“Sorry. Just Dani,” I say into the phone as I slide out of my shirt, and toss it onto the bed.

“When do I get to meet this goddess then?” Mark asks.

“You’ll see her tonight, at dinner.”

“You’re coming to that?”

“Charlotte demanded it,” I say dryly.

“Oh, yeah, right. Since when have you done what Charlotte wanted?”

“Since it suits my interests.”

“Hmmm…that reminds me. Charlotte’s really swinging for the fences, isn’t she?”

I laugh when I remember the way she pawed at her so-called fiancé, trying everything but a lap dance to get his attention. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy less interested in getting married. He seemed uninterested in anything but his phone…and the popped collar of his shirt.”

“Tool?”

“Definitely.”

“How’s your girl doing?”

“Honestly, much better than I imagined. I thought she might be a little stiff at first, but she loosened up right away. I think she has a hidden competitive streak, and Charlotte set her off at the get go.”

“How could she not? She’s the Queen of Competitiveness,” he snorts. “She brings it out in everybody.”

“Not me. Maybe because she wasn’t worth competing over.”

“I take it you think Dani is, though.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I keep my voice mild. If Mark knew how far I would go for Dani…

“No? So you gave her asshole ex that little love tap, because you wanted to practice your right hook?”

“I knocked him on his ass because he deserved it. Any man who handles a woman that way deserves what he gets.”

“Fair enough.” He pauses. “Would you have done it for Charlotte?”

“Yes, if anybody had touched Charlotte like that when we were together, I would’ve knocked him out too.”

“Also fair. But that’s my point. You just compared the two of them like they’re on equal footing. They’re not. Unless I had too much too drink that night we met at the bar and misunderstood the situation, Dani’s not your actual girlfriend.”

I stand at the window and look down at the strip. “I know that.”

“You’re sure about that?”

I turn away from the window. I need to end this call. “Is this one of your pathetic attempts at busting my balls? You’re not good at it.”

“If I wasn’t good at it, you wouldn’t hate it.” He laughs. “Are you ever gonna tell her?”

I feel my body still. “Tell her what?”

“You know what. What this is really all about. How you don’t care about Charlotte and only brought her with you under false pretenses. Or were you planning on leading her on indefinitely?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m leading her on.”

“Oh, no?”

“No. She’s getting the money. She’s getting the weekend. I’m not lying to her about that.”

“No. Not about that.”

“Look, I don’t have time for this. Why don’t you focus on your duties as best man, instead of giving me shit?”

“All right, all right. I’ll back off. I can tell when I’ve hit a nerve. I’ll see you tonight.”

Damn him. One of the drawbacks to having a lifelong friend is the way they can see right through you. He knows me too well to let me get away with bullshit. No, I don’t know exactly how this is all going to end with her, or what she’s going to do when she finds out this was all under false pretenses. I only know that she has to be mine. I’ve known it since I saw her in my bed.

No. That’s not true. Even before then.

In the schoolyard. I was a kid, and I didn’t have a clue about the way of the world, but I knew I wanted her even then. I don’t know where the certainty came from, either. But it was there. Always. The certainty that she was it for me. Now that I’ve found her again, and I know what she’s grown into, I’m never letting her go.

* * *

“Come on. We’re going to be late,” I remind her from my spot by the front door for perhaps the third time. My blood pressure is on the rise.

“I’m sure they won’t mind even if we’re a few minutes behind,” she calls out from her bedroom. “Besides, it’s not like we have far to go. It’s right downstairs. Unless there’s an elevator traffic jam…”

“All right, all right, smartass. But if we’re going to do this together, one thing you need to know: I detest being late. I consider lateness to be a cardinal sin. The ultimate disrespect.”

“It’s a good thing we’re not actually running late, then.” She opens the door and steps out.

Staring at her, my jaw nearly hits the floor.

She starts walking towards the door, only to stop and turn towards me. “Coming?”

I shake myself out of my amazed stupor. I would run hours late if it meant waiting for this creature to be ready. I hardly know where to look first: the shining hair, arranged in curls on top of her head? The shimmering dress which looks as though it were made of liquid silver? It flows over her body, and constantly in motion, drawing the eye no matter how she moves. It shows off her ample cleavage and long, toned legs without being too much. I find that sexier than anything else, the fact that something is left to the imagination. I stride over to her and she slips her hand through the crook of my elbow. We walk together to the elevator. I lean forward and hit the button.

“How do I look?” she asks, biting down on her crimson bottom lip.

Fuck, I want to take her lip between my teeth and bite down until she hisses. I swallow hard before speaking. Even so, my voice shakes. “You look…ravishing.” It’s the simplest and the most honest way to describe her.

She blushes. “I’ve never been called that before.”

“You’ve never been with the right man before, then.” And that’s obvious. If Luke is any indication… “You should be reminded on a daily basis of how beautiful you are. How fortunate any man is to even be near you. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Now you’re embarrassing me.”

But the way her eyes shine tells me she likes it. She just isn’t used to it. She’ll just have to get used to it because I plan on complimenting her every day of our life together. I plan to rain compliments down on her until the only voice she hears in her head when she considers her looks is mine, telling her she’s the most glorious creature to ever walk the earth.

“I don’t mean to embarrass you,” I assure her. “You deserve to know how stunning you look right now. After all, you did ask.”

She grins. “That’s true. I did.”

“What’s more important is how you feel. How does all of this make you feel?”

She can see herself in the reflection off the elevator doors.

I watch as a shy smile spreads across her face.

“I feel…pretty. No, more than that. I’ve felt pretty before, but this is different. I feel like another person.”

“A little more powerful, maybe?” I suggest.

“Yes.”

“And sexy?”

She turns her face away but agrees, “Yes.”

I catch her chin in my fingers. Her skin feels like silk. I long to run my fingers down that long throat. And I will. Soon. Very soon. I smile at her. “That’s good. You don’t have to be embarrassed by that. You deserve to feel that way, because you are sexy. Men will fall at your feet tonight. I promise.” And I’ll want to kill every single one of them for even looking at her. This is going to be a difficult evening where I’ll have to toe the line between pretending to be the affectionate fiancé to the rest of the world while giving Dani the impression that I see nothing growing between us.

“Will they?” she whispers.

The doors open, but neither of us move. Instead, we stare at each other, her eyes wide and heartbreakingly beautiful.

She places a trembling hand on my chest. “Will they really fall at my feet?”

Blood surges to my cock and it’s only by supreme force of will that I don’t haul her over my shoulder, carry her back to my bed, and fuck her all night long. But that would ruin everything, of course, and even I will admit she was right to end things the way she did, out on the balcony. At that time, I didn’t feel so charitable about it, but I see now that it was the right move. I don’t do stolen nights…I want it all.

Instead of pulling her to me and letting my hands explore her luscious body, I pat the back of her hand. “Yes. They will. And I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you because of it.”

She takes my rejection like a champ, merely grinning as we make our way into the elevator. “Oh, great. I can hardly wait to have you trailing me around all night, punching any guy who dares speak a word to me.”

“I won’t have to trail around after you.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because I plan to have you like this all night.” I wrap an arm around her waist and hold her close to me. “No more distance than this. Right here.”

“That might make it a little difficult to eat,” she points out, her delicious tits pressed so sweetly against my abs.

“I’m sure we’ll think of something.” She’s too tempting, looking up at me with her luscious lips parted just so, and her breath coming shallow and fast. I can’t help myself, I bend my head and brush my lips against hers. Her sweet sigh gets me rock hard, and I very nearly lose my head. Thank God, then for Mark.

“Well. I can see now that I’ll be on my own for most of the night,” his voice announces from just outside the elevator.

I turn to see him smirking like the know-it-all he is.