“What was that all about?” I ask Helena once Lauri’s gone.
“Oh, your father is making enemies as usual, including Lauri’s fiancé.” Helena’s smile is mischievous. “Lauri and I have remained friends through it all thankfully, despite their hatred toward each other.”
Huh. I know my dad has had some dirty dealings in the past. When I was younger, everyone figured we were mob, only because we’re Italian. I always thought that was bullshit. But as I’ve gotten older and started to understand the way the world works, I’ve long suspected dear old dad has made some less than legal business transactions. He’s in real estate—he buys large businesses for cheap and breaks them up, selling each individual piece of the business for far more than what he originally purchased it for.
In his type of business, he pisses people off. He underbids. Overbids. He’s sneaky. I’ve done some research recently. Google is my friend, and there is all sorts of information out there in regards to my father. I’ve barely scratched the surface. Should I even contemplate working with him at all?
I don’t know.
Helena goes on about her friendships with the various women in this place, and how my father has messed them up thanks to pissing off all their husbands. I’m only half listening to her, my gaze searching the crowd. Does it make me a shit human that I don’t care about Helena’s problems? They feel really trivial compared to the kind of lifestyle she leads. She doesn’t have to worry about a thing. My dad is taking care of her financially, and she’s locked him down for a while, thanks to having his children.
I’m sure she’s pissed she didn’t give him a boy.
A blonde girl in white suddenly enters the room, and she’s swept up in someone’s arms, her face averted, though I can hear her tinkling laugh from where I’m standing. Awareness settles over me, prickling my skin. She moves in a way that’s familiar. I shift to the right, trying to catch sight of her face, and when she pulls away from the woman hugging her, I realize who it is.
Hayden from the Range Rover dealership.
Well, holy shit. Tonight just got a hell of a lot more interesting.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Helena absently as I push past her, ignoring her when she calls after me.
I weave my way through the crowd, ignoring the smiles and the nodding heads as I pass them, these fake, plastic people acting like they know me when I’m a complete stranger. It’s not until I’m standing directly behind her, breathing in her delicate scent, fascinated with the elegant tilt of her neck, the way her hair slides across her shoulder as she speaks animatedly to the woman standing in front of her, that I finally jolt myself out of my trance and say something.
“Hayden.”
She glances over her shoulder, doing a double take. “Tony from the dealership? Is that you?”
I can’t help but smile. Her voice is soft and lilting. Sweet sounding. Her eyes are wide and she’s grinning at me like I’m the best thing she’s seen in a long time.
I can’t help but return her smile. “It’s me.” I hold my arms out. “In the flesh.”
“And what pretty flesh you are,” she murmurs.
I rear back a little, surprised at what she said. And she doesn’t back down from it either. She just watches me, completely forgetting about the woman she was speaking to only a second ago. We stare at each other for a moment before I realize this is the perfect opportunity for me to check her out completely.
The white dress she’s wearing should be criminal. It covers up a lot, yet reveals plenty too. It’s short, showing off those killer legs. The ruffled skirt hem flirts with her slender thighs, and while the dress is long sleeved, it has this deep V-neck that shows off her cleavage perfectly.
I’m a leg man. I always have been. But Hayden’s tits are absolute perfection.
“I didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” she says to me while I stand there gawking at her like an idiot.
“I didn’t expect to see you either.” I slip my hands in my pants’ pockets, trying for casual. My blood is buzzing, racing through my veins at just having her this close. “Guess we both had the same plans.”
“Guess so.” She turns away from me, grabbing the hand of a girl wearing a dark blue dress and yanking her to her side. “This is my sister. Palmer.”
“Nice to meet you.” I shake her little sister’s hand. She watches me with narrowed eyes, her lips parting, revealing the braces on her teeth. Definitely younger. She’s blonde too, and her features are similar to Hayden’s.
“Who are you again?” she asks me.
“Oh sorry. This is Tony.” Hayden puts extra emphasis on my name, sending her sister a knowing look.
Hmm.
“Wait a minute. Range Rover Tony?” Palmer studies me carefully and I can’t help but chuckle. “Hayden told me she thought you were cute.”
“Palmer!” Hayden nudges her sister with her elbow.
“What? It’s true! You’re always telling me I should be truthful and never hold anything back.” Palmer rubs at her side where her sister jabbed her. “It’s no big deal that you think he’s cute. From the way he’s staring at you, I’m sure he thinks you’re cute too.”
Hayden glances over at me, her eyes lighting up when she catches me staring, just as her sister said.
“So you’re talking about me to your sister, huh?” I ask Hayden, taking a step closer to her. I think of Helena and how she invaded my space only moments ago, and I hope like hell Hayden doesn’t think I’m doing the same thing to her right now.
Clearly, she doesn’t, thanks to her taking another step closer to me too. So close, our chests are almost brushing. I can smell her delectable scent even stronger now, and unlike all the other cloying fragrances filling the room, I can’t help but inhale her like I’m some sort of junkie.
“I told my sister I thought you were cute,” she says, her expression like a dare. “That’s all.”
“You think I’m cute.”
“Cute is too common of a word for you, but yes. It’ll suffice for now.” Hayden smiles, showing off her straight, white teeth.
Damn. Everything about this girl is pretty. Perfect. She doesn’t have nearly as much makeup on her face as all the other women who are here, and she definitely doesn’t need it. That sexy white dress showcases her banging body to perfection. The scattered star necklace from earlier lays against her throat, a delicate spray of gold upon her smooth skin. I’m intrigued by that necklace.
I want to touch it. Trace it with my fingertips. See if I can make goosebumps rise.
The whine of a mic being turned on sounds over invisible loudspeakers, and the majority of the room gasps in response. It’s followed by the tinkling of silverware against glass, and I turn to see a man standing on the stage in front of a podium, a fork in one hand and a wineglass in another. He taps the edge of the glass again with the fork, just before he announces into the mic, “Welcome everyone. Please do find your seats. Dinner will be served momentarily.”
It’s a free for all after that, and I watch Hayden be helplessly dragged away by her sister, still smiling while we continue to stare at each other. I’m tempted to go after her, but she turns away at the last second and follows after Palmer. I watch Hayden walk toward the other side of the room, my gaze dropping to the sway of her hips, the way the skirt flutters around the back of her thighs.