“By sticking to the preconceived pairing.”
She wet her suddenly dry lips. “Yes.”
His gaze fixed on her mouth. “If one were to, say, go in another direction, the result might be greater than anticipated?”
The event planners needed to do something about the number of people in the room. She was struggling to take a deep breath. “When it comes to sushi—”
“Or gambling, apparently.”
A waiter tried to squeeze behind Danica. The hard edge of his tray jostled her right into Luke. Her hands flew up to brace herself. They landed square on Luke’s chest.
His arms encircled her and kept her upright. “Are you okay?”
No. She was not. His chest was hard and muscled under the thin wool of his jacket and finely woven cotton of his shirt. His leather and citrus scent teased her nose. But she would have been able to laugh off the incident if it weren’t for his gaze, deeply blue and full of concern. For her.
Sound faded. The laughter and conversation, the jazz trio playing in a nearby room—all hushed save for the pounding of her heart. His arms tightened around her, creating a cocoon outside which no one existed. His gaze changed, turned deeper, darker. Concern faded to awareness. Then flared into desire.
“Danica.” She felt her name more than heard it, a deep rumble reverberating underneath her splayed hands.
Anticipation fizzed through her, headier than any alcoholic beverage. “Yes?” she whispered.
He raised his right hand and brushed a curl off her face, his thumb lingering on the curve of her cheek. Thankfully, he kept his left hand locked at her waist, keeping her upright when her legs would’ve failed her. “What were you saying about serendipity?”
“I welcome it,” she managed to breathe. Luke Dallas was going to kiss her. And she wanted him to kiss her. Wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything else. One more kiss for her memories. One more kiss to sweeten her dreams and warm her nights.
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze remained darkly intent, hot enough to leave scorch marks as it traveled the outline of her lips. She lifted her chin and tilted her mouth. Her lips parted. His hand tightened at her waist, pressing her closer—
“Dallas!” a man said from behind Luke. “Just the man we were hoping to see tonight.”
The bubbly anticipation fled. The sounds of the party flooded back: the clink of the glasses, the hum of voices, the occasional well-bred laugh. Luke straightened up and let go of her waist. “To be continued,” he said to her in a low voice. Then his expression changed to one she knew all too well from their first meeting.
The man came up and shook Luke’s hand. He was tan and well over six feet tall, his custom-tailored tuxedo revealing a graceful, broad-shouldered physique most commonly seen in champion swimmers. His dark blond hair, streaked with the kind of highlights only constant exposure to the sun could provide, fell into his eyes. He looked like he’d be more at home on the cover of a surfing magazine, but she knew not to judge people by their looks. He was probably a brilliant programmer or a marketing genius.
“I’m Grayson,” he said to her with a firm handshake and a slow, highly charming grin. Then he turned back to Luke. “Evan here thinks his start-up is not only a unicorn, it’s a decacorn. I say he might be right. What do you say?”
“I say I haven’t heard of Evan or his company before,” Luke said. “But a ten-billion-dollar valuation? Pretty damn rare.”
“I’d love to tell you more,” Evan said. “We have a great opportunity for a partnership with Ruby Hawk’s tech. Do you have a minute?”
“Thanks, but I have a prior commitment.” Luke offered his arm to Danica. “If you’ll excuse us?” he said to the men, his words polite but firm.
“Word is Ruby Hawk might miss its acquisition target date. You’ll need good partners for your next venture,” said Grayson.
“Want advice on your start-up? Never pay attention to valley gossip.” Luke’s tone was breezy, but under her loose grip his muscles tensed.
“That came from Cinco Jackson. But I’d still like to talk with you,” Evan said.