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“Oh. Well, you should have said.”
Vicky groaned as she let him lead her into the ballroom.
What had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Three
Ryder stole a glance at Vicky as they moved through the crowd. She was gorgeous as always, of course. But it was way more than that.
The woman oozed confidence and competence. Always had, ever since he’d met her, back when she was twelve and still in braces and training bras. It had been cute then. Now, it was downright sexy.
His brother was an idiot for letting her go.
“So why are you here, Ryder?” Vicky said in a hushed voice only he could hear, even as she smiled and nodded greetings to the various CEOs and socialites they passed.
“What’s the matter, princess, don’t like me cramping your style?”
The truth was he hadn’t intended to come in at all. He figured he’d cause a scene in the lobby, nab some unfavorable publicity for the fam, then go out drinking with his ladypals of the evening. Just part of his usual screw with the folks because when you’re the black sheep, it’s what you do routine.
He wasn’t sure why he’d come in. He suspected he might do anything Vicky wanted, if she asked firmly enough. Besides, it was fun to ruffle her feathers. She needed her feathers ruffled more.
“Don’t call me ‘princess,’” she warned.
Was it wrong that her sternness just made him want to mess with her more?
“Whatever you say, Vic.”
But instead of engaging further, she dropped her hand from his arm and spun to the side. “Mrs. Wu, it’s so lovely to see you!”
Ryder turned to see Vicky warmly taking the hand of a white-haired Chinese woman as she leaned in to give her an air kiss. He chuckled, shaking his head. What the hell was the point of an air kiss?
“And, Mr. Wu, how is the woodworking?”
The older man beside Mrs. Wu gave Vicky a friendly nod. “It keeps me busy, which is a good thing since I don’t think I’m ever going to convince Charlotte here to retire.”
Vicky smiled broadly. “I have to say I’m happy to hear it. The tech community would be at a tremendous loss if she did.” She took the woman’s hand again and leaned in conspiratorially. “Charlotte, I would love to sit down with you next week and talk to you about a school software project I think Wu International would be just perfect for.”
The woman beamed. “I’d be delighted to, Victoria. You know I’ve been looking for an excuse to work with you again, my dear.”
“Wonderful. Assuming Vincent doesn’t mind giving you up for a few hours.”
Vincent put on a long-suffering expression. “I learned a long time ago there’s no point resisting. I’ve got to share her with the world.” He shook his head but broke out with a smile, leaning over to plant a kiss on his wife’s temple.
It was really pretty sweet. If you were into that sort of thing.
The women made arrangements to be in touch the following week, and Ryder tipped his head to bid them adieu as Vicky took his arm again and steered him back out into the crowd.
“Thank you for not saying anything back there,” she murmured.
“You mean not saying anything to embarrass you?”
She blushed.
“Vic, I would never. Not to you.”
She shot him a skeptical eye.
“Not on purpose anyway.” That drew a half smile.
