She saw Joe Cantor in the group. That explained Derrick’s sudden interest. Since she didn’t want another scene, she responded when she might otherwise have let it slip past her. “But he did the opposite.”
Derrick glanced at her then. “That, I get.”
“The rich boy understands being poor?” She tried to keep her voice light. Tried and failed. She regretted lashing out as soon as she did it. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take that shot.”
“It’s okay.” He nodded toward the couples milling near them. “Dance?”
“Derrick.” She reached for his hand and managed to snag it.
“We should dance, Ellie.” With that, he pulled her into his arms and maneuvered them to the edge of the dance floor. After a few minutes the stiffness in his shoulders eased and the distance between them closed. Her body rested against his. The scent of his shampoo filled her senses.
She forgot about their conversation and the people watching them. The public ruse fell away until it was just the two of them—a man and a woman swaying on the dance floor. Holding each other, wrapped around each other.
She looked up and stared at his chin, those lips. “Derrick…”
“Keep that up and we’re going to need to leave early.” His voice sounded rough and lower than usual.
Feminine power surged through her. “Good.”
* * *
The dance did it. He’d respected her boundaries and would keep doing so, but the dance brought her walls crashing down. He felt it as soon as it happened. Saw it in her eyes as she looked up at him.
He made a mental note to dance with her more often.
But that would come later. After all that touching he couldn’t get them home fast enough. After the meal and the silent auction, both of which felt as if they lasted five lifetimes, he suggested they go. They’d said their goodbyes and scrambled for the door. He didn’t think anyone noticed. The diced-up feeling came from inside him. He tried to hide it. They had that damn agreement to uphold, after all.
He stepped into the kitchen and dropped his tux jacket over the couch. His plan was to linger for a second, enough not to be rude, then head upstairs.
He got as far as the couch before Ellie started talking. “Have you forgiven me?”
He glanced over his shoulder, not really focusing on her during his quick look. Call it self-preservation. “What are you talking about?”
“I was a jerk tonight.”
He hadn’t expected that. Debating whether he should let it drop, he turned around to face her. “That’s quite an admission.”
“Derrick, I’m serious.”
She stood there in a dress that showed off her curves and lit her face. It had taken all of his strength to resist her tonight. When she’d first come downstairs in that, he’d wanted to skip the public event that would help shore up their arrangement and drag her right up to bed. The temptation still punched at him.
He remembered her shot about being poor. She clearly thought that was the only problem that could happen to a family. “My family isn’t a good subject for me.”
He didn’t know where that came from or why he said it. Well, he knew why but not why now.
“They’re part of you. Your dad, your upbringing. It’s all a piece of who you are.”
She didn’t know but that was the absolute worst thing she could have said. “I sure as hell hope not.”
Her head shot back. “I don’t get it.”
How did he explain? Did he even want to? Every slight and every fault piled up over the years. He knew he had it easy compared to others. This wasn’t a race but he hadn’t exactly had a smooth time, either.
Some of that had changed with his father’s new wife, Jackie. Or so people said. Derrick didn’t spend much time with his father since he’d been the one to suggest his father think about retiring. He and Jackie had been living on an island, racing through money ever since.
“You guessed before that my dad was difficult. He’s a… I can’t even think of a nice way to put it. An ass?” His father wasn’t a great man. He hurt women. A lot of women. He treated them like property. He’d ruined their mother’s life. He acted as if his employees and friends were expendable. He saw his sons as disappointing playthings to bring out for photo ops but little else. “He ran through women, never quite finishing with one before moving on to the other. He sucked with money.”
“Your family is…well, aren’t you all millionaires, or billionaires or whatever comes after that?” Ellie took a quick look around the house as she spoke.
Derrick got it. He lived a certain way. Not over-the-top or even equal to a lot of other business people in town with his level of success, but he didn’t suffer many hardships. But that was all thanks to his hard work, not his father’s.