Free Unstoppable (Fierce) by Ginger Voight Page B

and Andy joined us for a rowdy dinner that lingered till the midnight. Eddie planted himself at my side, his arm draped permanently around my waist, taking any and all opportunities to touch me, flirt with me or interact with me. My ached from the effort of maintaining a phony smile, and within an hour I was nursing a dull headache. I gulped more ice water to remedy the pain, signaling for the waiter to refill me. Not only would it help my headache, it would keep me from reaching for the bread basket filled with delectable goodies I knew I had to avoid. And it wasn’t even that I was hungry. I had a generous portion of sea bass that Maggie and I had decided to split, which was fortunate. I wolfed my portion down before it could fully register on my taste buds, so no doubt I’d have gorged on the full plate. All that was left were the decimated remains of vegetables that looked a lot less appetizing than when they first brought it to the table.
    Eddie, however, was knuckles deep in his prime rib dinner. Every time he opened his mouth I heard a cash register ring up a new total in the price of my sham of a marriage. With a sigh, I grabbed a spear of grilled asparagus and gnawed on it like a green French fry while Vanni regaled everyone with tales from the road.
    He really was a star – on and off the stage.
    Every now and then my eyes would meet Jace’s. There was an unreadable expression on his face as he watched Eddie and me thoughtfully and quietly. Eddie seemed to sense that we were being watched, so he would lean closer to me, pulling me toward him as he rested his arm across the back of my chair.
    “All I know,” he said suddenly, “I’m happy to have my girl back home.” He bent forward for a kiss that I was forced to indulge be cause everyone was watching us. “I’ll have to join you on the road, baby.”
    “That’d be fun!” Shelby exclaimed, and I could have sworn she shifted closer to Jace when she did so. “Although,” she gave us a wink, “I don’t know how much work Jordi will get done.”
    I turned from her and tried not to look Jace in the eye. I knew her comment would not go unnoticed, any more than the way Eddie pulled my hand into his lap. “But who could blame me, eh, chief?” he asked Jace pointedly, but with a slick smile.
    He stole another kiss, far more inappropriate than I ever would have allowed otherwise. I endured it as long as possible before I tried to subtly excuse myself and escape to the ladies’ room.
    I sat in the stall, cradling my throbbing head in my hands. I was in no hurry to return to the table, especially since the dessert tray was making its round by my party of revelers.
    I was in no frame of mind to refuse chocolate. I was only human, after all.
    I received a text message from Jace that simply said, “ I love you .” It kind of made the whole shitty day worthwhile.
    When I went back out to the table, Andy and Vanni were sharing a decadent chocolate dessert. I envied that she could eat real food when I had to avoid sugar like the plague. I couldn’ t simply eat a bite of dessert; it was down my gullet before I even knew what it tasted like. I’d eat another bite for flavor, which made me want another bite, and another. The high I got from the sheer process of eating numbed all the other unpleasantness of life.
    Advertisers knew it to be true, that was why they always show women blissfully happy as they eat their chocolate – the solver of all life’s minor irritations. Having a bad day? Just pop a piece of candy and you’re good to go.
    There’s a reason kids want the stuff so much. Candy equals happy.
    In fact, everyone at my table was feasting on something sweet. Maggie hadn’t ordered anything for herself, she just enjoyed a bite or two of Graham’s dessert, since all the men had ordered their own oversized treat. Even petite Holly was knee deep in her own epic plate of chocolate death, which she immediately tried to pawn off on me the minute I sat