The Warlord Returns novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Ring

The Ellsworth Grand ballroom had two hundred guests, a string quartet, and a banner that said CONGRATULATIONS WYATT AND HIS FIANCÉE.

I had never been told her name, and I hadn't known how young she was.

She looked maybe twenty-three, with nervous hands and a pretty, anxious smile.

I wore a borrowed blue dress.

Jack wore a black tuxedo that fit him.

Every head in the room turned when we came in.

"They're looking," I whispered.

"They're looking at you."

"They're looking at the man who is clearly not a fuel truck driver."

He almost laughed.

His hand rested low on my back, warm through the silk, and I felt every one of his fingers.

Wyatt found us before we'd reached the bar.

"Colonel Thurmond." He raised his voice, just enough. "How good of you to join us."

Heads turned.

"Carrie's brother," Wyatt told the people nearby, with a hand on his heart.

"Just back from overseas. We were all so sorry he missed the funeral."

A woman in pearls made a sympathetic noise.

Jack's face didn't change.

"I'm here now," he said.

"Indeed." Wyatt's smile was sunny. "And with a friend of the family. Jo, I'm so glad you came. There's something I'd like you to hear."

He took my elbow.

It felt like a handcuff.

He led me to the dais and up the three steps, and Jack followed close behind.

Wyatt tapped the microphone.

"Friends. Before we celebrate, I need to share something painful."

The room quieted.

"Fourteen months ago my fiancée, Carrie Thurmond, died."

His voice trembled just right.

"I tried to look after her family and her friends."

"And one of those friends, Joanna Pinkett, was given forty thousand dollars from the Harbor Fund."

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