The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(26)

“Well, I’m sorry, but you can’t have me.” She turned to exit the hallway, her hair swishing over one shoulder. The sound of her name from his lips caused her to stop. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck.

“I need to go,” she insisted. She wondered if he could tell how weak she felt—that if he pressed a little more, she would succumb.

She sucked in a breath as his body brushed against hers, and he walked past her, never turning back.





CHAPTER NINE




KATE STOOD BY THE AUCTIONING stage, transfixed by the warm, romantic lighting and the silky sounds of the saxophone. The night was going as planned, except that Michael hadn’t shown up yet. She had managed to keep herself busy enough to avoid thinking about her stalker, or whether or not Michael had slept with the model—well, she hadn’t thought about it every hour of the day.

“You look positively ravishing. Glad you listened to me,” a voice said behind her. She turned around. It was Joseph, of course. He leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks.

Kate wore a strapless, red taffeta mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline and origami pleating. The seams of the dress hugged her curves, and her exposed back showed her toned and tanned body. Her hair cascaded over her one shoulder in soft, shimmering waves. She wore more makeup than usual, having enhanced her eyes with black liner and charcoal eye shadow. “Thank you,” she replied. “But you’d better get back to the kitchen.” She didn’t want him mentioning her weird reaction to seeing Michael at the restaurant last night.

“Save me a dance,” he reminded her before hurrying away.

Kate looked around for Julia, who had managed to get an earlier return flight to Charlotte so she could go over the last-minute details with Kate. She finally spotted Julia standing in a crowd of men who were donning military uniforms. Julia looked polished and exquisite in her long, flowing white gown with shoulder ruffle. Kate admired the way Julia carried herself. Her confidence and success probably threatened many men—perhaps that was why she was still single. Either that or she had been too heartbroken to move on when her ex died years ago.

Where are you, Michael? She scanned the room, knowing that when he arrived, he would be hard to miss.

And then she saw him. He was wearing an impeccable single-breasted tuxedo. Could the man get any hotter?

Yes, she realized when she saw him tilt his head back and laugh with one of the veterans to which he was speaking.

She wanted to approach him and say hello but found her feet frozen. She stared across the room at the enigmatic man and wondered what he looked like beneath the suit. She mentally harangued herself for having such a thought, yet again. It was getting exhausting beating herself up all the time. She needed to get back to New York.

Michael’s attention switched from the Marine to Kate. He patted the serviceman on the back before stalking with purposeful strides toward her, ignoring several other people who attempted to catch his attention as he passed.

“Kate.” His voice was husky. His eyes flickered with an intensity that doubled her heart rate.

She took a breath, hoping to calm the overwhelming desire that was pouring through her veins. He didn’t look pissed over last night’s rejection. That was a relief. “You clean up nicely,” she managed at last. She rubbed her hands against the sides of her dress, not sure what to do with them. She was too afraid she might press them against his hard chest or run them through his perfect hair.

“And you look . . .” He paused, running a hand through his hair (Not fair, she thought, that he gets to muss it but I don’t), “well, you shouldn’t be dressed like that,” he spat out, shaking his head.

“Gee, thanks.” She peeked over his shoulder to see Julia heading their way. She took a few steps forward to meet her.

Michael caught Kate by the elbow. “I won’t be able to think straight tonight with you in that dress,” he whispered.

Kate flushed with embarrassment. Things were still stirring between them, despite last night’s rejection—despite the fact that he’d probably gone home with Jamie Landon. “Hi, Julia. What’s wrong?” She noticed the frown on Julia’s face.

Julia looked at Michael with an expression of pained irritation. “I just got a call from Jamie Landon. She’s not coming, and she said to tell you to go to hell.”

“Shit. I didn’t think she’d take it so damn personally.”

“What did you do?” Julia asked.

“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking around the dance floor as if nothing earth-shattering in the world of event planning had happened. “We don’t need her, anyway.”

Kate bounced her attention between Michael and Julia, trying to mask her concern.

“Yes, we do,” Julia snapped back. “We can’t just auction you.” She scanned the room, but then her blue eyes widened. “I got it.” She rested her hand on her brother’s arm.

“What?” Michael asked.

Julia plastered a huge grin on her face. “We have Kate,” she exclaimed. “Every man in here has been gawking at Kate since the gala started. I guarantee they’d be more excited to have her in the auction than Jamie, anyway.”

Kate stared at Julia and raised her brows. Hell, no.