I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll get the next one.”
His eyes trail over to the dance floor before he tilts his head that direction. “It seems someone else has beat you to that honor.”
I whip around in my seat to find her dancing with Jamie now. “Motherfucker,” I curse under my breath. Cooper chuckles and I turn my glare on him. “Shut up, Lennox.”
I turn back to watch her sway to the music. She’s gorgeous. I can’t seem to be able to pull my eyes off her, like she’s a magnet. The dress accentuates all her curves, and I want to run my hands along them. Her cheeks are rosy and eyes sparkling. She’s happy. I so rarely see her let go like this in public moments and she deserves to be able to.
I narrow my eyes when I catch the slightest shimmer in her eyes.Are those tears?She smacks Jamie’s shoulder, but I can tell it’s a playful gesture. Leaning forward in my seat, I watch as she dabs her fingers beneath her eyes so as not to mess up her makeup.
That motherfucker made her cry.
I’m out of my seat in a blink and make it all of two steps in her direction before a voice comes over the sound system to announce it’s time for dinner.
God dammit.
Dinner drags by.But I suppose that’s largely due to the fact that there’s another thing I’d much rather be doing right now than sitting here suffering through a catered dinner of dry chicken and steamed vegetables that are a tad undercooked. And of course, once dinner is finished, they roll straight into it with speeches and the silent auction items. Because why wouldn’t they.
After what feels like hours, but must have only been one, the music kicks back on and the dance floor reopens.
“Fucking finally,” I mutter under my breath as I pop out of my seat.
The guys chuckle at the abruptness of my departure but I don’t even care. I’m a man on a mission at this point.
Isa’s eyes connect with mine across the room, and I slightly tilt my head in the direction of the bar. She dips her chin in a barely perceptible nod.
I linger at the end of the bar until an arm brushes against mine as she sidles up next to me. Turning my body to face her, I lean my elbow on the bar top. “Can I buy you a drink?”
She tilts her head and smirks. “Isn’t it an open bar?”
I chuckle. “Got me there.” I hold out a hand to her. “How about a dance then?”
“I don’t see why not,” she says with a shrug, placing her hand in mine. Sparks crawl over my skin at the contact.
I guide her out onto the dance floor as the music shifts into Bruno Mars’s “Risk It All”. There’s a flash of panic in Isa’s eyes when the song processes. Her eyes flit around the room, presumably looking to see if anyone is paying us any attention.She relaxes the slightest bit once she determines it to be safe enough.
“Did you bribe the DJ to play this when you finally got me to dance with you?” she tries to joke, but it comes out tense.
I crack a half smile at how fitting the lyrics are to our current situation. “Believe it or not, that was pure coincidence.” I pull her a little bit closer, needing her to be near me. Her body loosens further as we sway to the music. I drop my mouth beside her ear. “We’re being careful. You don’t need to worry.”
She shimmies her body a bit, shaking off her nerves. “I know, I know. It just feels strange to be so close in public like this. Makes it feel like there are all these eyes on us. People whispering in the shadowy corners.” She lets out a breath.
“I don’t have a reason to stick around any longer. Wanna get out of here?” I ask.
The relief washes over her face in a wave. “God, yes please.”
We once again had to pull somesneaky spy shit to leave the gala. She got in the car and then we had it pick me up a block down from the venue.
I’m starting to get really sick of this whole sneaking around. But I know it’s what we have to do if Isa wants to keep her job.
Back inside the safety of my apartment, I slump down into one of the bar stools and release a defeated breath. Isa kicks off her heels and saunters over to me, straddling me on the chair with her arms looped around my neck.
“I’m sorry we left early,” she says, flashing me an apologetic smile.
I shake my head. “It’s no big deal. I usually hate those kinds of things anyway. At least this way I get to spend some time with you.” My hands fall to her hips, giving them a gentle squeeze.
She narrows her eyes, trying to read me. “Ryan, is everything okay?”
I let out a sigh. “Yes? No? I don’t know, Isa. What are we even doing anymore?”
