Mark manages to stop being smug long enough to flash a smile at my fake fiancée. I can tell from the warmth in his voice that he’s impressed with her. And from the irritating way his eyes linger on her tits. Only when I clear my throat sternly does he bring his focus back to her face.

“Dani, this is Mark.”

“Mark. Of course.” She looks up at me with wide eyes. “Should you really be saying things like that out in the open?”

“What?”

“Introducing us like we’ve never met before,” she whispers, reminding me for all the world of a little girl trying to keep a secret from her daddy. Endearing as hell.

“It makes sense that you wouldn’t have met, since he’s on the west coast now.” I slide an arm around her waist because I just can’t help but touch her when she flashes those wide, innocent eyes at me.

“She’s smarter than you, brother.” Mark punches my shoulder. “Though the bar isn’t set all that high in the first place. No offense,” he adds, grinning conspiratorially at Dani.

She laughs, and I can’t help but note how instantly they have established some kind of rapport. I get the feeling they’ll be good friends one day. A stark difference from Mark’s uneasy, jealous-riddled relationship with Charlotte, which is what makes it so pathetically laughable that she would pretend he is her close friend after our break-up.

My best friend and Dani’s easy laughter is what I hear as we walk into the banquet room. It feels like further proof that my relationship with Dani is the real thing. It doesn’t matter that the huge room is chuock-full of people I’d normally cross the road to avoid. Or that at some point during this evening, someone will come up and bore me to death. I’m flying high, I have the world on my arm, and she’s laughing up at me with that beautiful face of hers.

And Charlotte can’t stand it. She rushes over to us with a brilliant smile.

God, I’ve seen that smile so many times. That I’m-pretending-to-be-exuberant-so-you’ll-be-jealous smile. Does she have any idea how obvious she is? Probably not, since that would require some measure of self-awareness, which she doesn’t possess.

“Now the party can really start!” she bubbles, wrapping both arms around one of Mark’s. “Wow. This is just like old times, isn’t it?”

“How so?” I ask, raising an eyebrow and pulling Dani a little closer.

“Oh, you know. The three of us, together again.” She gives Mark a little squeeze.

To his credit, he’s not laughing too hard. Yet. “Yes, whenever I think of us, the Three Musketeers come to mind,” he jokes. “And on that note, I need a drink. A stiff one.”

“Open bar,” she reminds us, her smile only faltering in the slightest when her eyes graze Dani’s response by wriggling against me.

Fuck, she has no idea how potent she is. It’s too much even for Charlotte. She mutters something about needing to talk to somebody and disappears into the crowd.

“I think we could all use a drink,” I announce.

Dani nods. Her jaw is clenched tight. She’s obviously not aware how deep under Charlotte’s skin she’s already gotten. But knowing her, she would never see herself in Charlotte’s league and wouldn’t believe it, and just change the subject.

“Jack and ginger. Make it two,” I request from the bartender.

Dani looks surprised.

“You’ll like it. Trust me. If you don’t, by all means, toss it, but you look like you need something strong.”

“Does it show?” She laughs shakily.

I respond by pulling her into me to the point where our bodies touch in too many places. She’s so warm, sweet, and supple. She trembles a little, which only makes my blood pump harder. Faster. Until I can’t hear anything but the pounding in my ears.

When I lean in, I brush my lips against her ear and can feel the shiver running through her. Holy shit, this is testing the limits of my control in ways nothing else ever has. “Remember what I said. How gorgeous you are. How you deserve to feel sexy.” My arm tightens around her waist in a vice. “And how I plan to keep you this close all night. Because tonight, you’re mine.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth opens in a soft gasp.

I smile slowly. She’s not quite as immune to me as she makes out.