Chapter One

In all the years he’d attended these highfalutin shindigs, Reed Fletcher had seen plenty of beautiful women try to make the most attention-grabbing entrance imaginable. Given they were all loaded—thanks to their husbands, fathers, or sugar daddies—each of them had the means to afford the perfect get-up, the fanciest fuck-me shoes, and the most popular socialite stylist to make the rest of the package just as tempting.

Last he’d heard Mia Carderas hadn’t married rich. Or married at all, for that matter. And he knew damn well that her daddy wasn’t floating her cash, since there wasn’t any to float.

But when she appeared at the top of the marble staircase in a red, curve-loving mermaid dress, he was sure he’d never been more captivated by a woman in all of his life. And he’d appreciated plenty of women in his thirty-two years.

Mia’s dark chocolate hair spilled over one shoulder in a thick curtain of glossy curls, and her molasses eyes twinkled like the holiday lights strung from one end of the ballroom to the other. From the collective hush that fell over the room full of politicians and corporate highbrow, he wasn’t the only man who felt the guttural pull of attraction or the ball-tightening lust.

Mia was feminine fucking perfection.

With a knowing smile on her crimson lips, she floated down the stairs with the confidence and grace of a queen about to claim her throne. She accepted every hand, every hug, every kiss across her knuckles without hesitation and then...

She slipped her arm into that of corporate raider Ben Montgomery, and Reed’s hot air balloon ride down memory lane crashed and burned like the damn Hindenburg.

Mia was with Ben-fucking-Montgomery? The biggest asshole in all of Corporate, Nebraska? No goddamn way. Reed had met the guy a couple years ago at this same holiday fundraiser and the bastard’s ego had barely fit into the room. His no-holds-barred reputation had only grown more ruthless since then and Reed could barely look at the man without wanting to punch him in the face on the sole basis of him being such a dick.

What the hell was Mia doing with a guy like that?

From his low-key position at the bar, Reed watched the couple work the room, hoping for clues that they weren’t really an item. Hell, maybe Montgomery had even hired Mia to keep him company tonight because Reed couldn’t come up with any other reason why a man of such social high-assery would want to spend time with a shy, quiet woman who filled her time running a non-profit for troubled teens.

Only this Mia didn’t appear to be the timid, unassuming girl he remembered from his childhood. Instead, she looked like a woman who knew exactly the kind of power she held, reining in all of those wily eyes with nothing more than a smile. Shit, she already had half the men on invisible leashes, panting like lap dogs, eager for a split-second of her attention.

Montgomery seemed to be the most smitten of them all and, as a man who’d once been her protector, Reed didn’t like the proprietary look in the guy’s eyes. Not one goddamn bit.

“Some guys have all the luck, eh?” The bartender with thick black gauges in his ears leaned against the glossy counter opposite Reed. “What I wouldn’t give for five minutes on that little carnival ride.”

Reed raised an eyebrow. “Mia?”

“Malia, you mean?” The young hipster chuckled. “I bet she carries a whip and a collar in her panties.”

Mia? He’d never thought of her as anything more than the pretty, yet awkward girl with whom he’d shared all of his summers and weekends, scraping egg yolk, melted cheese and guacamole off of diner plates. And Malia? Shit, he hadn’t heard anyone call her that in years.

He glanced back to where she and Montgomery chatted with Montgomery’s partner, Connor Adler. Adler bent to kiss her forehead and, for the faintest of moments, Reed saw Mia’s guard slip. Her comfort came through in the momentary color in her cheeks and the flutter of her long, made-up eyelashes.

“You think they’ve both done her? You know, at the same time?” The young bartender chuckled and Reed swiveled around, jaw clenched.

“Excuse me?”

The kid grinned. “They’re business partners, the three of them. Can’t you see it? After-hours meetings. Bodies spread out over the conference tables. Montgomery taking it in the ass while—”

“Hold up.” Reed lifted a hand. He sure as hell didn’t need that visual. “Business partners?”

“Yeah. Well, that’s the rumor anyway. From the trenches of the legal department all the way to the top. Looking at the three of them together, it’s not hard to figure out how she did it.”

No fucking way. Reed found her in the crowd again and grimaced. Twelve years and he still felt the urge to kick ass for her. And just what the hell happened to the non-profit her mother had talked his ear off about just last week?

“You see what I’m saying?” The bartender nudged him in the arm, though Reed’s eyes had never left the trio. He watched as Montgomery handed Mia off to Adler and then as Adler deftly swept her onto the dance floor. Reed also trailed Montgomery back through the crowd, where he slowed his trek at a blonde standing on the sidelines of the ballroom.

The pause wasn’t long enough for conversation, but something transpired in that moment, because no sooner did the guy walk out of the room than the blonde discarded her champagne glass and followed after.

“You want another drink?” the bartender asked.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks though.” Reed stood, tucked a few bills in the tip jar, and set off toward the same exit as Montgomery.

Putting a discreet amount of space between himself and the couple, he followed them to a hall behind the hotel’s kitchen and watched as they ducked into a room together. The telltale click of the lock set Reed’s blood boiling.

Regardless of whether or not Mia had a three-way going with Montgomery and Adler, he was pretty sure her “date” shouldn’t be screwing around in a broom closet with another woman. Part of him was tempted to kick in the door and drag the loser out by his balls, but another part of him recognized the opportunity for what it was—his chance to get close to Mia after all these years..

* * *

“I’m glad you came tonight.”

Malia spun out of and then back into Connor’s arms in the middle of the dance floor. Around them, the most astute of Nebraska’s political scene got their holiday swagger on. Some danced, some drank, and every single one of them looked like they had a stick stuck up their ass sideways.

“Wish I could say the same,” she replied frankly because there was no point in lying to Connor. Sometimes she wondered how much better he seemed to know her than even the man she’d been set to marry. The man that, two days ago, she’d caught between his secretary’s legs.

“Ben’s a dick. I won’t even try and justify what he’s done, because he doesn’t deserve it and your relationship isn’t my business. However, speaking as your future business partner, I appreciate that you’ve set aside his mistakes in order to protect Montgomery & Adler. If only for tonight. We’re so close to sealing the deal on the Canton campaign, I can taste it. We show any cracks in our foundation, and they’ll walk, simple as that.”

She loved Connor, she really did, but when he had his game face on, he was just as intense and forward-focused as Ben. She much preferred the laid back Connor. The guy who called her at six o’clock in the morning for instructions on how to make an omelet for his girlfriend.

How was she going to tell Connor that she’d been having second thoughts about partnering up? She knew he meant well, but there was no denying that the only reason he and Ben were willing to let her into their empire was because she had the token tits.

Okay, so maybe there was a little more to it than that. She was good at what she did, even if she’d stumbled into the role because she’d worn a low cut blouse to a critical meeting. Quite literally. She wouldn’t deny that she still flaunted her femininity when a deal called for it, but beneath it all, she was judicious and compassionate. She didn’t want to see companies go under any more than their boards did, but sometimes failure was inevitable.

“You know the Canton deal is important to me, too.” And it was. It was her baby, after all, and it had the potential to be her biggest payout yet. She could already envision the new youth centers she’d be able to build with her commission. “But I can’t trust Ben anymore, and this ridiculous ring on my finger? It’s cutting off my damn circulation. I should’ve flushed it down the toilet.”

Connor smirked. “I know I’ve asked a lot of you, but please, Malia, don’t do anything crazy until Canton signs.”

She’d already told Ben it was over and he knew she’d only put the ring back on in order to help Montgomery & Adler save face tonight. When the night was over—and when the Canton deal was settled—she and Ben were over, too. Seeing him with Quinn the other day was like the pinch she needed to come out of the fog.

This career wasn’t really for her and neither was Ben Montgomery.

Ben wasn’t as convinced that they were over—more to point, he’d vowed to change her mind—but there was no going back. Not after catching him and Quinn bare assed on his desk.

She took a courageous breath as the song came to an end and the band began to play a more romantic tune.

“You should dance with your girlfriend,” she prodded, turning Connor so he faced Danielle, who’d been stuck talking to Senator Henry for the last ten minutes. “I’ll relieve her and send her your way if you promise you won’t get mad when I skip out early.”

“As long as you say goodbye to Canton and his cronies, I don’t care what you do. Just don’t get caught going at it with one of the waiters. Keep that shit behind closed doors.”

Malia rolled her eyes. “I’ve been single for two days, Con.”

“So? Single is single.”

No thanks. No way could she even think about another man with the bitter taste of Ben’s betrayal still sour in her in mouth.

Connor led her off the dance floor, and Malia smiled as he deftly tugged his girlfriend away from the senator. The couple melted into each other and then into the mass of couples swaying back and forth to the music.

Had she and Ben ever looked like that? In love and so lost in each other?

Not a chance in hell. If she was honest with herself, the ring on her finger had never really belonged. Still, she’d accepted it because what woman in her right mind would refuse Ben Montgomery? He could be very sweet when he wanted to be, and he’d supported her passion for helping troubled teens. He’d even given her non-profit a hefty donation before she could afford to fully fund it on her own.

But money obviously wasn’t the only thing he gave freely, the cheating jerk.

“You look beautiful as always, Ms. Carderas,” the senator said in that creepy way only he could, and Malia swapped an instantaneous cringe for her best fake smile.

“Thank you, Senator Henry. You look awfully dapper yourself tonight.” If dapper meant fake-baked to within an inch of being charbroiled, anyway.

“Ah, well, thank you, dear.” His dark brown eyes crinkled around the edges as a waiter paused in front of them with a tray of champagne. The senator took two glasses, handing her one.

She took a sip and scanned the room casually. “Another wonderful turnout,” she commented, not really surprised to see the richest of the rich, including Senator Henry, in attendance one again. They didn’t come for the charity alone—they came to brag about how well their bottom lines were looking for the year just to piss each other off.

“Yes, it is, darling. In fact, I think I even saw an old friend of yours at the bar earlier.”

An old friend? Tipping her head to the side, she frowned. “Pardon?”

“You grew up in River Bend, didn’t you?”

Malia blinked. “How do you know that?”

“I knew your father once upon a time. He never told you?”

“No. He didn’t.” Her Mexican immigrant, burger-slinging dad, knew a politician?

“Ah, well, it was a long time ago.” The gleam in his eyes dulled a bit, but he continued on. “You should look for your friend. I’m sure he’d be very happy to see how well you’re doing for yourself.”

Somehow she doubted that. She didn’t have friends in River Bend anymore and hadn’t for years. Whoever was here wasn’t likely to be anyone she cared to see, and her chest began to burn with a panic she hadn’t felt in years.

“Who is it?” she asked, eagerly scanning the crowd. Not that she would run over and throw her arms around whoever it was, but it was possible, if the person was one of the mean and hateful ones that had made her teenage years a living hell, that she might gather her ex-fiancé and make him useful one last time.

But the senator offered nothing. He just smiled and perused the gathering of people as well. “There he is,” he finally said, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her toward the staircase, but no one jumped out at her. An older woman in a green dress, a waiter with a tray of empty glasses, a blond man in a gorgeous charcoal suit and a crimson tie...

Oh. My. God.

“Reed.”

And he was looking right at her.