Victoria followed him as best as she could, breathing heavily the whole way. She was certain that it was the tight bodice. The firm wires and plastic inserts not only kept her back straight, but they compressed her lungs, making it difficult to take a full breath. Her face felt hot and her chest strained against her neckline as she gulped for air. She regretted that last drink. The others put her at a comfortable buzz, but the last one shoved her over the line right into Matthew’s arms.

“Your mom looks excited,” Matthew said as if he were proud of his handiwork. Victoria glanced over her shoulder, seeking out her mother’s ruby-red gown, and made herself dizzy in the process. She swiveled back to face Matthew and trained her eyes on the American flag pin on his lapel. She used the pin as an anchor and stared at it while Matthew prattled on.

“Let’s try something else,” Victoria said to the American flag pin. “What kinds of books do you like to read?”

“Books? I haven’t had to read a book since college,” he scoffed.

Before she had a chance to voice her disappointment, Matthew did the unthinkable.

He released her back and spun her away from his body.

Before she realized she was being spun like a top, Matthew jerked her arm, sending her spinning back to him. Victoria landed with her back against his chest. With the wind knocked out of her, she gasped, fighting for any last scraps of air. He twirled her around to face him just as the edges of her vision blurred and faded to black. Victoria lost feeling in her lips and fingers as her knees buckled under her weight. Matthew wasn’t prepared for her body to crumple in his loose grasp, so when she slipped from his fingers and hit the floor, she hit it with a loud thunk.

“Oh shit,” was the last thing she heard before darkness enveloped her.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Her father’s face, bathed in a soft light, was the first thing Victoria saw when she came to. Her hearing was fuzzy and her vision was still blurred, but she knew it was him. The same concerned expression knitted his brows just as it had when she fell out of a tree as a girl. Soon enough, her vision cleared, revealing she was no longer at the hotel ballroom. She was in her parents’ home, in her old bedroom.

“You alright, honey?” Her father was still in his evening dress uniform, metals gleaming in her eyes. He dragged a heavy calloused palm over her forehead, checking her temperature. He puckered his lips as if he didn’t like what he felt. “Here, drink some water. You’re gonna be dehydrated in the morning.”