one hand on my elbow. "She wanted you to know how proud she is of the Hayes family."
I took the flowers because I didn't know what else to do. They were heavy and smelled expensive and I hated them immediately.
"Thank you," I heard myself say. My voice sounded distant, mechanical.
Next to me, Mia was handed a much smaller bouquet by someone I didn't recognize. She looked at me with wide eyes, clearly as confused as I was.
Damian kept talking, something about his father and Victoria's business and how impressed everyone was. He put his hand on my arm to guide me down the stage steps, playing the role of perfect gentleman. I let him because there were too many people watching, too many cameras, too many expectations pressing down on me.
But my eyes were searching the bleachers.
Kieran was still there. I could see his silhouette, but everything about his posture had changed. His arms were crossed now. His shoulders looked tight. And even though I couldn't see his expression from here, I felt the cold anger radiating off him like winter wind.
The brown-paper-wrapped flowers sat abandoned on the seat next to him.
My stomach dropped.
"Your mother was just telling my father how excited she is about the potential collaboration between our families," Damian was saying, oblivious to the fact that I wasn't listening to a single word. "I hope we'll have more chances to get to know each other, Summer. Perhaps dinner sometime this week?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Because Kieran was standing up now, grabbing those flowers, and walking toward the exit without looking back.
"Summer?" Damian's voice pulled me back. "Dinner?"
I looked at him. At his expensive suit and practiced smile and the way he touched my arm like he had every right to. Then I looked at the spot where Kieran had been sitting, now empty except for the shadows.
"I have to go," I said.
I shoved the massive bouquet back into Damian's arms and ran.