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I had an easy out. She no longer works with me at Astor Construction. All I had to do wasnotcall her, not invite her to this function... go on with my life and forget I ever heard about McKenzie Beaumont. But that’s not what I did.
Now here we are. And I’m furious with her and with myself. She hasn’t done anything wrong this evening — in fact, she’s been a perfect companion, and my peers clearly adore her. So I have no reason to feel this gut-wrenching anger.
But I can’t forget her taste or scent. I can’t get the sound of her voice out of my head. Everything she is lingers with me, refuses to let me go. I need her, and I’m a fool to think I don’t. But for how long?
When she looks up and our eyes meet, her laughter stops and the smile on her lips falls away. Ah, there it is. There’s the passion I want to see. I refuse to let her look away from me. I take another step forward, but someone passes in front of me, breaking the connection.
McKenzie’s no longer captured by my gaze, but I see the tension in her shoulders. She knows I’m walking toward her, and I enjoy that she’s so aware of everything I do. I enjoy everything about this woman. Even if I hate that I do.
When I finally reach her side, I slide my arm around her possessively and look at the man she’s chatting with. “I’m sorry I took so long,” I say, my lips an inch from her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine.
“This is Crew Storm,” she tells me. “He’s one of Joseph’s nephews, but I’m sure you already know that. He’s been entertaining me with some interesting work adventures.” McKenzie’s smile returns.
“That’s nice,” I say, not meaning it. “I didn’t know Joseph had nephews with the last name Storm.” Is this good-looking guy some sort of pathological liar?
“It’s a very long story,” Crew says. “We didn’t actually know we were related to Joseph and George until a couple of years ago.”
“How is that possible?” I ask.
“Our father was stolen at birth.” Crew doesn’t even blink as he shares this jaw-dropping information.
“Wait! I think I heard something about this last year, but your family has done remarkably well at keeping the story out of the papers,” I say. The pieces are coming together. I remember how Joseph and his twin brother, George, discovered they were actually from a set of triplets.
“My uncle Joseph’s a great man, and everyone, including me, loves and respects him,” Crew says. “And whenever the Anderson family does something, it’s newsworthy, but there’s been very little said about my father coming into their lives. I don’t expect that to last forever, unfortunately.”
“Joseph did a pretty good preemptive strike with his press release,” I say. “He beat the tabloids to it. That’s why the story temporarily fled my mind.”
“Well, Byron, it’s been a pleasure to speak with your beautiful date tonight, but I see my brother calling, so I’m going to have to continue this conversation later. It was delightful to meet you, McKenzie.”
Crew leaves, and I turn to McKenzie. I’m more than ready for this party to end so I can take her home, rip her clothes off, and have her writhing beneath me. The night has dragged on long enough, and the last thing I want to see is her conversing with any more single men, or men who appear single because they wear no wedding ring.
“Have you had a good evening?” I ask in a tight voice as I begin leading her toward the ballroom doors.
“Yes, it’s been wonderful,” she says. Then she realizes where we’re going. “Are we leaving so soon? It might be rude.”
“There are so many people here that no one will notice we’ve gone. I’ve already written my check,” I say, still pushing her toward the exit. Before we reach the doors my brother Tyler steps in front of us.
“Where are you two off to in such a hurry?” Tyler asks as he looks at us slyly.
“We’ve done the rounds,” I practically snarl. If we get interrupted one more time, I might do something stupid like throw mydateover my shoulder and make a dash out of here.
“You can’t possibly be thinking of leaving, not when McKenzie looks so absolutely ravishing,” Tyler says, turning his attention on her and making my gut burn. Tyler leans in and kisses her cheek before letting his eyes glance downward at the modest amount of cleavage she’s showing. I seriously think of smacking my little brother, something I haven’t done in a lot of years.
“Thank you, Tyler,” McKenzie says. Her musical laugh comes out again.
Tyler sends her a salacious grin, then turns his focus back to me. “So... when did you two start hanging out outside of the office?”
“It’s not a big deal,” McKenzie says. “Byron wanted to introduce me to his business associates. He’s trying to help drum up more business for me.”
Before I’m able to contradict her, Tyler gets a wicked gleam in his eyes. I know right away I’m going to have to stomp my little brother for sure before the night’s finished.
“Well, McKenzie, if this isn’t a date, can I talk you into a dance?” Tyler asks.
“We’re together,” I say, theRs sounding fierce when I speak.
“Wait... I’m confused,” Tyler replies, looking far too innocent. “I thought you were only here for business.”
“Tyler, why don’t you go find an eligible girl? McKenzie’s off limits.”
