15. Lost Cinderella

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Arms were suddenlyaround my middle from behind, and a mouth to my ear. "You are a temptress in this dress, Eve. If only I could find someplace to take you and ravage your body."

"How about over there, down by the lake?" I parted from his arms and kept a hold of his hand, leading him through the crowd, hoping to get very lost so I wouldn't run into Capri again.

Just beyond the main dance floor, smaller, more intimate platforms were set up, a couple with gazebo tops, all very romantic, and I'd noticed them earlier, hoping to get Wyoming alone.

On the way, we passed a large over the top grandfather clock beside the stage. It had been going off at every half hour throughout the night, ticking away the time left that Eve had in this bubble with Wyoming. It chimed again, a half hour to midnight.

I chose one of the gazebos close to the lake, but still near enough to hear every beat of the orchestra. At a standstill at last, I took in a deep breath, gazing out upon the water, asking for it to bring me peace.

Wyoming's hands pulled me back into this chest and I fit perfectly under his chin and in his arms. He swayed us gently, just being one with the lake.

"Special night," he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "One I'll never forget with you."

I closed my eyes, holding onto him and his words, not wanting any of this to end.

"I have something for you." He pulled away, and I faced him, my heart catching in my throat as he pulled a box out of his pocket. "I wanted to give you something to remember our time by. For the rest of my life, Eve, every single time I look at this lake, I'll think of you."

He opened the box and cocked his head, waiting for my reaction. I couldn't look at it, only at him.

"Wyoming, you didn't have to buy me anything." A lump in my throat choked me up and hot tears threatened my eyes. "I have something to tell you, too."

"Would you at least look at it, please? I didn't buy it. I made it. Something unique, just for you."

I swung my eyes down and gazed upon a black corded necklace with a crystal on the end. "It's beautiful. How did you make this?"

His fingers fumbled, taking it out of the box as he explained. "A few days ago, I found this nearly clear crystal in the mud of the lake near our dock. That gave me the idea. With some tools at Joe's, I drilled the center out, filled it with the glittery lake water from one of my samples, and sealed it. One of the ladies at the Steele Valley art supply store helped me turn it into a necklace. For you to always have a piece of our lake with you."

"Oh. Wyoming." I sputtered, crying, tears falling freely down my face. So desperate was I to rip this mask off once and for all and bare my soul to this man.

"Turn around. I'll put it on you."

I did as he said, and it laid perfectly on my chest, just below the one Mom gave me. It was lovely, and full of so much meaning between us, the most precious gift, better than anything money could buy.

"Thank you," I whispered, melting into his chest, resuming our position as before with me tucked into his arms, under his chin.

He whispered softly his plan for us—for him and Eve. "You've become so special to me. Something's happening, baby. I honestly never thought it possible. But I don't want our summer to end. I know long-distance relationships are complicated, but I'd like us to try…" On he went.

And I wanted to listen, to be that woman for him. Because there was no use denying it. I was falling… Whoever I was right now, this very second of my life, I was falling head over heels in love with a man named after a state.

But in the fog of my tears and this confusing bliss, a man's voice from the stage filtered down and took my attention away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we bring this fabulous evening to a close, it gives me great pleasure to announce the largest donation of the night, and the donor has asked to say a few words. Please welcome to the stage, Mr. Heath Arnault."

"No!" I screamed at the name , breaking from Wyoming's hold, and the people nearby glared.

"Eve? I thought you'd feel the same way I do?" Confusion filled his gaze and he reached for me.

"I'm so sorry, Wyoming. For everything." I ran toward the stage, keeping hidden behind the crowd of people, my eyes glued to my father as he took the microphone.

"Thank you for that warm introduction, Junior. I'm honored to be here at this marvelous event for such a good cause. Some of you who are acquainted with me know, I married Agatha Ashworth years ago, and though I immediately swept her away to live with me in New York City where we made our home raising our son and daughter, her heart never left Steele Valley."

How dare he talk about my mother? My nostrils flared, fuming. I had to get out of here, but the crowd became so thick, standing and listening to the monster on stage. I pushed my way through anyway, with no idea if Wyoming was behind me or not.

Heath cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, my wife and son passed away, cancer taking them too soon." His voice trembled a little, and I couldn't fault him for the good act he put on. We both had been devastated by these tragedies, so I thought.

But when I discovered he'd kept a mistress for several years before mom passed away, I could have killed him. It destroyed all respect I had for him, although I still worked with him at Arnault tech, developing our innovative technologies.

If that wasn't enough, what he did later revealed the true monster lurking within. His actions obliterated any shred of love that remained for him within me.

"As for my daughter—" My ears perked up, and I stopped pushing through the crowd. "She and I are currently estranged."

I snorted. That's a lovely way to put it, considering he held me against my will when I found out what he was doing to destroy lives with the technology I'd created to save them.

"So please, accept this donation of one million dollars to the lake fund in the name of the Arnault family."

I refused to hear more of this, and spun with a final push through the crowd, but I mis-stepped and fell to the ground, my mask sliding off. Random people helped me up, facing me toward the stage to stand, and the commotion took the attention of my father at the microphone. The clock started striking midnight, and across the space of distance of time, I locked eyes with the man I'd been running from.

"Tess?" He said into the microphone.

"Eve!" I heard Wyoming's voice coming close, and suddenly, someone pulled my arm and whisked me out the door.

Stan, my father's head of security, had a tight grip on me. I never cared much for his dark eyes and scarred face or any of Dad's minions who did his work around the world. Every one of them lost souls like this one.

"It's about time we brought you home, don't you think, little bird?" he seethed.