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“High school Laila would’ve loved that advice,” I mutter.
Someone pops up just then and steals Arsen’s attention. I squeak out something about the bathroom and break off from him in search of a quiet corner to hide out in for a little while. I do take a detour to inhale a shrimp cocktail, but just when I’m resuming my quest for a sanctuary, a tuxedoed body blocks my path.
“Well, hello there.” Matthew Cole looks me up and down shamelessly. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I swallow the last of the shrimp in my mouth and take his offered hand. “Laila Barnes.”
Instead of shaking my hand, he brings it to his lips. “It’s hard to miss a new face in these tired old circles. I’m Matthew Cole.”
I feel the moment Arsen spots us like a shift in the magnetic field. But I force myself to keep my eyes on the man in front of me. “Do you come to a lot of these events?”
“All of them, unfortunately. They’re quite boring. Unless, of course, you meet someone who’dalsorather be anywhere else. Then it can be fun.” He winks at me like we didn’t just meet fifteen seconds ago. “We might just be kindred spirits, Laila.”
“What makes you think I don’t want to be here?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for the last hour. You didn’t laugh hysterically over Mayor Klein’s dimwitted joke about election rigging, you didn’t compliment his wife on her pearls, and you didn’t seem at all impressed when Jerry Hunnam was boasting about his new mansion in the Valley.”
“Oh. Well, you’re right that I don’t really give a shit about the guest list,” I admit. “But I do give a shit about the cause.”
“You might be the only person here who does.”
“Me and Arsen.”
His smile grows a little cold. “Arsen Adamov isn’t here to cure cancer.”
I shrug and reach for another shrimp cocktail. “I won’t waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise.”
“Are you here with him?”
“What doyouthink, Cole?” Arsen interrupts, putting himself between Matthew and me.
“Adamov,” Matthew grimaces. “How on earth did you manage to score the prettiest date here?”
Arsen makes a show of wrapping his arm around me. “Marrying her helped.”
Matthew’s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. “Since when?”
“Recently. We wanted to do it before our daughter was born.” Arsen grazes a kiss along my neck. I try to wriggle away from him, but he just grips me tighter.
“Well, then.” Matthew raises his glass. “Congratulations are in order.”
Arsen takes a small drink, his eyes never leaving the other man’s. “How’s business?”
Matthew pulls himself up to his full height. “Booming. You really missed out.”
“I’ll try to survive the disappointment. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to introduce my wife to Stuart.”
Matthew’s polite smile turns into a full-on scowl as Arsen leads me away.
“Stuart Roundhouse is his direct competitor,” he explains in an amused whisper.
“Arsen! You’re poking his buttons on purpose.”
“Serves the bastard right for trying to schmoozemywoman.”
I ignore the satisfaction that buzzes through me at his words. “So should we pull out a ruler and start measuring dicks now, or do we save that for later? Maybe after the arm wrestling?”
He ignores my jab and spins around, stopping in front of me. “You’re doing very well. You look like you belong.”
