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I hadn’t seen this woman in over a decade until last week, but now, it felt like no time had passed at all. Even though there was a ravine the size of Kentucky between us, filled with unknown life events and experiences, I still felt like Iknewher.
The familiarity made my skin prickle. I didn’t like it. Couldn’t have it.
Not when I’d spent the last decade of my life keeping to the shadows. Things were safe there, unattached and lukewarm. No new people, no new love.
I had enough love in my life. And I didn’t have room for more.
I cleared my throat, straightening my back as I set my sights on the nearest person of importance. It didn’t matter who. I just needed to direct the conversation away from anything that threatened to tug at the armor that protected the softest parts of me.
“You’ll probably be hearing from that guy over there.”
“Who, the one standing next to the most phenomenally beaded dress I have ever seen in real life? That must be so heavy. I wonder how they fastened the beadwork.”
I cracked a grin and pointed out the man Trace spoke with earlier, giving her an uninspired rundown of my interaction with him earlier. After that, I pointed out all the biggest names in the room—some of which made her gasp, particularly the well-known names like Spike Lee and Tina Fey.
“There are so many celebrities here,” she murmured, a hand pressed to her chin. “I should have worn something designer.”
I blinked a few times, glancing down at her dress. Her cleavage was the first thing I noticed—luscious, pearlescent, completely fucking bitable,dammit—but I yanked my gaze away before my thoughts could careen too far. “Did you really make this dress?”
She nodded with a sad sigh. “I should have gone with Givenchy, though.”
“It’s a nice dress.”
“Nice? See, you gave me your credit card and I was coming to this function and—” She sighed again, returning her focus to the tablet in her hands. “I’m breathing the same air as Tina Fey. That’s all that matters.”
My fingers tightened around the tumbler of whiskey. I had more questions about the dress. And a lot more words to describe the dress, all of which were much stronger thannice. But I wouldn’t give in to them. I focused on the clamor of the room around us, the din of voices and far-off champagne bottles popping open. I took a deep breath to clear my head. It was hard to stay focused around Jessa. She was far too warm and inviting.
“Hey. I made the donation.” Trace jostled my shoulder, filling my vision suddenly.
“Oh, you guys donated tonight?” Jessa asked innocently. “More than just buying the tickets?”
Trace nodded, jerking his head my way. “It’s all this guy. Supporting the hackers of the next generation.”
I smirked in his direction. “It sounds so uncouth when you say it.”
“How much did you donate?” Jessa asked him. I braced myself for his answer—and her reaction.
“Three hundred thousand,” Trace replied.
Jessa blinked several times, swinging her gaze my way. “Oh, is that all?”
This time, I couldn’t help the laugh that rocketed out of me. Something about the jaunty look she’d given me coupled with the air of insanity behind her words.
Axel joined us a moment later, something wild lighting up his face, as usual. “Guys. There’s someone we need to scout tonight. Her name is Roxy Windham, and she’s very interested in finding a new wealth management firm. Not only that, she’s hacker friendly. I’ve made contact, but we need to seal the deal. I told her we’d send the ambassador.”
The ambassadorusually meant Francis. But tonight, that meant Jessa. She looked up at us with wide eyes.
“I take it that’s me?”
“All you have to do is go introduce yourself, get her most important info, and woo her a little,” I said.
“Woo her a little?” Jessa repeated.
“Chat about whatever seems relevant,” Trace offered. “Find a shared interest, something to talk about…”
“I’m pretty sure she’ll realize within ten seconds that I’m a nobody from the sticks, but okay. Let’s do this.” Jessa expelled a fortifying breath and straightened her back. “Where am I heading, boys?”
Axel helped guide her to the target, and the three of us watched as she drifted through the crowd, headed for Roxy.
