Finn

He catches my eye and leads her to me quickly.

“Have you seen Presley?”

“Not since we arranged for her to talk to you.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later. Nice fucking play, by the way. But she’s gone, and I need to find her.”

“Gone where? Didn’t she apologize?” Ember looks at me, worried. “She said she wanted to apologize.”

“Yes, she apologized, and I was a massive dick to her.”

“What did you do?” Reese joins us. “Where is she?”

I pull up the location app on my phone and see her phone is somewhere within fifty feet.

“She’s in here somewhere. The coordinates of her phone are close.”

“Her phone is in her purse on the table, you asshole. You have quickly become one of my least favorite people in the world,” Reese seethes. “Do you know how much courage it took for her to come here tonight? To talk to you after you ignored her and treated her like trash? I hope to God she got you out of her system because you don’t deserve to be in the same atmosphere as her.”

“Reese.” Tripp lays a hand on her shoulder. “Finn doesn’t know. You’re not being fair.”

“Fair my ass! We’ve all been so worried about Finn; we overlooked what was happening before our eyes. Even me, her best friend, stood on the fence at her decision.”

“What the hell do you mean, you overlooked what was going on?”

“It doesn’t matter. Hopefully, after tonight, you’ll go ahead and move to Virginia, and Presley can start fresh. Not having you in the same town should help her move on.” Reese stabs her finger at me with anger radiating from her eyes.

A growl escapes my throat, but before I can speak, Ember puts a hand on my chest. “She didn’t leave, because Jeff and Johnny are still here. Let’s split up. I’ll check all the ladies rooms down here. Reese will help me.”

“I’ll check the side entrances.” I don’t wait for anyone to respond.

Tension knots in my muscles as my mind spins. The looks on their faces, the rage coming from Reese, the look of defeat on Presley’s face, all of it swarms together, not making sense.

In all the weeks since our break-up, not once has Reese been this upset with me.

“We’ve all been so worried about Finn; we overlooked what was happening before our eyes.”

What did I miss?

“So if you ever decide to come to Louisiana, you’ve got a spot on my team.” Governor DeSantis slaps me on the back.

“Pete, you’re a Senator now. There is no team. And I’d appreciate you not trying to steal my guys,” James jokes.

I chuckle politely, draining my drink and scanning the room for the hundredth time since I was forced to sit down and join dinner more than an hour ago. No one has seen Presley since she ran out of the bathroom. Or if they have, they lied to me. Presley’s seat is still empty, her purse sitting on her unused plate. Johnny catches me staring, again, and a flash of sympathy crosses his face.

Great, now I’m a fucking loser as well as an asshole.

“Excuse me, it’s time to get the presentation started,” Jenna announces, scooting her chair out. James and I rise with her. She kisses him on the cheek and gives me a wink before walking away. It could be my imagination, but I swear there was a sparkle in her eye.

Since I’m already standing, this seems like a great time to excuse myself. I’m going to see if I can get into the security room and review the video from earlier, and hopefully, figure out where Presley could be hiding.

I open my mouth to say goodnight when James puts a hand on my shoulder. “Sit, son, you won’t want to miss this.”

I sink down and try to hide my disappointment. Jenna takes the podium and welcomes everyone with the same enthusiasm she does each year. I wait for her to explain the mission and purpose of the evening, when the side doors slide open.

My eyes bulge when Presley walks in, being escorted in by a Marine in full dress blues. Gone is the form-fitting, siren red dress from earlier. She’s changed into an elegant, floor length, off the shoulder, black gown. Her hair is swept up into some sort of mangled twist with curls framing her face.

My eyes and nose start to tingle at the sight. The thundering in my ears races to the beat of my heart. I clutch the sides of the chair, forcing myself to stay seated and not rush to her, which takes every ounce of my self-control.