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“Gee, thanks.” He tweaked her nose. “If you’re going to be ornery, then you won’t get any of my cheesecake.”
She peeked around his shoulder and sighed. “There are three of them.”
Con stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. “And I made each one myself. So, be a good girl tonight.”
Devon stepped forward, a frown marring his handsome face. “Why three?”
“To make up for last year’s fiasco,” Con muttered. “Hell, Tory, you looked so sad when you saw that ruined dessert, I figured I owed you.”
Tory planted her hands on her hips and glared at the two men. “For the last time, I wasn’t sad. Upset, yes. That cheesecake looked delicious. But I was not sad, for crying out loud.”
“Were too,” Con and Devon both said at the same time.
It was futile to argue with the two of them. Especially when they chose to gang up on her. “Whatever,” she said, waving a hand in the air. “I need a drink.”
“Champagne?” Con ventured.
“White wine, Con,” Devon said. “Tory hates champagne.”
“Oh, right.” Con headed toward the long steel countertop where several crystal glasses sat. He picked up a bottle of white wine and held it up for her to inspect. “This just arrived, actually. I’ve been letting it breathe. It’s a new winery I’m thinking of investing in. You’ll be my taste-tester.”
“As long as I get to be your cheesecake taste-tester as well, I’ll be whatever you want.”
Con glanced over at Devon, and the pair exchanged a mysterious look. Neither spoke as Con poured the wine. He brought it to her. Tory sniffed the fragrant liquid. Spicy an
d sweet. Interesting. She took a sip. “Smooth, sweet, but not too sweet. Nice.”
“Good.”
The music changed, and suddenly Tory wanted to dance. “Which of you is going to dance with me? Don’t make me look for someone else, I don’t feel like doing the flirting thing tonight.”
“I thought I made it clear you’re my date,” Devon chastised. “No flirting unless it’s with me.”
“Or me,” Con said, his voice low, a little rough.
Tory looked at Devon, then Con. She couldn’t tell if they were teasing or not. She didn’t want to know, either. Instead she took another sip of her wine. Devon plucked the glass out of her hand and handed it to Con. “Come on, sugar. You can move those sexy hips all you want.”
As they went back out to the main room, Con following close behind, Tory’s mind whirled with the possibility that the two men were making a move on her. Could it be? Devon tended to flirt. It was just his way. Con, not so much. So, what was up with them tonight? She started to change her mind about the dance when a man stepped in front of her. She recognized him instantly. Erik Masters. They’d gone out once. There hadn’t been anything wrong with the date, but the chemistry hadn’t been there and she’d avoided his calls after. While everyone else was dressed to the nines, Erik wore a pair of tight black jeans and a brick red pocket T-shirt. He wasn’t necessarily a handsome man—his features were too rugged to be considered handsome—but he wasn’t hard on the eyes, either. The come-and-get-it smile on his lips made her face go hot.
“Hi, Tory. I saw you arrive and hoped we’d get a chance to talk.” His gaze traveled over her body, giving her the once-over before coming back to her face. “You’re awfully damn hard to miss in that pretty dress. A man would have to be blind.”
“Thank you, Erik. It’s nice to see you again.” Tory could feel Devon tense beside her and she could swear Con had moved closer behind. Heck, his entire body brushed against hers now. It wasn’t difficult to figure out that Erik was hitting on her, but why would that bother Devon or Con?
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“She’s here with me tonight, Erik.” Devon said, as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close to his side. She glanced up at Devon and nearly swallowed her tongue at the lethal look he pinned Erik with. Wow, Devon’s expression was positively deadly.
Erik spared Devon a glance and shrugged, as if Devon were nothing more than an annoying insect, then zeroed in on her once more. “Would you care to dance with me?”
Her gaze darted to Devon. Yikes. She recognized the barely leashed rage easily. Tory looked back at Erik, surprised when he seemed unfazed. Which meant the guy was either suicidal or not quite the brightest of bulbs. Considering he owned a thriving concrete business, he wasn’t stupid. That left suicidal.
“I'm sorry, Erik, but I promised Devon I’d dance with him.” She smiled, hoping to take some of the sting out of the rejection. “Thanks for the offer, though. It was very sweet.”
Erik nodded, one side of his mouth kicking up as he dared, “Maybe later, then.”
As he made his way to the other side of the room, Tory peeked over at Devon. She noticed he stared at Erik’s back for what seemed like an eternity.
Devon’s blue gaze came back to her. “You seem to be turning me into a jealous idiot. The thought of Erik’s hands coming anywhere near your body just about caused me to land a fist in his face.” His eyes narrowed, as if he were bewildered by his own actions. She well understood, because she was every bit as confused.
