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“Oh, definitely.” His eyes dip lower and slowly rise. “Come find me before you go. We can grab a drink.”
“Are you hitting on me?” I ask incredulously. The guy doesn’t look old enough to get into a bar.
“Maybe? Are you open to that?”
“No.” I laugh. “Nice try though.”
My heels click against the marble floor as I make my way to the grand staircase. Soft velvet underfoot, my hand glides over the intricately carved railing.
My carefully styled hair is tousled by a gentle breeze as I follow the elegantly dressed crowd through the towering double doors into the lobby. The interior is even more impressive than the exterior; trees adorned in vibrant red flowers and twinkling lights fill the space, while the delicate scent of jasmine and honey saturates my senses.
“Holy crap,” Mia, one of my closest friends, says, followed by a long wolf whistle as her eyes travel down my dress. Her pale blonde hair is styled in a french twist, and she’s wearing a deep purple gown that looks amazing on her. “Who pissed you off?”
“How do you know someone pissed me off?” I mean, someone did piss me off, but I didn’t think it would be so apparent.
“Because that’s a Princess Diana–level revenge dress.” She gestures to me, indicating it’s obvious.
The dress in question is a deep navy, fading into a pale blue. It has a square neckline that I designed to sit barely an inch above my nipples. The satin fabric is perfectly tailored to me, skimming over my curves. It’s so tight I opted for two layers of Spanx so I don’t get light-headed sucking in the entire night.
I do a spin. “You think it’ll work?”
“Definitely,” Mia’s boyfriend Alex says, stepping up to us and handing her a champagne flute.
River comes up behind Mia and kisses her temple while cupping the back of Alex’s neck, giving a gentle squeeze. The two men make a striking pair in black tuxes and crisp white shirts. Where Alex is blond and playful, River’s dark and broody.
He lifts a brow at me, a slight smirk on his face. “Who’s the lucky guy?” He’d never smiled like this until the three of them got together.
I’ve grown pretty familiar with Alex and River since they’re both forwards on the Bruins. River had been known for being standoffish, which is just so completely different from who he is today. Which is basically a teddy bear, at least when it comes to the two of them.
A weariness settles around my shoulders. What exactly was I thinking showing up like this? Am I really this transparent?
Mia must see my thoughts on my face because she grabs my hand. “You look stunning. Whoever this mystery guy is, he’ll eat his heart out. Might even beg on his knees.”
“I don’t think I want him to beg on his knees.” Do I?
She turns, pulling me deeper into the room, and tosses over her shoulder, “Even better, leave him wanting.”
Even with the grand size of the ballroom and the exclusivity of the event, the room is overfilled with impeccably dressed people. Working in the NHL has made me fairly used to being around wealth, but this is something else. This is old money, daddy owns an island type of wealth.
Lucas and Piper spot us through the crowd and head our way. Her hair is down around her shoulders in golden waves like something you’d see in an old-time movie.
She and I grew close as roommates in university, and I had front-row seats to the whirlwind romance that brought them together. It was touch and go for a bit, but Lucas finally got it together.
“Hey, Misty. How did you get roped into coming to this?” Lucas asks, looking stunning in his deep navy suit, which pairs perfectly with his warm brown skin.
“Same way you did. Work.” I scrunch my nose, knowing none of them want to be here.
“Don’t you normally get out of this stuff?” Alex asks.
“Yup. Boss’s orders.” I sigh.
Alex and River stiffen. It wasn’t too long ago that Damon tried to block Alex from becoming the captain. According to him, the owner of the team had some kind of weird vendetta against him.
“We’ve got to do our rounds. Don’t get into too much trouble,” River says, eyeing his girlfriend.
Mia crosses heart. “Double promise.”
River lifts a brow. “Why don’t I believe you?”
