Chapter 760
Sue was about to refuse.
But Castle spoke up first. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll take her. You two carry on.”
With that, he led Noreen away from the table.
Sue was so furious she could only stomp her foot in frustration.
If she had known that spilling wine on Noreen would just give the two of them a chance to be alone, she would have never done it!
“I’ll go…” Sue started to follow, but Jaxon grabbed her arm.
“You’re staying with me to greet the guests.”
“Dad!”
“You’d best behave yourself.”
In front of all the guests, Jaxon couldn’t lose his temper, so he could only warn her in a low voice.
Sue reluctantly fell back in line, following Jaxon from table to table.
Noreen was wearing a light-colored evening gown, and the red wine stain was impossible to remove.
Castle had someone bring a new gown in Noreen’s size.
While they waited, Castle, ever the gentleman, found an excuse to step outside, not wanting to make Noreen uncomfortable by being in the same room alone with her.
He told her to call him if she needed anything.
About twenty minutes later, the new gown arrived.
After changing, she started to head back to the banquet hall.
The path from the dressing room to the hall led through a small garden.
In the center of the garden was a large koi pond.
Castle called to ask if she was ready, offering to come and get her.
Noreen told him it wasn’t necessary, that she could make her way back on her own.
She had just entered the garden when Sue appeared.
Flushed with anger, she yelled for Noreen to stop.
Noreen turned and looked at her coldly.
“Noreen, I warned you to stay away from my brother-in-law!”
Noreen smiled faintly. “How have you been these past five years, Miss Caldwell?”
Sue’s expression changed instantly.
Noreen had hit her right where it hurt.
“You…” Sue sputtered, raising her hands as if to claw at her. “You’re really asking for
it!”
She lunged forward, trying to shove Noreen into the koi pond.
Noreen easily sidestepped her.
Sue stumbled, nearly falling into the pond herself.
She had just regained her footing and turned to curse Noreen again when she was suddenly kicked from behind. The blow was hard sending
her flying straight into the pond with a huge splash.
Noreen instinctively raised a hand to shield her face from the water.
Suddenly, a figure blurred in front of her, blocking the splash completely.
Not a single drop touched her.
Before she could process what had happened,
Sue started scream ad
from the pond, crying for help.
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her in the opposite direction.
Noreen gasped.
It all happened so fast, so suddenly, that she couldn’t even see who was pulling her.
She tried to yank her hand away.
“It’s me.”
The familiar voice made Noreen freeze.
In the chaos, people were rushing to
help Sue out of the water. Noreen could hear her yelling that someone had kicked her in, telling thero to catch the attacker. fo
Noreen’s heart tightened. She was about to tell him to run.
But Seth just squeezed her hand and pulled her into a nearby room.
The door clicked shut behind them.
The room was dark, the lights off, and she couldn’t see a thing.
She could hear a very distinct heartbeat-it was Seth’s.
Assuming he was worried about being caught, Noreen didn’t dare make a sound.
His hand was still on her waist, and they were standing very close.
So close she could smell the alcohol on his breath.
So close she could feel the intense heat radiating from his body.
She tried to create some distance between them, only to find her back was already against a wall.
“Let go of me.”
Being this close was making it hard for her to think.
“No,” Seth’s reply was so blunt it startled her.
Not only did he not let go, but he pressed closer, pinning her against the wall.