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The grin slipped from his face, and he straightened to his full height. If he had been intimidating to look at before, then I didn’t know what you would call it now. He seemed to take all the air out of the room with his presence.
I inched closer to the door, not taking my eyes off him. If he was an enemy of Ryzen’s, then I should not be talking to him, let alone ogling him.
“I’m at a disadvantage here.” For every step I took backwards, he took one forward. “You seem to know all about me, yet I don’t even know your name.” He held his hand out and I eyed it with suspicion. “I’m not going to bite.” He smiled the kind of smile that would probably have women falling at his feet. But not this woman.
Against my better judgment, I held my hand out, and he captured it in his. They were large, rough, like he knew how to put in a hard day’s work. So unlike Ryzen’s, which were soft and gave me butterflies every time he trailed them over my body.
He shook my hand and then brought it up to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “Unless you ask me nicely.”
I yanked my hand out of his grasp and he let it go. Something told me that if he really had wanted to hold on to me, he could have, and the realization brought me a fleeting moment of relief. “Only in your wildest dreams,” I scoffed up at him.
He chuckled, as if unfazed by my attitude. “And you are?”
I smoothed my dress down and straightened my back. “Nova La Roux. Ryzen’s fiancée.” His body tensed, his eyes registering surprise and—something else I couldn’t understand. We stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, his eyes burning a hole into my finger where I wore the ridiculously sized engagement ring. I twisted the ring back and forth, an annoying habit I seemed to have picked up ever since Ryzen had given it to me. Probably my subconscious mind trying to help me out.
He snickered, breaking the awkward silence, and rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip. “Interesting.” He began walking around me in a circle. The smell of him was surrounding me, intoxicating almost. “You don’t seem the type.” He stopped in front of me, his demeanor not as playful as it has been moments ago.
I arched my eyebrow. “And what type is that?”
“A gold-digger.” His voice was laced with contempt, and I was taken aback by the accusation. “Tell me.” He stepped closer and raised his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. The gesture was too intimate, and the butterflies came racing back into my stomach. “Does he pay you well? I could pay you more—for your services.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. The butterflies in my stomach had quickly turned from nervous flutters to knife-wielding rage butterflies. And they wanted blood. “Who the hell do you think you are?” I scoffed and tapped my lip with my finger. “Oh wait, I know exactly what kind of person you are.” I poked him in the chest with all the force I could put behind one finger. “I know all about what you did to Ryzen. And unlike his ex-fiancée, I am not for sale.”
His eyes darkened at the mention of Ryzen’s ex-fiancée, and I smirked in satisfaction. He opened his mouth, but before he could respond, the doors flew open and Iva walked in. She looked from me to him with a curious smile.
“There you are, sugar!” Her heels echoed in the giant room as she strolled over. I ground my teeth and turned away from him. She looped her arm through mine and tugged me towards the door. “Everything OK in here?” She glanced between us.
“It’s fine.” I patted her hand, not sure who I was trying to convince, me or her.
She led me down the hall to the dinner room, and I didn’t give the mystery man the satisfaction of turning back to look at him. That had been too intense. I should have never let a stranger get to me like that, especially considering where we were. If I ruined this deal for Ryzen because of my temper, I could lose everything.
The others were gathered around in a small circle near the dining table, each with a drink in their hand. Ryzen looked up when I walked in and winked. My face flushed, and I offered him the biggest smile I could muster. This room, like the others that I had seen, was set up in a bougie style. The walls were coated in white and gold, with candles in every open space. A chandelier that was bigger than my first car hung over the center of the room. The flames of the candles danced over the glass pendants, making the room shimmer. The dinner table could fit twenty people easily, and rows of purple and white orchids covered the table. Six men and women, all dressed in the same white and gold uniforms, stood against a back wall with trays of champagne.
The large wooden doors flung open, and Covington walked in with his wife at his side. “Sorry to keep y’all waiting. Dinner is ready to be served,” he drawled in his thick accent.
The table was set with name cards for each guest, and I followed Ryzen around the table until we found our spot. He pulled out my chair, and I sat down, back tense from the altercation only moments ago. His hand found my knee under the table and squeezed. He leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Is everything good? You look flushed.”
I contemplated telling him about the run-in with his nemesis, but I didn’t want to ruin the evening. This was a big night for him. For us. This was his first chance to prove to Covington that he was the right man to purchase the hotels. If Ryzen succeeded, then we both did.
“I’m good, don’t worry, peanut.” I held in a laugh as the term of endearment slipped out. Ryzen had insisted that we call each other pet names in public to make us more believable as a couple, something I thought was stupid. Especially when I’d tried to call him “Daddy” and he had deemed it too “taboo.” It was clear we didn’t have the same type of humor.
Covington cleared his throat, and we turned our attention to him. He sat at the head of the table, his wife to his left. Iva was to his right, then Ryzen and me. An older man, close to being in his sixties, sat next to me. I did a double-take as two men around Ryzen’s age sat down next to Covington’s wife. Identical twins. Everything appeared to be the same, from the part in their hair to the cufflinks they wore. There was an empty seat next to them, and my jaw clenched as I realized who was going to sit there.
“Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Cian,” Covington boomed as the mystery man walked in and sat directly across from me.
“Apologies. I was distracted by some of the beautiful objects in your home.” I felt his eyes on me as he sat down, but I didn’t dare look in his direction.
Covington cleared his throat and held his hand up. “Before we enjoy this beautiful supper, let’s go around the table and introduce everyone so we can keep it real personal-like. If you know me, you know I don’t like no stuffy meetings, so let’s start with my grandbaby Iva.”
Iva seemed unbothered by the fact that Covington kept referring to her as his “grandbaby,” and not, in fact, as a leader of the Covington hotel brand. Just from the conversation I had with her earlier, I could tell that she was on top of her game. She was savvy, smart, and knew exactly how to run the hotels. The only problem was that Covington seemed to undermine her and had no shame in doing so publicly.
Ryzen introduced himself next, although based on everyone’s expressions, they were well aware of who he was. He held my hand in his and kissed my knuckles, almost in the same spot Cian had done earlier. I did my best to smile at him adoringly, as if he was the best man in the world. When Ryzen was done with his mini-speech about his accomplishments, something I would be sure to make fun of him about, I smiled around the table and began to introduce myself.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Nova, the lucky fiancée. I am also the owner of The Shiv—”
Ryzen gripped my leg under the table, and I stopped mid-sentence. He shook his head slightly, barely enough for me to see. “Show them your ring, honey.” He sipped his champagne.
My cheeks warmed at being cut off. If Grams had been in this situation, she would have smacked his hand away and told everyone that she was the owner of a successful sexual wellness business. She would have scoffed at his attempt to make her feel embarrassed for her occupation. But now was not the time to let my ego get in the way.
