Bemelmans was pretty busy for a Wednesday night, so Edward decided to grab a small table close to the music. Soft jazz came from a sax and a piano, and it was just the atmosphere he needed to cool off from a bad day.

As he tipped his martini back, laughter floated above the music from female voices at a table on the opposite side of the room. Edward turned his attention toward a small party of ladies and smiled as they raised their glasses before cheering and drinking them down.

He was amused at their matching sashes. Bachelorette party on a weeknight? He shrugged it off knowing that anything was possible in Manhattan and enjoyed the show. He kept his eyes on the blonde with the crown on her head until the long-haired brunette caught his eye. She was strikingly beautiful, her hair cascading in large curls down over her shoulders and down her back. The dark blue dress she wore hugged her curves perfectly, and her long, slender legs were paired with perfect stiletto heels.

Most men would imagine what a woman like that could do in bed, but Edward’s first thought was pulling those shoes off her tired and achy feet after a night of dancing. He could almost see it—her legs dangling over his, his hands massaging them through her pantyhose as she leaned back and closed her eyes. He would watch the satisfaction on her face as he rubbed the aches and pains away.

She turned toward him, and his eyes widened. He felt his heart work a little harder and the familiar fire being lit from deep inside. “Mia Walker,” he whispered. He remembered the way her picture made him feel.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to detest her, but it wasn’t possible. She tossed her head back, and she laughed when her bride-to-be friend drank a shot, her face wrinkling in disgust. How could anyone hate a woman like that? The longer he watched her, the more he ached to get closer to her.

As if fate was on his side, Mia broke away from the group, several empty glasses in her hands. He downed his own and met her at the bar.

“I can send a waitress to your table, Miss.” The bartender reached over and pulled her glasses toward him. He silently cursed the bartender for being so attentive, patiently waiting for him to walk away with the empty glasses and her order.

“That’s okay. I had to get away from them for a couple of minutes.” As Mia spoke, Edward immediately recognized her voice from the phone call he’d taken.

“Getting a little rowdy, huh?” the bartender asked.

“A little, and I apologize. My girlfriend is getting married this weekend, and this was the only night we could all get together to celebrate. If we get too loud, let me know. We can go down the street to Lexicon’s.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. What can I get for you?”

“Two La Fleur de Paradis, three shots of ginger brandy, two whiskey smashes, and a chardonnay, please.”

The bartender nodded and walked off.

“Let me guess,” Edward said, his eyes focused on the empty glass in his hand. “You’re the chardonnay.” He waited for her to look over at him, then turned his focus on her, giving her his all.

“I am,” she said, smiling. Her eyes glistened. “And you? Martini?”

“Is it the glass that gave me away?”

“Yeah,” she said with a giggle.

“I’m not normally a martini kind of guy, but it helps me lose myself a little faster.”

“Problems in paradise?”

“More like corporate hell.”

“Ick,” she said, crinkling her nose. “I know exactly what you mean.” Her eyes narrowed. “Pardon me for being forward, but have we met? There’s something a bit familiar about you. Not so much your face, but your voice. I feel like we’ve talked before.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t believe so. I think I would have remembered a voice as sweet as yours.”

She bowed her head and smiled shyly, capturing Edward’s heart a little more.

“Come on, Mia!” Two of her friends interrupted as they grabbed her arms. “This is a no-flirting zone! And you, mister, are trespassing,” the blonde scolded as she pointed her long red fingernail at him. “This is a girl’s night only. We need to dance.” They pulled her away, stealing her from him faster than she’d hung up on him the last time they spoke.

“Sorry,” she mouthed as they dragged her back past their table.

He watched them, amused as they danced on a stage platform to a catchy jazzy tune. Mia stole a few glances his way when her friends weren’t paying attention. She had no idea who he was, and after their brief encounter, he could tell she wasn’t the coldhearted bitch his father made her out to be. Far from it.

Before the end of the song, Mia had abandoned her attempts at stealing glances and had turned so Edward was completely in her view. Her face had changed, and her playful flirting was getting more serious. Remembering his father’s words, Edward chuckled to himself. If his father only knew how badly he could mess things up for him.

He stayed at his table as he watched Mia dance with her friends. She motioned for him to join her, but he knew it would be trouble if he got involved with her. This wouldn’t be only a good time if he allowed himself the pleasures of Mia’s company. He raised his glass and nodded as he took another sip. Although he mentally told himself he wasn’t going any further with this, he ordered another drink, knowing full well how his inhibitions would be lowered.

“Here you are, sir.”

The waitress set his drink down, blocking his view of Mia. When he looked back at her, she had her arms dangling on another man’s shoulders, his hands on her waist and his eyes down her dress. His hair slicked back and short, the man was dressed in a suit much like Edward’s, but cut well; Italian perhaps.

This lit a fire inside Edward’s chest, one he’d never felt before. He wanted to jump out of his chair and tackle the man to the ground, but he forced himself to stay put as he watched the man lick his lips and move his hands down her sides to her ass.

Each time she pushed them back up, he glided them down again. He moved in to kiss her neck, but she counter-blocked him just in time. When he pulled her into him and grabbed her ass again, Edward got up, leaving his drink sitting on the table, and walked quickly toward them.

“Excuse me,” he said. He stood very tall and looked down at the man as he pulled Mia away and wedged himself in between them, his back to the guy.

“I believe I was dancing with the lady.” The guy made the mistake of puffing his chest out and pushing against him, much like Jack would have. Edward couldn’t really let Jack know how he really felt through his fist, but he had no problems telling this guy. He turned around and stepped forward, his nose coming into contact with the Italian’s forehead.

“I believe you’re finished.”

Edward stood his ground until the guy backed down and walked away, mumbling obscenities under his breath. He moved Mia to the other side of the dance floor, his hands still wrapped around her arms. He wanted to scold her for putting herself in such a compromising position. She kept her head down, stepping closer to him, her eyes barely visible to him. She didn’t pull away, and she didn’t seem to want him to leave.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Thank you for that.” She leaned toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. A heat consumed him, his eyes smoldering as she looked up at him.

Her perfect red lips parted. “Dance with me,” she whispered.

But he stood there, watching every feature on her face. Her bright brown eyes all-consuming, imprisoned by her long black eyelashes, her tiny button nose, her glossy red lips. He wanted to feel her against his body as he destroyed her lipstick. He wanted to bury his hands in that long, luscious hair and hold it tightly in his balled-up fists as he made love to her.

A smile slowly spread across her lips as her eyes studied his face.

“You planned that, didn’t you?” he asked, realizing he had been played.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“What if it didn’t?”

“I guess I’d be going home with someone I wasn’t as attracted to.” She looked up at him, and it made his manhood jump to attention. She chuckled and looked away.

“What’s funny?” he asked, pulling her attention back to him.

“I told myself after the last disastrous date, I was going to ward myself off guys forever.”

“So, why am I standing here, so close, moments away from kissing you?” His heart raced, and his fingers felt cold.

“You’re going to kiss me?” Her words were breathy and pensive.

They stood still, staring into each other’s faces as the world around them fell away. He swore he could hear her heartbeat. Goosebumps formed at every touch of her fingertips as they contacted the back of his hand. He took her hand in his and intertwined his fingers in hers. She slowly moved her hand up his arm to his neck and slid her hand behind his head.

“This feels so good,” she said, allowing the gap to close between them.

He felt her gently pull him toward her, their lips barely touching. The anticipation of such a kiss was overwhelming, almost euphoric. He felt her warm breath on his mouth with each shaky breath that escaped her.

“Who are you?” she asked in a light whisper.

“Kiss me, and you’ll find out.” He closed his eyes.

A cell phone ringing in the far distance slowly brought the music and laughter back to them. It was the first time he broke his gaze from hers. He clenched his jaw until the ringing in his pocket stopped. Directing his attention back to her, he reached up and cupped her face. “I want to know you, Mia.”

She looked at him with confusion. “How do you know my name?”

“Your friend over there,” he said, without missing a beat. “When she pulled you away from me.”

“Oh,” she said, still confused. She looked over at her group of friends and then back at Edward, still not completely convinced.

“Where were we?” he asked, pulling her into him. He felt the familiar ringing in his pocket and annoyance surfaced on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said. He pulled his phone out, and she let him go. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Yep. Better get that.”

He did, against everything he wanted to believe in. She was upset at his decision to take the call over her kiss, and she turned away from him. He saw his father’s name on his caller ID and walked off the dance floor as he took the call. When he turned back toward Mia, she had gone back to her friends, dancing and laughing as if he hadn’t just turned her down. He watched her dance while listening to his father talk about an important dinner that he expected Edward to attend the following evening.

Mia looked back at him, disappointment still on her face but an understanding that she somehow knew the predicament he was in.

“Can I expect you to be there?” his father asked.

Edward turned away from the dance floor. “I guess, sure. I’m not sure why you couldn’t have told me about it before now or wait until I got into the office in the morning. I may have had other plans, but hey, I’ll drop everything last minute and make sure I’m there.”

“See? This is why you’ll never make it to the top. If you ever want to run your own company, you have to make sacrifices.”

“I know. Thanks again for the lecture. I told you I’d be there.”

A click on the other end told him his father was done with the conversation. He shook his head and pocketed his phone as he walked back toward Mia. He saw different people dancing to a new song, but Mia and her friends were nowhere to be found. He scanned the room and noticed their belongings were gone from their table.

“Damn it.”