Page 46 of Fame & Chaos

I laugh despite myself and grab a napkin from the bar. “It’s fine, Angel. Annie absolutely is a bratty teenager.”

Those words finally relax her a little. However, her face turns bright red, which is entertaining.

“So…” she says carefully once she stops coughing. “Why Angel?”

“Angelica. Angel.” I shrug one shoulder. “Not exactly complicated.” I deliberately look away again while sipping my beer.

“You know who I am?” she asks quietly.

I glance back at her and smirk. “Sweetheart, everybody knows who you are.”

Something flickers across her face then.

Insecurity.

Interesting.

“Then why are you talking to me?” she asks softly.

Now that catches my attention.

I turn toward her fully this time and lean closer, close enough to smell expensive perfume and spilled champagne on her skin. Her breathing instantly changes.

Faster.

Shallower.

“There’s something about you…” I murmur near her ear, “… that looked a hell of a lot more interesting than the rest of this room.”

She inhales sharply.

And there it is.

That reaction.

That little loss of control people get right before they make bad decisions. I lean back slowly and watch her stare at me wide-eyed.

“Did you really just say that?” she whispers.

I raise an eyebrow innocently. “What? You expected another boring rich bloke talking about stock markets?”

She laughs softly this time, much quieter than before, thankfully. “Maybe.”

“Nah.” I take another sip of beer. “I’m far more entertaining than that.”

Her eyes drift over me slowly. “Oh, I gathered that already.”

I grin.

Yeah, this is definitely happening tonight.

But before I can say anything else, her brows pinch together as she looks down at the bar. “My drink’s gone,” she says in confusion.

I blink once, then look at the space where her champagne definitely used to be.

“Well…” I say slowly, glancing around the crowded room, “… either you drank it faster than humanly possible.” Her eyes widen. “Or someone just stole your drink.”

I glance at the bar and notice her champagne flute is gone. She must have finished it, and the bartender cleared the empty glass away. Honestly, I’m not entirely convinced she even realized she drank it.