Page 101 of When Glitter Meets Gold

She leans back from him, her bright eyes layered with a sheen of moisture. “I know I did! I didn’t mean it, I do want…” She trails off.

“What?” He’s grinning.

“You already know,” she says, burying her head back into his chest.

“Get out here,” he orders with a smirk, holding her arms and keeping her from hiding her face. “Tell me what you want.”

She presses her lips together, then bites the corner of her bottom lip. “Fine.” She holds her face up to him, her features lit by the twinkle of the sconces. “I want you to be my boyfriend, Jack.”

He nods. “Interesting. I’ll get back to you.”

Sara’s eyes go wide, her mouth opening to deliver some sass no doubt. But before she can yell at him, he presses a hungry kiss to her lips, grinning at the way her mouth fights against his to curse him out, right before she relaxes to match his pace.

“I’ll be your boyfriend,” he whispers over her lips. “Like I could be anything else.”

43

SARA

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t acutely aware of the pairs of eyes tracking the sight of our joined hands as Jack and I make our way down the staircase. I’d also be lying if I denied the fact that I enjoyed the scrutiny. I smile with the knowledge that they aren’t staring atme,but ratherus.It’s that last part that makes the butterflies soar.

The quartet continues to play in a faraway corner as we inch through clusters of bodies, all sipping sparkling liquid and swaying merrily. I twist to peek at Jack, blushing heavily when I find his eyes already resting on me.

We’re in quite possibly the most extravagant venue in existence, with lavish ice sculptures on marble platforms in both corners of the room, embellished gowns gliding across gleaming floors, bouquets of exotic flowers, and chandeliers, beaming glittering light on priceless jewels which decorate the necks of dancing women. The entire place is a mirror ball of beauty.

Yet he chooses to set his gaze on me.

“What?” I whisper softly.

“I just realized everyone’s staring at you,” he says with a grin.

“They’re staring becauseJ Vandenbergis holding hands with a stranger. They’re probably googling my lineage as we speak.”

Jack breathes a sigh of laughter. “No, they’re staring at you, and it’s making me feel a certain way.”

I feel the corners of my eyes tighten as I attempt to read his expression. “How’s it making you feel?”

Jack pulls me in tighter, his eyes trained on my lips. “Like I don’t want to share you with anyone tonight.”

I swallow hard, biting my bottom lip. All I can think about is kissing him.

It consumes me, which is why I don’t notice the scene unfolding behind me until Jack’s eyes blink to the space over my shoulder. I watch his eyes narrow and a muscle contract in his jaw.

Deep in conversation with a group of people I don’t recognize, is Drew.

He senses my gaze and tips his chin in the air, shooting me a broad smile. The bastard has no idea I know everything. Carrying on like he isn’t the greatest liar to walk the face of the earth.

I can feel the strain building in my chest because even though I know a confrontation between us is inevitable, I’m not ready for it to go down yet. I spin to face Jack. “Get me out of here?”

Without missing a beat, he’s pulling me from the ballroom, tugging me down a corridor that goes on for so long I fear it’s one of those Alice-in-Wonderland mazes that doesn’t have an end.

“How did you know it was Drew by the way?” I ask as we approach a set of mahogany doors.

We burst into yet another drawing room, lit with a pair of tall tiffany lamps that bracket either side of white patio doors.

“I had a team comb through security footage,” he says. “Drew wasn’t very discreet when he swiped the figures from the boardroom after that first meeting.”

A moan of disgust slips out of me before I realize I’m being herded through the patio doors and onto the manicured grounds of the estate where cold air hits my face.

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