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“What’s your name?”
“Amy Underwood.” He nodded, continuing his assault on my face with his hypnotic eyes, as though he was trying to see past my scared smile and into my real nervousness. “What’s your name?”
“Roman.” His voice cut through the air like a fistful of thrown gravel. His glare locked on something behind me. I turned to see what he was looking at, but he gently gripped my knee, which got my attention in several ways. “I was going to get some fresh air on the terrace. Would you care to join me?”
“Um…” I looked around, trying to find Paige but had no luck. “Sure.”
He held out his hand and helped me up. When I made a play to slip my shoes back on, he bent and picked them up.
“Allow me.” He held my pumps in one hand and extended his other arm. There were massive French doors propped open at the opposite end of the ballroom, which I assumed led to the terrace. Problem was, we’d have to walk around or through the entire crowd to get there.
“I’m going to need my shoes.”
He frowned down at me. “I thought you said they hurt?”
“Well, yeah. But I can’t walk through here barefoot.”
“Why not? The floor is clean. I happen to know for a fact they waxed it this morning.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s…because it’s inappropriate.”
“I see.” He nodded, glancing first at the floor, then at my feet, as if calculating the best method of travel. “Then how about a piggyback ride?” he winked.
The silly giggle that erupted from my throat couldn’t be helped. Roman, with his casual attitude and charm, made me feel like everything was really okay. Like I, in the middle of this shit storm of the elite and entitled, was okay. Scuffed heels or not.
“Lead the way.” I smiled.
His palm rested on the small of my back, and I could feel heat radiating from his touch as he steered me around the edge of the room and toward the doors. He didn’t seem to want to interact with people any more than I did.
Keeping my eyes generally downcast, I glanced around quickly to try to find Paige. I spotted her in the corner talking to an older woman decked out in what looked like costume jewelry, but I had a suspicion it was all real. Paige’s eyes met mine and widened. She mouthed something to me.
I frowned.
She mouthed the same word again, but I had no idea what she was trying to say. Cover? Gopher? Vendor? I shot her a tense smile and slight shrug, hoping it looked more relaxed than it felt.
We finally reached the doors and Roman led me through, out into the crisp fall air. The terrace was massive and wrapped around the entire building. Elegant white lights were strung overhead, and the smell of lavender wafted around. The low hum of the conversations inside grew softer as he led me farther away from the open doors.
The faint sound of traffic from the bustling city streets echoed quietly.
“You’re not from New York, are you?” he asked.
“I was born and raised in Indiana. I moved here after college.”
He smiled, looking me up and down. “Which was what? Last year?”
Yes. Apparently my age and non-New Yorker attitude weren’t hard to spot. “I’ve been here for six months.” Barely.
I hadn’t realized how far we’d walked until I looked up and saw him standing near the railing, the glow of the open door no longer visible. We were alone. In the dark. With only a few flickering strings of light above. I crossed my arms, holding my elbows.
“Here,” he said, putting my shoes down and unbuttoning his jacket. Shrugging out of it, he placed it over my shoulders.
“Thank you.” He backed away. Putting his hands in his pants pockets, he leaned back against the railing.
My goodness, the man was beyond sexy. So poised and confident, but in a casual way that made him approachable. Made a girl wonder if the rest of his skin was as tan and edible looking. I looked up at him, my mind doing jumping jacks in an attempt to process the last few moments. Getting lost in the beauty of him was not smart, especially since I still couldn’t tell if he knew I had snuck in. Not wanting to push the subject, I went for small talk.
“It’s a nice night. I can see why you wanted to come out here.”
“I wanted to bring you out here,” he corrected, and straightened his stance.
