Cameras flashed almost constantly and her face started to ache within minutes from smiling and being polite to everyone who came over to speak to her.
Just when she thought she could stand it no longer, she caught sight of a familiar face. Melissa was married to Leon Garrison, one of Patrizio’s chief architects. Melissa worked as an interior designer and had often stopped to chat to Keira in the past, although recently she had been away on maternity leave.
‘Wow, how nice to see you again, Keira,’ she said. ‘I was so thrilled to hear you and Patrizio are back together.’
‘Thank you,’ Keira answered, hoping she wasn’t looking as hot on the outside as she felt on the inside.
‘I heard about what happened,’ Melissa said, edging her over to a quiet corner. ‘I mean about that incident with Rita Favore.’
Keira bit her lip. ‘Oh…’
‘She’s a total man-eating cow,’ Melissa said. ‘She made a play for my husband as well. She sent a saucy message to his phone but luckily I saw through it.’
‘I should have realised…’
‘Don’t be too hard on yourself,’ Melissa said. ‘Patrizio’s obviously forgiven you now and that’s all that matters. I really felt for you when the press were making all those horrible comments about you all the time. They just don’t let up, do they? It’s totally unfair. Boys will be boys but, for some reason, women are still supposed to be pure as the driven snow.’
‘I would give anything to change what happened,’ Keira said. ‘The worst part is I don’t even remember doing it.’
Melissa’s eyes went wide. ‘What do you mean?’
Keira rolled her lips together for a moment as she tried as she had done so many times before to piece together that night. ‘I had the most appalling scene with Patrizio,’ she said. ‘I didn’t listen to his explanations of what the Favore woman had done; instead I demanded a divorce, I think more to make him stand up and take notice. I was feeling a bit neglected as he’d been away such a lot but it sort of backfired. I left in tears and ended up driving around for hours until I came to a friend’s house. He gave me a glass of wine to calm me down. I was sure I only had half a glass but I can’t really remember anything so maybe I had more than I realised…’
‘Yeah, well, drinking too much alcohol can certainly do that,’ Melissa said. ‘A friend of mine got so drunk after a night on the town she didn’t remember where she’d been for over four hours. She woke up in bed at home and couldn’t even recall how she got there. Scary, huh?’
‘Tell me about it,’ Keira said with a rueful grimace. ‘If I hadn’t seen the evidence for myself I would never have believed I had slept with Garth. He’s been like a brother to me ever since we were little toddlers playing in the sandpit at pre-school.’
‘You mean there was absolutely no doubt you had slept with him?’ Melissa asked.
Keira looked at her for a stretching moment, wondering if Garth had lied to her. But why would he? What possible motivation could he have had? He had been her closest friend since childhood, their mothers were best friends and their fathers were in the same family-focused conservative political party. Garth would never have lied about something that would have such devastating consequences for her. Her life had been in ruins ever since that night; there was no way he would allow that to continue if they hadn’t actually done what he had said they had done.
‘There’s no doubt,’ she said with a sigh. ‘No doubt at all.’
‘Well, as I said, it’s in the past so forget about it and enjoy this second chance with Patrizio,’ Melissa said and, swinging her gaze to take in the hubbub of the room, added, ‘God, I hate these functions, don’t you? My feet are killing me in these heels.’
‘Mine too.’ Keira smiled, warming to the young woman’s open friendliness. She had missed female companionship over the last two months. Her few friends had shunned her as the news of her betrayal had spread, and the constant press attention certainly hadn’t helped the situation. No one wanted to be seen with her in case they were documented as socialising with a slut. She had become a bit of hermit as a result, concentrating on completing her studies and doing her level best to survive each gruelling day.
But it had taken its toll. Even now she was feeling the lead weights of weariness begin to drag at her legs, her stomach grumbling with the faint queasiness that lately never seemed to go away.
‘I’d better get back to Leon,’ Melissa said. ‘How about we meet up for lunch some time? I’d love to show you little Samuel. He’s six weeks old. My mum’s minding him tonight. It’s the first time I’ve left him. My breasts are threatening to burst and I’ve only been here thirty minutes.’
‘I’d love to see him,’ Keira said, suppressing the deep pang of longing that assailed her at the thought of a tiny baby nuzzling her own breasts. She had dreamed of starting a family with Patrizio; she had even discussed names with him before they had parted so acrimoniously.
‘I’ll give you a call in the next week,’ Melissa said. ‘It was wonderful to chat with you. I’ve missed seeing you around.’
‘Thank you,’ she said shyly. ‘I’ve missed seeing you too.’
Patrizio came back over just after Melissa rejoined her husband. ‘Sorry to leave you for so long,’ he said, his hand settling on the curve of her hip in a possessive manner. ‘I got cornered by one of the advertising executives.’
‘That’s OK,’ she said, her skin lifting at the feel of his touch, with just a thin layer of silk separating his hand from her body. ‘I enjoyed seeing Melissa again. I didn’t visit her when she had the baby.’
‘Why not?’
‘I was worried I might run into you…’
‘So you put your feelings ahead of your friend’s?’ he asked. ‘Not very loyal of you, was it?’
Keira couldn’t hold his gaze. She bit her lip and looked down at her purse, her knuckles going white as pain ripped through her. She felt him watching her, the heat of his gaze burning through the thin layer of her clothes. Tears stung her eyes but she forced them back. She had a role to play and she was going to play it.