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“Nervous?” He glanced down at me after he asked the question.
I shook my head, and he nodded.
“Good. No one else deserves to be here more than you,” he leaned in to whisper. “No one else here looks as beautiful as you either.”
The shiver inside me intensified the moment he laid his hand against my back. The heat from his hand transferred to me and caused awareness to rush through me.
When I looked at him, the dark glint in his eyes told me that he felt it too.
And suddenly, I was thinking about the kiss again—the one that melted my bones and scorched my mind. Now I realized how delusional I was because how could I think that I could tease him and feel nothing? How did I think I could keep up this charade and somehow control the desire roaring through me?
The kiss alone was wreaking havoc internally, and I was this close to begging him to come home with me and soothe the fire raging between my thighs.
But…would that have been such a bad thing?
It was crazy that I was thinking that, but all the warning bells in my head were suspiciously silent, overwhelmed by lust. I hadn’t had sex in ages. And not a lot of it. After my first time with Nick, I’d only had one other encounter…a night I barely remembered. It was with a nice man that I felt a little attraction to and figured, why not?
If I were being honest, I did it to see if I could replicate what I felt with Nick. I thought maybe I was only so hung up over Nick because it was the only time I’d ever had sex. Maybe once I explored, I would see that the encounter was mediocre in retrospect.
But the clumsy encounter left me feeling even more hollow and unsatisfied than before. The man hadn’t stuck around much after, and I felt used. The whole experience was horrible, and it tanked my libido for years after.
Until now.
I was distracted when we finally reached the helm of the grand hall. The entrance was decorated like something out of a fairy tale. Shawls of gold and lemon led to a wide hallway where people were sitting at elaborately decorated tables. Champagnes in hand, they laughed to themselves and waltzed around the floor from one social group to the next.
Social anxiety churned in my stomach. I’d never really liked large gatherings, and even less now. Plus, I felt so out of place in this dress. It hugged every curve and had a backless situation going on. Worst of all, it left me with nowhere to hide when eyes inevitably turned to us as we entered the room.
They stopped. They lingered. My heart rate increased even more, and I stumbled in my steps.
“Relax.” Nick’s words were in my ears once more as he leaned in. “They’re watching because they’re curious. And also because you look fucking beautiful tonight. Damn it.”
I glanced at him because the last part was said with an angry note in his voice, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was staring at the few men in the distance who were staring at us. When they saw Nick eyeing them down, they turned away instantly and began talking amongst themselves again.
“Do you know them?” I asked curiously.
He stared down at me and shook his head. “You have no clue, do you?”
“Clue about what?” I asked, but before he could answer, a voice behind me exclaimed, “Ma belle! I knew the silk would look good on you. Divine.”
I turned to see Gustavo standing there in a light blue suit and a proudly approving look on his face. He scanned me and nodded. “Yes, yes, the silk was the right choice. The chiffon wouldn’t have made the same lines.”
“Gustavo! I didn’t know you would be here.”
He leaned forward and drew me into a hug, and I let him. I supposed we were something of friends now. There was just something about him tearing into every single insecurity I had while teaching me proper postures that made us bond completely. Besides, I liked the man despite his abrasiveness. I enjoyed his plain honesty, even when it was painful.
Gustavo shrugged. “I wasn’t going to come, but I have a few clients here who were nervous and needed me for assurance. One in particular.” He winked at me when he said it, and I blushed, knowing full well he was talking about me. “I was also curious about how the silk would turn out, and it is absolutely beautiful.”
“I’ll be right back, honey,” Nick spoke up suddenly and then headed off. I turned and followed the path he was heading with my eyes, and my entire body grew stiff.
He was walking toward the mayor and my brother.
They were standing there and staring at us in abject horror.
My heart caught in my throat, and fear spiraled down my spine. I hadn’t seen the mayor in years but found that I no longer had those familiar feelings he incited—shame and anger. He might as well have been a stranger. I was mostly numb to him and only worried about whether Nick would inadvertently say something that would blow our cover.
Of course, Nick wouldn’t. He’s way better at this pretending thing than you.
“It’s interesting,” Gustavo said. I tore my eyes from the mayor and my brother to stare at the statuesque designer. He was once again scanning me from head to toe the same way he had back in his store.
