Page 72 of Conflict
Then again, I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually want rescuing.
“Shane, you leave that poor girl alone and stop lollygagging. I’m famishedandout of wine.” She peers over her glasses at me, and her expression becomes thoughtful. “Better yet, escort this one to dinner. The first course is about to begin.” Then a wicked smile crosses her lips. “Perhaps I was wrong earlier.”
Without another word—or an explanation—the elegant woman turns on her heels and marches out the room, confident her grandson will obey her direct order.
Shane’s roguish expression vanishes and he holds his arm out, acting ever the gentleman. “Who am I to disrespect my elders?” he asks, his other hand coming to his chest in mock jest.
Heat sizzles the moment my fingertips loop around his bicep. He flexes, and I can’t help but laugh, even as I roll my eyes. When he grins down at me, I get all tingly inside. I don’t want to say I have butterflies…but yeah, I kinda do.
“See, sunshine? I’m not so bad, am I?”
“That’s yet to be determined, Wellington.”
He chuckles but doesn’t say a word. We walk in silence as Shane leads me to my seat. He pulls it out, raises an eyebrow at me, and waits for me to sit. My eyes narrow when he takes the chair next to me.
The grin that spreads across his face tells me he had everything to do with this particular seating arrangement.
“How fortunate am I that your beautiful sister decided to seat us right next to each other?” he asks, his eyes twinkling with teasing delight. “I barely even had to ask before she admitted she’d been planning it all along.”
I groan. Ugh. I completely forgot that, weeks ago, I told Ariana Shane was going to act as my date for the wedding. It was stupid. The night she asked me about Shane, I had let it slip, not thinking she’d actually remember. I’d figured with us both in the wedding parties it wouldn’t have mattered. And I hadn’t given it a second thought ever since.
“Lucky, indeed,” I mutter before taking a sip of my champagne and using the moment to study him up close. “Your hair is darker,” I blurt, my face flushing because he caught me staring at him. I didn’t notice that night at dinner, but tonight? The dark brown of his hair accentuates the blue of his eyes.
His answering grin sends heat straight between my legs. “Summer sun’s faded away, sunshine.”
“Too many long hours spent in the office? I don’t believe that. It’s the middle of winter and you still have a nice tan.”
He leans over, his lips just above my ear. “Let’s just say, last fall, I lost a bet with Branson and I had to go blond for a while. This is my natural color.”
“I wouldn’t say you lost.” The words are out before I can stop them—a theme whenever I’m around him, apparently.
His mouth curls up on one side. “So you’re saying I looked good blond?”
“Well, I did sleep with you, didn’t I?”
God, I can’t believe I’m so brazen, especially in public, where any one of our family members could overhear. Sure, we’re whispering, but I wouldn’t put it past Grandma Kate to have a hearing aid aimed in our direction. Though I doubt she actually needs one for anything but espionage purposes.
“Wanna see how the brown hair works out for you? You know, all in the name of research.”
YES!
Instead, I roll my eyes.
He laughs and squashes my hopes by dropping the subject. “So, Alyssa, since we’re here together, why don’t you tell me about you.”
This is when I notice other people—mostly the females in the room—staring at us with far too much interest for my taste. Shane raised his voice to appropriate conversation level, so I play along, appreciative.
“Born and raised in Atlanta. Undergrad at the University of Georgia, where I also received my MBA from the Terry College of Business. I started my internship at Wellsley-Callahan my sophomore year of college and haven’t looked back.”
“Impressive. I run in the same circles with Callahan—the younger—and we try to get together every so often on the golf course. Nice guy. Ambitious. And with a smokin’-hot girlfriend.”
I smile. “Sawyer—Mr. Callahan—and Cheyenne are great. So far, I’ve loved working for the company.”
And that’s how dinner continues.
For some reason, even with twenty other people around us, it feels like we’re the only two in the room.
For that same reason, I’m thrilled beyond measure.
Because, in a short amount of time, I’m reminded why I nearly fell for him so easily a year ago. And for the life of me, I can’t remember why I keep insisting on pushing him away.
