Free Absolution (Mr. Black Series) by Penelope Marshall

ones up front,” another wife gloated as she laughed pretentiously.
    That same woman noticed my heels and asked, “Are those real?”
    I looked down at them. “Of course, why wouldn’t they be?” I replied, annoyed at the question.
    I had nothing else to add to the topic, so I politely excused myself and walked away with Irma. As I spun around to leave the group I set my eyes upon the most handsome man in the room. There he stood, my safe place. I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms.
    I turned to Irma. “Do you mind?”
    She looked over at Cole. “No, girl, if Roy was that fine, I’d be leaving you too.” She chuckled as she walked away.
    I stood gawking at him, frozen, and when he noticed, he moved toward me. I wanted to shrink away and hide, but it was too late for all that. I felt like a girl at her first dance, being approached by the boy of her dreams.
    “Hi, beautiful,” Cole greeted. “Adeline, right?”
    “Don’t be silly,” I said, giggling awkwardly.
    “I’m Cole Almen,” he stated, pointing to his name tag.
    “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I said with a smile as I looked around the room.
    “Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.
    “Yes! Awkwardly partying with a bunch of people I don’t know is totally my idea of a fun night,” I said, looking down at my shoes.
    “The decorations are really something, aren’t they?” he asked, sipping on his martini.
    “Yup. They did a bang up job. I’m thinking of hiring them for my next party,” I said.
    He quickly replied, “A party, huh? Well, I hope I’m invited?”
    “Of course you’re invited. I’ll be sure and give you a buzz when I set a date. Maybe even give you my address,” I replied nonchalantly.
    “Are you here alone?” he asked.
    I decided to flex some of my flirtation muscles, which hadn’t been used in a great while, hoping they still functioned properly. “No, I’m here with someone,” I said, laying my hand on his jacket lapel.
    He reacted quickly by moving closer, resting his warm hand on top of mine.
    “What a lucky man he is,” he said, and without skipping a beat, lifted my hand up to his lips, kissing the back.
    Out of nowhere, a beautiful woman, tall and lean, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, wearing a red dress that seemed to be tighter than mine, clasped her arms around Cole’s neck, giving him a long kiss on the cheek.
    “Let’s dance, handsome,” she said as she gyrated her hips against his groin.
    Really? Who could say no to that intoxicating invitation?
    I rocked back and forth on my heels, looking around the room for some help. Too bad Irma had already walked away, and if Stella could only see how I was abusing her heels right now, she would have stabbed a stake through my eyes.
    Fully expecting Cole to flit off into the sunset with the fair-haired maiden and leave me to stand alone, I decided to walk away with what little dignity I had left, but I stopped when I heard Cole say, “No, Alexis. I’m here with Adeline.”
    He looked at me, smiling, as he unclasped the woman’s hands from the back of his neck and returned them to her sides. She turned, shooting a thousand dagger stare straight at my soul, before she huffed away, disappearing into the crowd.
    Cole moved toward me. “Hey, I’m really sorry about that. Some women, you know? They just have zero class.”
    I replied, “It doesn’t bother me.”
    He started laughing, flashing his pearly white teeth, and said, “It doesn’t?”
    Before my brain could stop my mouth, I said, “No. You’re free to see who you would like.”
    “But what if you are who I’d like to see?”
    “Why, sir, you’re making me blush,” I said, pressing my palm to my chest.
    The music started and he looked over his shoulder to the dance floor.
    Turning back to me, he asked, “Can I have this dance?”
    I held out my hand, which was quickly captured by the hand of another. “Adeline,” a familiar voice came from the owner of the hand.
    My gaze