“That’s right. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Eric Callahan.” Then he raises his fist and hits Terence straight in the center of the face. I shriek, covering my mouth as Terence stumbles back. His nose is a bloody mess, which he realizes when he covers his face with his palms. He steps back quickly, as if determined to put as much distance as possible between himself and Eric.
Eric steps forward, his intent clear. He’s not done with Terence. Before I can open my mouth to beg him to stop, two heavily built men step in—security, judging by their outfits and the microphones in their ears.
“We’ve been alerted there’s been an incident here,” one of the men says.
“He assaulted me.” Terence points at his nose and then at Eric.
“He was defending me,” I say in a strong voice. “That man is my ex-husband, and he attacked me. Eric was merely defending me.”
Eric puts his arm around my waist, kissing my forehead. “Are you okay?” he murmurs in my ear.
I nod, leaning in to him, soaking in his warmth.
“We are sorry for this, Ms. Bennett,” one of the guards tells me. “We will escort him off the premises right now. Do you want us to call the police and press charges?”
I shake my head.
“Pippa—” Eric begins, but I cut him off.
“No,” I tell him in a strong voice. “I need to go home.” Turning to the guards, I say, “Please inform Felicia of the incident, and that I’m leaving.” I can’t step in the spotlight again tonight.
“Of course,” the man says. “Please accept our apology.”
Eric and I walk to the car, neither of us speaking. Eric is still too mad, and I am still too shaken.
“How’s your hand?” I ask once the car is in motion.
“Fine,” he says through gritted teeth. “How are you? Did he hurt you?”
“No, he… It was weird. He stumbled and grabbed me for support. I don’t think he meant to—”
“Don’t fucking defend him.”
“I’m not defending him,” I say, starting to feel mad too. “But Terence is not a v
iolent man. He was drunk tonight.”
“Why didn’t you want to press charges?”
I sink lower in my seat, resting my hands on the silk top of my dress. Looking out the window, I say, “I just didn’t.”
“Do you want to call Alice?”
I snap my head in his direction. “No. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Max or anyone else either.”
Eric’s jaw ticks, his knuckles turning white as he grips the steering wheel tighter. “If I wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have told me either?”
I hesitate for a beat. “I might have told you. Now, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m hungry. Damn, something with sugar or caffeine would be great now.”
“Huh? You want—”
“No, no. I won’t be able to sleep if I drink coffee now. But can we buy some Chinese food and dessert?”
Eric nods and squeezes my hand lightly.
***
We walk inside my apartment a while later, and I sashay to the kitchen to unwrap the food. “I’ve been dreaming about a cozy night in with a book and take out the entire day. Almost forgot about the charity event.”