Chapter Forty
“Shape all of the napkins into roses. It’s easy. Watch.” Tabitha quickly crafted one to show the kitchen attendant, who tried to match hers. “You call that a rose?” She sighed. “Carlos, can you show him how to do it? And have them circle the cake display, no more than three inches apart.”
“Tab, relax.” Kennedi wrapped an arm around her friend’s tense shoulders. “Everything looks great.”
“Yes, I must agree.”
They turned around to find Dominic strolling toward them, all decked out in his tuxedo, clean-shaven and not a strand of dark hair out of place. “Dom, hi.”
“Evening, ladies.”
Kennedi noted he stared at Tabitha with an appreciative eye. “This is Dominic Balaska, Trenton’s brother. Dom, meet my friend and business partner, Tabitha Seils.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Dominic’s extended hand met dead air for a moment before receiving a weak shake and release.
“Hope you’re a better man than your brother.” Tabitha cut him a hard side-eye then directed her attention to the cake display, completely dismissing him.
“Ookay.” Dominic rubbed his hands together.
Kennedi felt sort of bad that the guy was catching the blowback for the sins of his brother. “I think this is about the biggest display we’ve ever done. Right, Tab?” she said to try to lighten the tension that now swallowed the space between them.
Dom studied the massive, six-foot Triton decorated in silver fondant and surrounded by colorful coral reefs. “Damn, you ladies have some major talent. It’s spot-on with the Shaw logo. It came out beautifully.”
“Tabitha created the entire design and handcrafted the trident.” Kennedi rushed to praise her girl. “It took her almost an entire day to set the candied seashells.”
“Cool. Trent’s going to love it.”
Tabitha faced him. “We finished the cake because we take pride in our work. As for your brother, after what he did to my friend, he can go scre—”
“Tabitha, please!” Kennedi chided.
“Hey, they’ve cut the ceremonial ribbon.” Evie hurried into the kitchen and stopped short. She looked up at Dominic with a push of her glasses up the bridge of her nose, then stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Evie Powell.”
“Dominic Balaska.”
“He’s Trenton’s brother,” Kennedi supplied, and the clear, cold look in Evie’s eyes spoke volumes as she snatched her hand free from his.
“Your brother should be ashamed of himself!” Evie scolded. “What kind a man would—”
“Evie, don’t.” Kennedi simply didn’t have the mental energy, though it felt good to know her friends had her back.
Sliding her hot glare off Dominic, Evie turned to Kennedi and Tabitha. “The host is ready for the cake.” They each checked their appearance—all wore black cocktail dresses. “Kennedi, Trenton’s out there.” She slashed another harsh look at Dominic. “He’s about to announce us.”
Tabitha took hold of Kennedi’s hand, offering a supportive squeeze. “You can hang back here if you like. Evie and I can handle it.”
Kennedi had been a bundle of emotions from the moment she’d learned of Trenton’s deceit. They said time healed, but for her, with each passing second the pain surrounding her heart had only gotten excruciatingly worse. Reaching past her anguish and despair, she straightened her dress. “I’m ready.”
Carlos stretched open the door, propping it open with his back, and Tabitha and Evie carefully rolled out the Triton perched upon a rock of fondant icing, its interior a dome of rich, velvety chocolate layers and surrounded by a sugary blue, bourbon-infused sea.
Taking a deep breath, Kennedi started to follow them out, but Dominic caught her wrist. She looked up.
“Can I have a minute?”
Stepping back, assuming he wanted to discuss his brother, she started, “He deceived me.”
“The way Trent handled things with you wasn’t smart. But Kennedi, the man cares about you. Lange also lied to you. Trent’s been divorced for over a year. It just took some time to settle the assets with his ex.”
“That may be the case, but the man’s ex-wife is carrying his child, which tells me all I need to know.”
“Trent made an effort to try again with her but discovered she was still seeing her lover. In essence she cheated on him twice. He doesn’t even know if the kid’s his. Her family thinks he just up and walked, got bored.”
“Too bad, how sad for him.” Kennedi pivoted to leave but he caught her wrist again. She jerked out of his grip and stalked toward the door.
“Trent agreed to give her half his company,” Dom called out.
Stunned, Kennedi spun and looked at him. “What?”
“Just what I said. My brother was fair in the divorce. More than fair, in fact. He handed over half of Shaw Enterprise as the law required. But he also threw in their Nevada estate and a Paris apartment that was his before the marriage.” He came up to her. “Trent didn’t have to do that, but he wanted to be generous. Then his ex concocted this scheme that forces Trent to spend time with her. She’s forcing him into counseling, using the kid as a pawn. He was with her that one time. It was a mistake. And it’s opened up a world of pain for him. If the kid turns out not to be Trent’s, she said she’ll take her invested interest and walk.”
Part of Kennedi’s heart wept for Trenton. The other half clung to raw betrayal and hurt. “If Trenton cared about our relationship, cared about me at all, loved me as he said he did, he would’ve told me this himself long before I had to hear it from Alan Lange.” Whether his pursed lips were prepped to rebut or agree, Kennedi didn’t care to find out. “We’d better get out there.”
He stretched out a hand, allowing her to lead the way.
They entered the grand ballroom. Dom disappeared among the crowd. Kennedi subtly slipped in between Tabitha and Evie, who stood off to the right of the two-step platform stage.
Trenton was addressing the crowd. His steel-blue gaze in that beautifully sculptured face met and held hers. His words stumbled just a touch, but he recovered with ease. To her surprise, he announced Chase Confections as part of the ceremony. He then spoke of Chase Investment’s partnership with Shaw Enterprise, heaping praise on her. The throng broke into streams of claps.
Tabitha nudged Kennedi’s arm. “He’s laying it on thick for you,” she whispered. “Does he think that’ll redeem him?”
“You have to admit he does wear a tux beautifully though,” Evie whispered from Kennedi’s right.
“As does his brother,” Tabitha muttered under her breath, and Kennedi and Evie looked at her. She shrugged a shoulder. “What? He’s hot. I may have sworn off men, but I’m not blind.”
Seeing Trenton, an insurmountable longing overtook Kennedi as she tried to keep her expression from showing any emotion. Her breath hitched when he came down the steps and headed straight for her—but stopped just a foot shy in front of her, facing the cake display. He was so close the pleasantly familiar scent of his cologne reached her nose like a crisp, clean burst of reviving air.
“Time to cut this masterpiece,” he said, and everyone clapped as he made the first slice, plated it and handed it to her with a soft nod, then faced the crowd. “Enjoy the party, everyone.”
As the vocals of Sinead Harnett’s “Settle” got many moving toward the dance floor, he trekked off without so much as a glance her way and practically got swallowed up by the swarm of guests—a good number of them women vying for a sliver of his personal space.
Setting her plate on the edge of the table as the attendant began cutting and serving up the cake, Kennedi and her friends moved out of the way.
“Do you plan to stare at him with longing in your eyes the entire night? Even after what you told us about him?”
Giving Tabitha a glance, Kennedi turned back to see a woman offer up a smile while hooking Trenton’s arm with hers, and the two sauntered off. Recalling all Dom had told her, she said, “There’s more to it.” That’s all she’d say for now as a surge of possessiveness started to coil and constrict within. Raw feelings began stirring into an immense ache of loss, gouging her heart with a jagged-edged sharpness.
“Hey Tab, Dom’s looking right at you,” Evie said quietly out of the corner of her mouth. “Oh wow, he’s heading this way.”
Dominic stepped before them and extended his hand to Tabitha. “Would you dance with me?”
“I don’t think so.” But she stumbled forward after an aggressive nudge from Evie.
“Go on, Tab.” Kennedi coaxed her with a much lighter elbow, and Tabitha shot them both a murderous look as Dominic whisked her onto the dance floor. No sense in everyone having a miserable evening.