The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(7)

"Not really my scene," he replied.

"So then why are you here?" Gwen said, sounding meaner than she intended.

"I could ask the same question of you."

Not really wanting to get into her problems with a stranger, she left it at, "I came with a friend. I've been dealing with some stuff, and she thought coming might cheer me up a bit."

He nodded as though he understood perfectly what she meant. Though Gwen doubted this man even knew what money troubles meant, aside from his portfolio dipping a few points or something. She couldn't quite figure him out. Was this emotional distance she felt coming from him some sort of deep confidence or self-assurance?

"So she invited you, and you came. Social pressure, it gets to the best of us," he said.

"If you say so," Gwen replied.

They lapsed into quiet. Except it wasn't what Gwen expected. Usually, lulls in conversation between strangers made for awkward moments. But this wasn't awkward; it felt more like one of those comfortable silences shared between people who already knew each other well, who didn't need to fill the air with pointless asides about the weather just to say something.

Much like any other point during this day, Gwen felt out of her depth. How could she feel this way about him? She didn't even know his name.

"I'm Gwen," she said. Not knowing what else to do, she offered her hand.

He regarded it for a moment, a small smile playing across his lips. Was it a mocking expression, genuine amusement, or something else? Gwen just couldn't read him. But finally, he took it. His palm felt warm and dry against hers, and Gwen realized that hers was probably clammy and wet, owing to her nerves. Her skin prickled.

"Aiden," he said, releasing his grip on her.

It was a nice name, she admitted. And fitting, somehow, like it really belonged to him.

Aiden let his eyes scan over the billiards room. Leaned up against the table like that, he looked perfectly comfortable and at home, and yet, at the same time, somehow disconnected.

The whole image intrigued Gwen to no end. For the first time that day, she actually went a solid ten seconds without thinking about how to come up with the cash to avoid her impending eviction.

"Would you like a drink?" Aiden said, ending the silence again. Gwen couldn't tell from his tone of voice or body language whether he was just being polite, or genuinely wanted to sit down at that bar.

Gwen was used to being able to tell if a guy actually was interested in her or not, so this whole unable to tell thing didn't sit well.

But then her cell started buzzing in her clutch. "Excuse me," she said, turning away from Aiden and digging out her phone. It was a text from Beatrice, telling her to get her butt back to the party to fulfill her wingman obligations.

"Sorry, but duty calls," Gwen said. She felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment at making the decision to not accept Aiden's invitation. "Nice to meet you, though."

"Wait," Aiden said.

She stopped at the door into the library, looking back over her shoulder at him.

Aiden walked up to her and, without any warning, plucked the thread from her dress's strap.

"Hey!" Gwen started, knowing that just tugging the thread out would just ruin the whole thing.

But somehow, it worked. Looking down, she couldn't even tell there'd been a problem in the first place. Aiden brushed the strand from his fingers.

"How did you do that?" Gwen said, her astonishment getting in the way of her retreat.

"Old trick," Aiden replied, "Listen, if you get bored in there with your friend, you know where to find me."

"I'll keep it in mind," Gwen said, but Aiden had already turned around and headed back towards the bar. The tux fit him quite well, and she caught herself admiring him.

No, she definitely did not need the distraction of a man right now.

On her way back to the party, she kept glancing down at her shoulder, still trying to figure out how he fixed that thread without unraveling the whole thing.

Then another thought occurred to her: maybe he had been trying to unravel it all. Guys did weird things at parties to try and pick up girls. Maybe he'd been hoping that one tug would have left her standing in a pile of thread at her feet with nothing but her underwear on.

It was something she might have truly suspected, if one of the guys Beatrice was trying to pick up tried it on her. She couldn't bring herself to believe Aiden would do such a thing.

Listen to yourself! she thought, glancing at the tall bookcases, at one of those neat ladder-on-wheels things resting against one wall as she walked through the library, her heels clicking off the polished floor. You're talking like you've known the guy forever, that you know what he would and wouldn't do. She arrived back at the ballroom. The DJ had a different song playing, and now both men and women gyrated about on the dance floor.

Rather than let the whole thing confuse her further, Gwen decided to put Aiden out of her thoughts. The last thing to leave were those cold, if gentle, eyes of his.

"Hey! Where'd you go?" Beatrice said, spying her from across the room and coming over.

"Bathroom," Gwen answered, "This place is enormous! I almost got lost."

"Well," Beatrice said, looping her arm through Gwen's and leading her deeper into the party, "It's a good thing you didn't! I gave my number out twice so far. Come on, Browning, time to get to work. Shake that booty, yeah!"