The Sinner

She’s not wrong, is she? Deber sneered.

I tried to ignore her and watched as Guy took the mic in one hand, holding a beer in the other. The first strains of a soft song began to play. It took a second until I recognized it, “Lady in Red.” Heads turned my way as it became apparent to everyone in the room to whom Guy was singing.

Oh my God…

Jana swiveled to look at me, eyes wide. “Girl…”

“I have never seen that dress you’re wearing,” Guy crooned. “I have been blind…”

Abby burst out laughing and grabbed her phone to record the scene. “Oh my God, Guy is secretly a huge sap. Who knew?” She swiveled her camera to me. “Soak it up, Luce. The moment you’ve been waiting for.”

I shut my slack-jawed mouth and shied away from Abby’s phone, my face burning as red as my dress. I felt Casziel at the bar but couldn’t look at him. Every lyric of Guy’s warbling serenade felt like a betrayal. A broken promise to Cas, though I couldn’t fathom why.

r /> Mercifully, the song ended, and Guy came off the stage, stumbling straight to me. He collapsed into his chair in a cloud of potent alcohol and breath mints.

“I’ll give you some privacy,” Abby said, giggling, and put her phone away. She hurried to join Cas at the bar.

“That was for you,” Guy said.

“Yeah, I guessed that,” I said, smiling weakly. “Thank you. It was very…nice.”

His smile was sheepish, his blue eyes glassy. “I don’t normally do stuff like that, but something compelled me. Or maybe it was just that you looked so beautiful.”

No one was paying attention to Jana and Dale’s rendition of “Islands in the Stream”—the entire company had their eyes on us, murmuring and nudging. Guy didn’t seem to notice or care. His gaze was glued to me, looking at me like I’d imagined him doing a hundred times in my pathetic fantasies.

“You came here with Cas, right?” He inclined his chin toward the bar. “I don’t think I got the whole story the other night. What’s up with you two?”

The four-thousand-year-old question…

I cleared my throat, remembering we had a plan to stick to. “We just met. I don’t know where it’s going, if anywhere.”

Guy chuckled. “You sure about that? He’s glaring at me like he wants to rip my throat out.”

“No, he would never…” I caught Casziel’s hard stare, boring into us. “Okay, he might.”

“He’s your date this Saturday, eh? Darn.” Guy snapped his fingers. “Missed my shot.”

I stared. Guy Baker had wanted to ask me to the wedding?

“I guess so, yes. But like I said, we’re not serious.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Lucy,” Guy said. “Will you save a dance for me? Maybe more than one?”

I risked another glance at the bar. Casziel’s eyes were almost black in the dimness, watching me with Guy while Abby leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

This isn’t fair.

I wasn’t supposed to be jealous at how close her lips were to his skin. I was supposed to be elated that Guy Baker was talking to me, flirting with me. That he’d just serenaded me in front of the entire company should’ve had me floating on air.

Get with the plan, I scolded myself. Casziel’s eternal soul is on the line.

I tilted my chin up to Guy, smiling in what I hoped was an alluring manner. “I’ll do that.”

“Great,” Guy said and shook his head, the booze strong on his breath. “I just can’t get over you tonight. The song was right. I’ve never seen you look like this.” He brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “Or maybe you always have, and I’m an idiot for not noticing before.”

My heart pounded. Was he going to kiss me in front of everyone? In front of Cas? Guy looked willing, and all I had to do was let it happen…

Suddenly, my stomach roiled and I felt sick.