Sullivan Trentham

This time, she didn’t resist when he entered the ballroom. She wasn’t sure if it was the surplus of gold, nerves, or the fact that she was treading on what felt like holy ground, but her insides began to buzz as if she had taken a shot of alcohol.

Roth headed toward a group of people in the middle of the ballroom. A distinguished man in a tux with a white bow tie hosting quite a large group noticed Roth’s approach and grinned broadly, making those he was talking to turn to see who had caught his eye. The older man excused himself and didn’t bother maneuvering through the crowd—it parted for him the same way it did for Roth, but he didn’t have Roth’s size or his aggressive energy, which could only mean…

“You made it!” The man clapped Roth fondly on his shoulder.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Roth said smoothly.

The man focused on her. He had spellbinding eyes the darkest shade of blue she had ever seen, wavy hair that had been slicked down, but the ends were beginning to curl, and a full beard more appropriate for a man who lived in the wild than this mansion. “You must be Jasmine. I’m Sullivan.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” she said, taking his hand, and letting her lips curve as he gallantly kissed the top of it.

“Would you like to dance, my dear?”

There was a strange hush falling over the room. Her skin prickled with alarm. She assumed her role would be to stand at Roth’s side and guide or assist if possible, not dance or converse one-on-one with the man himself. She hesitated, giving Roth time to come up with some clever excuse to get her out of this mess.

At her side, Roth shifted, which drew Sullivan’s attention.

“I guess I should be asking you,” Sullivan said jovially. “May I dance with your beautiful wife?” When Roth didn’t answer immediately, Sullivan chuckled. “I’ll bring her back.”

Roth’s hand slid down her spine before he murmured, “Yes, bring her back to me.”

Sullivan waved his hand and, magically, the floor began to clear as people backed to the sidelines. “Shall we?”

Her heartbeat thudded in her ears as he led her to the middle of the room. This was also one of her nightmares, but one hundred times worse. What the hell was going on here? Roth told her he knew Sullivan, but to make a fuss over Roth’s arrival as if the festivities could begin now that he was here and singling out his wife for a dance when there were close to two hundred people present… She was missing something vital, but there was no time to ponder what that could be because Sullivan stopped and turned to face her.

When he held out his hand, she took it, and placed her other on his shoulder while his cupped her bare shoulder blade. Only then did she register that there was no music. As her eyes rounded in horror, the first notes of a violin filled the room.

Sullivan chuckled as he took the first step that she immediately copied. “I pay them to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

“They’re cutting it close,” she muttered before she remembered who she was talking to.

Sullivan grinned. “Want me to fire them?”

“No.” She tried to ignore the whispers that swept across the room. This was precisely what she didn’t want—to be the center of attention, but she didn’t have time to worry about that. Sullivan was doing the basic steps of a slow waltz and improvising here and there. He was a good dancer and easy to follow. If he did anything more complicated, she might have to excuse herself, but those three summers of dance classes Dad made her take were coming back to save her from making a fool of herself.

She kept her gaze fixed over his shoulder and made sure her face was composed and didn’t betray the nerves that made her want to run toward the closest exit. The dance floor felt as large as a football field.

“Your father would be proud,” Sullivan said.

Her eyes flicked from the sea of faces to him.  “I think you may have me confused with one of my sisters, sir.”

His eyes sparkled with humor. “No, I have the right Hennessy daughter, the black sheep of the clan.”

She missed a step. “Excuse me?”

“You caused quite the scandal a few years ago.”

Her stomach clenched. The last thing she expected was to address the scandal openly with Sullivan Trentham. “That was a long time ago.”

“I’m sure you’ll find that everyone gathered remembers the details of your affair just fine.”

She glared at him, forgetting about the crowd and how much power and influence he wielded, as her irritation at being the butt of some joke stoked the anger she had been suppressing all day. “Which is why I didn’t want to come.”

He threw back his head and laughed. She started to draw away, but he used the opening to spin her. Instinctively, she followed his lead and completed the turn without hesitation as the music began to build.

“You don’t disappoint, my dear.”

“I’m sure I’ll do so before the night comes to an end,” she quipped.

“You can’t disappoint someone who has no expectations of you.”

That struck home. All her life she had expectations thrust upon her, and she had always let her family down.

“You handled being put on the spot extremely well,” Sullivan observed. “I can see why he chose you.”

Her hand tightened on his shoulder briefly.  “I didn’t know you two were acquainted.”

“Your husband approached me before he was run out of New York. He wanted my help. I admired his guts and courage, but I didn’t give him the aid he wanted.” He gave a small shrug. “I also didn’t participate in your father’s mission to cripple him either. Thank God for that. I didn’t think I would ever hear his name again. People come and go every day in this business, but I kept an eye on him and when I saw what he was doing across the pond, I realized my mistake and reached out to him.”

“You reached out to Roth?”

“I would be a fool not to. Anyone who bet against him is paying dearly for it now.”

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

This scene was written years ago. I always knew that once Roth & Jasmine married, they would spend some time in high society. I grew up reading regency romances, especially Stephanie Laurens, and never thought I'd have the opportunity to write a scene like this in a super formal setting in a ballroom, but when this came along, I couldn't help myself :)