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I glare at a group of ogling men, until they turn away nervously.
Through the crowd, we saw Gustavo heading toward us. He seemed happy with his masterpiece. I was happy with it, too, except I wished he’d warned me first.
What was he supposed to say? That this dress would make your fake fiancée too irresistible?”
Although, I couldn’t exactly say it was just the dress either.
I scanned the crowd as Gustavo talked until I saw two people staring at us with a mixture of shock and anger.
Carson and his father.
Perfect.
“I’ll be right back, honey,” I said, leaving her in Gustavo’s capable hands.
I walked toward them while watching their displeasure grow.
“I didn’t know you would be here,” I said, with only the thinnest veneer of friendliness in my tone.
“What are you doing with my sister?” Carson demanded, not even feigning politeness.
“I don’t have to answer anything to you.” I shifted my gaze to her father—a stern-faced distinguished man with eyes as cold as the arctic—instead. “Your daughter told me something very interesting, Mayor King. She said you generously offered to take custody of our daughter because you seemed to think she was struggling.” The mayor’s eyes widened in surprise. Ha. So he didn’t know I knew about my daughter. “I want you to realize that won’t be necessary. We will take very good care of Violet.”
The mayor’s lips tightened until they were a thin line. “You don’t know everything about your so-called girlfriend.”
“Fiancée. And I don’t need to,” I answered breezily. “All I need to know is that I love her.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t trust her.”
“That’s not for you to say,” I responded, then glanced behind me and froze.
Another man was talking to Lisa, and Gustavo was nowhere in sight.
Hot jealousy swept through me, and before I knew it, I was storming toward them.
THIRTEEN
LISA
I felt out of place.
The feeling of discomfort began the minute I put on the dress, a dress that I could only describe as silken and decadent. The fine soft material and unrivaled fit highlighted how much of a fraud I was.
The feeling wasn’t assuaged by the fact that there were rows upon rows of limousines, Lamborghinis, and other fancy sports cars when we arrived. People were stepping out of their vehicles in literal ball gowns, and a lot of reporters were camped outside, cameras at the ready. All the guests stood tall and confident, like they expected the world to just fall at their feet.
I didn’t belong here.
I wanted to turn around and run away, but he wouldn’t let me, his hand wrapping solidly around my waist.
“You look fine. So fine that I’m trying to figure out if I should just call this whole thing off and drag you to the nearest corner where I can fuck you.”
And the way he looked at me…sent my heart racing. Normally, his eagle-eyed gaze would be scanning the crowd and categorizing each person in it, but this time, it was like he didn’t give a damn. He came close to devouring me right there in front of anyone, and I knew without a doubt that he would have taken the kiss farther if I didn’t remind him that we were in public.
He looked around like he’d completely forgotten. And that was when I knew the kiss hadn’t been for the cameras. He’d kissed me because he wanted to.
As we walked in, I drew some confidence from him. His stride was so assured that it bordered on arrogance. Either way, it was clear he wasn’t a man to be messed with. His stance said that if there was anything here to fear, it was him.
And I was with him today.
