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“You just said that.” He still hasn’t moved, and when his tongue slides over his lips, I can smell the vanilla and nutmeg of the bourbon he’s been sipping.
Something about it snaps me back to attention. I step back, my eyes finding his. He’s still frozen in the position that looked like he was about to kiss me.
Was he?
“We’re in public, Preston,” I flirt. Then I nod to his coworker. “And someone is waiting for you.”
“Right,” he says as if he needed that reminder. “Yes, Arnold, lead the way.”
He walks off, and I watch him go.
That was wild.
Being attracted to Preston is one thing, but wanting him to kiss me is something entirely different.
Something extremely complicated.
Tonight has been much easier than I expected it to be with him. I was nervous the entire way here and while getting ready. But the moment I saw him, saw the way his face lit up, everything changed.
He wanted me here just as much as I wanted to be here for him.
I blow out a breath and head for the table across the room, where I can grab another flute of champagne. Since neither of us will be driving anywhere, one more glass won’t hurt.
“Hello, miss,” the bartender says, handing me my drink.
“Thank you,” I say and tip my glass to him before I take a sip.
Watching Preston tonight has actually been fun. It’s nice to do something for once that doesn’t involve the lodge or require me to find a way to solve all the problems. No, tonight has been all about him and making sure that I’m just here when he needs me, and judging by the reporters and the way his coworkers have all been coming over to introduce themselves, he did need me.
It’s been nice.
This feeling of being needed. Even if it’s fake.
When I turn around to view the room, a man is standing right behind me with a pinched expression.
“Miss Richford,” he says, and I try to remember his name, but I can’t. I know he’s on the board; all the board members are wearing matching suits. A weird thing for a night like this, but to each their own. They must want to stand out from the rest of the guests.
“Hi …” I let the greeting trail off, hoping he will fill in the blank for me. My smile is genuine as he grins back.
“Marcus.”
“Right, sorry. Thank you. I met a lot of you tonight.”
“You did. I’m not surprised. Had we even known Preston was seeing someone, we would have met sooner.”
I sense an insult in there somewhere.
The man snaps his fingers.
“Oh, but he was dating my daughter. So, I guess that would have been weird had we met you.”
Shit.
My mind races to recall what Preston said about the last girl he dated.
“It,” I start. I need to be careful with what I say. I don’t want the wrong words to come out and make things worse for Preston somehow. That would defeat the whole purpose of being engaged. “It used to be complicated between us, and I’m truly sorry for anyone who got caught in the crosshairs of us figuring things out.”
Marcus hmms, his gaze boring into mine.
