No Love Allowed(22)

Then ugly jealousy made his jaw tick when Nathan took Didi’s hand so she could wrap her arm around his. His cousin was just doing the gentlemanly thing by showing those who noticed that Didi was off limits. But damn if it wasn’t his role to do that.

Clearing his throat to catch the attention of Mrs. Hassleback and company, he said with pride and something else he dared not investigate right then, “That’s Diana Alexander. My girlfriend.”

“Well,” Mrs. Hassleback exhaled, hand to her rather large rack.

“If you will excuse me.” He treated them all to a cordial smile and handed his plate to a passing waiter before easing away from the Chanel-and-mothball-soaked assemblage to head toward Nathan and . . . Didi. Just thinking her name propelled his feet to move faster.

“I should punch you for taking so long,” he said when he reached them, but the urge to maim his cousin quickly disappeared the moment Didi looked up at him. Barely-there makeup suited her. Just a soft blush and a light lip. Simplicity at its finest.

“You can’t rush perfection,” Nathan replied, addressing Caleb’s previous hostility. “And from the looks of everyone here and the way your eyes are devouring her, my job is done. Play your role, honey,” he said to Didi. “Play it well.”

Caleb growled low in his throat, then just to get his cousin back said, “I saw Preston surrounded by debutantes when I arrived.”

The air around Nathan sparked. His smile quickly turned into a frown. “If you two will excuse me.” He bent down and gave Didi a kiss on the cheek. It took all of Caleb’s control not to yank his cousin away when the guy whispered how beautiful she looked into her ear. Didi thanked him with a sweet smile, then focused her gaze on Caleb after Nathan had left. The mischief glinting in those brown orbs drew him in like the moon drew the tide.

“Just so we’re clear, you’re being hostile toward a guy who will never see me that way.” A corner of her lips pulled up. “You get that, right?”

He snorted, then realized what he had been doing. She was there as his shield, nothing more. After mentally telling himself to get a grip, he moved into the space beside her that Nathan had vacated. He took her hand and rested it on his arm. She fit so well against his side he might as well have heard them snapping together into place.

But before he moved her deeper into the party, he gave in to leaning down and whispering, “You do look beautiful.”

“See, I don’t know if I should be insulted.” She pouted. “You left me with Nathan feeling like maybe the outfit I picked out wasn’t good enough.”

Since the mischief hadn’t left her eyes, he suspected she was still teasing him. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the previous outfit. Very much.” He noticed her skin pebble and ran with the urge to get his own shots in. “But I wanted to save all the lecherous men here from the heart attacks your previous dress would have given them.”

In an unexpected move, she pivoted onto her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Then you’re forgiven.”

For a stunned moment, he didn’t know what to do. Clearly she was already in character, right? She was playing the role of his girlfriend. He let the idea settle before using what little brainpower he had left to start moving.

“So this is what a garden party looks like,” she said. Her gaze wandered over the sea of light suits and pastel dresses.

Grateful for the topic change, he nodded. “It’s just an excuse for people to stand around and talk while the kids play. The men discuss business. . . .”

“While the women gossip,” she finished for him. “I can feel their eyes on me. Is that even possible?”

“It’s only because you’re the shiny new addition to their ranks. They’re probably wondering where you came from.” He tugged her closer when she had moved away slightly. “And they’re assessing if you’re competition.”

“I’m with you. Of course I’m competition.”

The tightening of her hold on his arm did things to him. Things he never thought about with the others he had taken to parties like this. Afraid of what he might find if he dug deeper, he scrambled for something safer to talk about.

“I expected Nathan to put you in heels.” He dropped his gaze to her yellow flats.

“Oh, believe me,” she said, her voice taking on a breathless quality. “He did. But I’ve never worn heels before, and I kept tripping. He figured since we would be walking on grass, heels would be my worst enemy. I thanked him over and over again for showing mercy.”

“You’ve never worn heels?” When she shook her head, he followed up his question with “Not even to prom?”

The shrug made an appearance. Light glanced over the top of her exposed shoulder, revealing a shimmer. Nathan must have rubbed some sort of lotion with glitter on her. He had seen the same on Natasha when she wore something that showed a hint of skin. He liked it on Natasha then, but he never knew he would like it this much on Didi. It added an extra sparkle to her that sent a hint of pride spreading through him. Since the Parker princess was absent, he might just be walking around with the most beautiful girl at the party.

“Never been.”

Her words sent him back to the present. He eased them into the shade of a tree and leaned against the trunk. Then, by placing his hands on either side of her waist, he positioned her so she was standing facing him. “I find it hard to believe that you’ve never been to prom. It’s a high school tradition.”