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When she walked into the kitchen to make sure everything made it to the convention center, I didn’t even recognize her. I was used to her in a stained chef’s smock, baggy pants, hair pulled back and face bare. In that state, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. And of course, I’d seen her in the delicious gold dress she’d worn to Copper’s…thatnight.
But Hope was an entirely different creature tonight. The ruler from the planet Babe. She was all legs in a slinky red dress with a slit cut practically up to her ribs and candy-apple lips to match. She was smiling more than I’d ever seen her smile, throwing her head back and laughing every time her thick-necked ginger boyfriend leaned down to whisper in her ear. My hands were curled into fists inside my pockets. I wanted to march across the room and rip her out of his arms, knock him on his ass and carry her out of this ballroom right now.
My mood only worsened when the other one walked up and cut in. He swept her away across the dance floor, all tall and charming. They looked like Barbie and Ken.
Jamie walked over to the bar and sat down to watch them dance. I spared him a glance, wondering how any man could have a woman like Hope all to himself, and decide that it was a good idea to open up the relationship to other people. Maybe he was bisexual or something. I could feel myself blushing as images of the three of them in filthy positions flashed across my mind.
“Boss?” Ronnie asked behind me. I cleared my throat and turned to her, grateful for the distraction. “I can’t find one of the trays of mini cheesecakes.”
I froze. I knew exactly where it was. I could picture it clearly, wrapped up and sitting on the stainless steel prep table, waiting to be loaded into the passenger seat of my truck.
“Ahh,” I said regretfully, rubbing the back of my neck. “I left them at the restaurant.” Her eyes went wide. “It’s fine, don’t worry. We’re five minutes away. I’ll run over there and grab them.”
Going off on my own was a mistake. Thoughts of Hope were driving me to distraction. At the restaurant, everything reminded me of her. By the time I made it back to the event hall, I was a wreck. I delivered the tray of mini cheesecakes to a cater-waiter, who immediately started separating them onto smaller trays to be dispersed into the crowd. I could feel Ronnie watching me, but I couldn’t meet her eye. I was afraid that she would see my lust written all over my face, that she’d be able to pinpoint my obsession with one glance.
“I think I’m just going to go home,” I muttered, more to myself than her. I turned on my heel to flee and nearly bowled Hope over. She held her hands up in front of her, laughing.
“Whoa,” she said. “Did I just hear you say you’re going home? Is it going that well?”
At first, words wouldn’t come. I stared at her, my throat closing up. With that red lipstick on, I couldn’t help myself. My eyes locked onto her mouth and wouldn’t let go.
“Dinner service is over,” I said, fighting to keep my voice even. “I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
“We all do,” she said, propping a hand on one hip and narrowing her eyes at me. “One dance.”
I balked. My eyes were saucers as I searched her face for a sign that she was kidding. She had to be teasing me, because there was no way in hell I was going to be able to get through a dance with her without embarrassing myself, to say the least. An involuntary boner would be the least of my problems.
Her soft hand grabbed mine and tugged me toward the polished floor. I jerked out of her grasp, more forcefully than I meant to. She whirled around, looking confused. To cover, I pointed at my stained chef’s coat.
“I’d ruin your lovely dress,” I said. “Sorry.”
“Then take the coat off,” she countered. I blinked. Shit. The walls were closing in. Glaring at her, I unbuttoned the smock and tossed it aside. Her eyes flicked down to my arms and chest, on full display in the tight white undershirt I was wearing. When her eyes found mine again, I’d set my jaw and accepted my fate. I offered her my arm and she took it graciously, with a smile.
As I walked her out onto the dance floor, I had deja vu from my previous life. I’d been the rich guy, rubbing elbows and posing for pictures, once upon a time. This had been my circle, and I was the star attraction. But not anymore. Sobriety didn’t mix with the gala crowd, and once I was sober, I realized that I didn’t belong here, either.
When we reached the polished wood, I spun her around and then pulled her roughly back against me. She stared up at me, breathless, surprised. My lips curled into a gloomy smile.
“You asked for this,” I whispered. And then I whisked her away.
73.
Hope
I fucked up.
I was trying to break the ice and get my relationship with Thacker back to normal. But now, he was holding me, pressing my body to his, and I was lost in the fantasy.
I wanted way more than a dance.
“Come home with us tonight,” I murmured next to his ear. At my words, I felt his arms tighten reflexively around me. I gazed up at him and he met my eyes, that tell-tale muscle in his jaw jumping. I blushed, but I didn’t look away. He dipped me, breaking eye contact.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said, and the tone in his voice told me how serious he was. We swayed back and forth, moving through the steps with hardly any notice. He shook his head. “I want you, Hope. Of course I want you. I want you so bad my whole body hurts from it.” He was staring at a spot over my head. I watched the pulse in his throat jump as he spoke. “Your boyfriend may be willing to share you, but I don’t think I would be. I’m not strong enough for any of this.”
For a second I just laid my head on his chest and moved with him. I didn’t want him to see the tears that were stinging my eyes. I might be getting used to our unusual arrangement, but obviously the rest of the world still found it bizarre. I was stupid to think that Thacker would want to get involved in something so complicated. But for some reason, I just couldn’t accept defeat and let him go. Not so easily. I leaned back and looked up at him.
“We’re stronger together,” I said softly. I saw pain flash like lightning in his eyes and shook my head. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to step away from him. “This was a bad idea.”
But he wasn’t letting go. He pulled me hard against his chest and held me there. I wasn’t breathing. Inviting him home with us had taken all the courage I had. I realized I was trembling as his embrace changed from punishing to possessive.
