“Nick!”
I jumped back with a gasp, but he didn’t pursue. Instead, he gestured to the astonished blush blossoming in my cheeks.
“That shade.”
My chest was still panting, and I was having trouble closing my mouth. I thought there was nothing the man could do anymore to surprise me—but there he goes.
“I can’t...I can’t believe you just...” I stuttered and stammered, trying to catch my breath. “Who would even know that—”
“I’ll know,” he said unabashedly. “And now I have something to distract and amuse myself with for the rest of the night.”
With a parting grin, he left me standing there—frozen in a state of absolute shock. Naked and wanting in the middle of the room.
A FEW HOURS LATER, the two of us were standing hand in hand in the lobby. After my rather interesting explanation for the pink dress, I had self-exiled to my bedroom, locking the door firmly behind me. At that point, I didn’t trust myself to be around Nick for a second longer than I had to, and I most certainly didn’t trust Nick with a damn thing.
As we waited for the car, ignoring the muted screams and cheers of the pap
arazzi barricaded off safely outside, I fidgeted restlessly by his side. My heart was pounding unevenly in my chest, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my mind off my dress. Not the dress so much...but the damn color.
Which I happened to know was exactly Nick’s intent.
“Is something wrong?” he asked innocently, looking down with a calm smile.
I peered up at him, and forced myself to stop moving.
“Not in the slightest. Just thinking of ways that I can amuse myself tonight.”
His lips turned up in a conspiratorial grin.
“Well I can think of one or two things that we might try—”
“Alone.” My eyes narrowed, and I offered him a sweet smile. “I’m thinking of ways that I can amuse myself alone.”
His eyes danced with merriment as he stared me down, hedging his bets.
“I’d at least like to watch—”
I smiled. “Nope not happening, Hunter.”
The car pulled up to the front. He stared after me for a second, and then followed along with a grin.
“We’ll see about that...”
I laughed. “You always love a good challenge.”
He winked and shot me a devilish smile. “And we both know I’ll always come out on top.”
I chuckled at his pun.
Chapter 14
IT WAS A TESTAMENT to how utterly terrifying it was to attend one’s fake engagement party that I ended up forgiving Nick in the car. The two of us gripped each other tightly by the hand as we pulled up to the venue.
We had showed up strategically late (the way that couples often do), so that the line of over two hundred limos had already cleared by the time we got there. Just a glimpse at Nick’s face through a crack in the window was enough to get us through security, and before I thought it was possible, we were rolling to a stop in front of a red carpet laid out for the occasion.
“I can’t believe Harold put all of this together so fast,” I murmured, double-checking my purse for the millionth time as we prepared to make our entrance.
Nick shot a cursory glance outside the window, and adjusted his tie.