The black dress clung to her curvy body as though it were a second skin. The lace details that covered its bodice sparkled in the golden light of the ballroom.
She moved with grace, the crowd parted subtly, almost as if they knew she was a woman of royal descent. She smiled at them all, her smile was mesmerizing, it had left all the men around her breathless and all the woman envious of the attention she commanded without even knowing it.
He clenched his jaw. He was finding it very difficult to restrain himself from approaching her. He hated the fact that all the men in that room were staring at what was soon going to be his.
Ethan De'Amico did not like to share.
He knew she wouldn't react well if he were to reveal himself to her now. He could have of course mailed her the joint custody petition documents but he figured that wouldn't end well either. Skylar Hart was a stubborn woman.
So he stood in a corner brooding over a glass of whiskey, never taking his eyes off the ethereal beauty. She mingled with everyone with a patient smile and a witty joke. She'd humored an old man or two by dancing with them and spent the rest of the night on the arm of an attractive man in a tuxedo.
Ethan, of course, knew who the man was having done his research on her. Stefan King was the founder and owner of the model management firm CLASSIQUE. Rumors had been going around about the two for a while. Skylar was, of course, an up and coming model in the industry and Stefan was her mentor and supposed lover.
Ethan hoped from the bottom of his heart that they were just that, rumors because otherwise, Stefan could mean trouble for his plans. He didn't seem like the type of man that gave up on what he wanted.
Hence the reason why he was flabbergasted when Skylar approached him. She came and stood next to him, leaning against the cream wall. had promised himself that he would not make a fool out of himself in front of her, he would try his best to come off as cool and detached but the moment she smiled at him, all his mantras went out the window.
She was even more breathtaking up close. He mentally berated himself for letting a beautiful woman like her slip through his fingertips.
His face must have looked rather funny because a giggle escaped her mouth before she could stop herself.
Ethan's lips quirked up to form a smile as he shook his head in jest.
Hi. You planning on finishing that drink?"Skylar pointed to the amber-hued drink in his hand.
"Nope. You can have it."Ethan smiled wickedly before giving her the glass. Skylar knocked it down like a pro, leaving awestruck.
"You know, you kind of remind me of this girl I met once in a bar. She was a pro at drinking too."Ethan smiled, wickedly.
"Yeah? What was her name?" Skylar wondered out loud.
"I don't... I don't remember." Ethan was squirming.
"I'm Skylar Hart and you're the infamous Ethan De'Amico." She smiled coyly and held out her hand for him to shake.
"I think we can do better than that," Ethan said, before pulling her into a hug and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.
Her head fit like a puzzle piece in the crook of his neck. He let her go after a few seconds, albeit a little reluctantly.
"Would you like to dance?" Ethan gestured towards the center of the ballroom where a few couples were waltzing to the slow classical music.
Skylar was about to reply when she caught sight of Stefan walking in their direction. He stopped once he was standing next to her and placed an arm around her thin waist.
"Mr.De'Amico meet Stefan King. Stefan meet Mr.De'Amico " She introduced the two men who were having an intense stare down.
There was so much tension between the two that it could be cut with a butter knife. Before the two men could have a war of words, Skylar's phone rang and she excused herself.
"Hey, Sam. Is something wrong?" Sam rarely called her unless something was wrong.
"Penny... Sky she had an allergic reaction to peanut butter and we don't have an EpiPen at home. So I rushed her to the ER. The doctor's looking at her now." Samantha sounded panicked and breathless.
"I'll be there. I'm leaving right now." Skylar hung up before rushing to let Stefan know that she had an emergency.
When she reached the bar, was still standing next Stefan, the testosterone in the room was suffocating.
She awkwardly cleared her throat diverting the attention of both men to her.
"Stefan I need to get to New York Presbyterian Children's Hospital. Penny had an allergic reaction to peanut butter. I'm sorry for having to cut the evening short."
"It's completely fine. Penny comes first. In fact, I'll drive you, "Stefan offered immediately.
"Ummm, don't mind me asking but who's Penny?" Ethan feigned ignorance.
"P-Penny is my daughter. I'm sorry we have to go. It was nice to meet you Mr.De'Amico." Skylar gave him a stiff smile before grabbing Stefan's hand.
"Likewise and I hope your daughter is okay." added.
He wanted so badly to go with her, to finally meet his daughter. But that would ruin everything, all his plans. So he prayed instead, prayed for her to be safe and sound.
- - - - - - -
Skylar was panicking all the way to the hospital. Even Stefan's constant reassurances could not calm her down. She kept fidgeting with her dress and her eyes drifted to her phone every two minutes.
"We're here."No sooner did the words left Stefan's lips than Skylar rushed out of the car and into the hospital building.
With Stefan right behind her, she asked the lady at the reception, "I'm here to see Penelope Hart, she's my daughter."
"Okay. Penelope Hart. She was brought in for an allergic reaction. Room number 1102." She replied and gave Skylar a sympathetic smile.
Skylar ran towards the elevator with Stefan on her heels. A few seconds later the lift stopped on the eleventh floor of the building.
When they walked into the waiting room, they were greeted by a relieved looking Samantha.
"I-Is she okay?" Skylar asked her best friend, hesitantly.
"Yeah. She's just asleep now. Come on, we'll go see her."
Stefan cleared his throat, "I'll come in later."
Skylar nodded her head and rushed into the hospital room.
The sight that greeted her was sad. Her baby was on the bed in an oversized hospital gown with an IV tube taped to the inside of her wrist. Skylar placed a hand on her soft pudgy cheek and kissed her forehead.
Penny let out a soft sigh before her eyes fluttered open. "Mama," she let out a little whine at the sight of her mother.
Skylar gingerly lifted her off the bed, carefully maneuvering the IV tube to the side and placed Penny in her lap.
Penny clung to her mother's heat and let of out a quiet sigh."Are you feeling better baby?" She asked Penny who nodded and mumbled an incoherent reply. Skylar ran her fingers through her daughter's curly auburn hair and kissed her head.
Just then a knock was heard at the door and a face peeked in. Stefan smiled at Skylar and showed her the teddy bear in his hand.
"Guess who's here, baby?" Skylar asked her daughter.
Penny giggled and the smile on her face widened when she saw Stefan.
"Swevan! You here!" She screeched before trying to wiggle of her mother's lap to run to him. Skylar held her tight because if she let her run then she'd end up ripping out the tube.
"Of course I'm here, princess. And look at what I got you." He walked closer and bent down to talk to the restless little girl.
He handed her the teddy bear with a pink bow around its neck and picked her up from Skylar's arms, careful not to jostle her too much. Penny automatically nestled into him and buried her face in his the crook of his neck.
"You gave your mama and me quite the scare, princess. Don't scare us like that again. I don't think your mama will be able to handle it." He said as he rubbed her back soothingly.
"I is sowie, Daddy Swevan." Little Penelope mumbled, nestled in the arms of the man who she thought was her father.
Both Skylar and Stefan stiffened at her words but the latter was the first to relax.
"Maybe we should make us official Sky," he said.