“Not the very second,” she said. And then she squeezed his hand, and his heart tried to forget how temporary she was.
He reined it in. This was a business arrangement with hints of a good deed. It was a cause he supported in Amy’s memory, and even if he didn’t have that kind of emotional tie, who could argue with helping animals? Unfortunately, that thought had him back on the photo shoot, when out of the blue he’d wanted nothing more than to kiss the woman whose hand he held. “What about the shelter?” he asked. “Did you give them a quit date?”
This time her smile lit the room. “I didn’t have to. A photographer called in, wanting to know how she could help. Abbie told her she had impeccable timing.”
“So that’s it? You’re done?” He hated how shocked he sounded, as if he hadn’t paid attention to pretty much everything there was between them.
“It’s not like I left them hanging. Nothing lasts forever, Ethan.”
Yeah, he got that.
The ballroom was a ridiculously overdone silver and gold monstrosity. Standing there, with the endless patterns of riches stretching from floor to ceiling and covering everything in between, he had the almost sea-sickening feeling of being in a kaleidoscope. He was no structural engineer, but he’d bet money the floor threatened to collapse under the weight of the flowers and waiters with their trays packed with wine glasses. The setup didn’t even remotely hint at anything animal-related, but the strategy was probably on point. Spread the alcohol around, make the exits invisible, and keep a card reader on hand for liquored-up donations people would probably be too embarrassed to rescind in the hung-over light of day.
Rue immediately spotted Mimi Von Adler—who wore a bright, pointed feathery hat that made her look like a fucking macaw—and took off after her. Ethan wandered just a moment before finding Liam, who didn’t have any qualms about showing up alone—although he didn’t exactly face criticism for it, either.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” Liam asked.
Ethan snagged a glass from a passing waiter and took a sip before he answered. It didn’t go down smoothly. Beer would have been better, but if anyone was passing that around in those fancy flutes, he was none the wiser. “She’s checking with the Queen Mother about a fundraiser idea.”
Liam snorted. “I think you nailed the old lady on that one, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hat like that on anyone not at a costume party.”
“It’s more likely I insulted the Queen Mother.” Not that dead people worried too much about insults. Or about husbands moving on.
“So how’s it going outside of the single life?” Liam asked.
“Confusing,” Ethan said. “Half the time I feel bad about dating her, and the other half I’m twisting in the wind over the fact that she’s leaving soon.”
Liam shook his head. “Could you have two more opposite problems? Actually, make it one. That guilt is all in your head. You know Amy wouldn’t care. Hell, she’d probably push you out there herself. She would have never wanted you to be unhappy. You’re using her as an excuse, and she’s more than that. You know damn well that dating someone else now doesn’t take anything from what you shared with her.”
Ethan drained the glass. “You’re right. And for what it’s worth, that particular horse is out of the barn.”
“Did you just call Rue a horse?”
“Tell me he didn’t call me a horse.” Rue stepped from behind Ethan and flashed a grin at Liam that left Ethan feeling empty inside.
“I absolutely did not call you a horse. Did you talk to the…to Mrs. Von Adler?”
Rue beamed. “I did, and the calendar is a go. She didn’t question using shelter animals, despite the fact that they don’t have much of anything to do with the rainforest. All she did was verify the men would be half-clothed and ask that I make sure first copy went to her. Oh, and she wants at least one guy to be really hairy.”
“I really didn’t need to know that last part,” Ethan said.
“Um, what calendar?” Liam asked.
“Hot shirtless men holding baby animals,” she said. “Eye candy with a cuteness factor that’s off the charts. They’ll fly off the shelves.”
“I think I’ll just make a cash donation instead,” Liam said wryly.
“Don’t say that too loudly in here,” she advised. “My mother will want that in writing.”
“Excellent warning,” Liam said. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”
“Of course,” Rue said, laughing. “Ethan was just going to ask me to dance.”
Ethan looked after his departing brother for a lifeline, but that chance was quickly swallowed by the sea of guests milling about, trying to be seen. “I was?” His hesitance didn’t stem from wanting distance from her. He just wasn’t sure he wanted the whole world seeing the way he felt, especially when they’d all find out soon enough that she’d left. Though it was now among the least of his concerns, he didn’t want to deal with another round of pity—especially not with the first one still going strong.
She winked. “You were the one insisting on practice.”
“How could I have forgotten?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.
“You didn’t.”
He laughed, and his heart flip-flopped as her body pressed to his. Between the full-body contact and the way they danced way too slow for the music, it wasn’t his most platonic public display, but he didn’t really care. She felt too good to question. They felt good.
After three songs, he reluctantly let someone pull her off the dance floor, but he stayed close. Rue quickly introduced the woman as a conservation photographer, and the way Rue kind of gushed, Ethan had a feeling he’d just met royalty. He immediately wondered if she was connected to the internship, but then forgot to wonder as he was struck by how the two women lit up in the conversation. It was something to do with seal pups and underwater photography, and Ethan couldn’t even follow it because he was so taken with the absolute light and joy that Rue emanated over a topic she clearly loved. He’d seen it when she told him about her adventures, but this…this was something different.
This was something with which he couldn’t compete.
And as much as that should have bothered him, it didn’t. If anything, it erased any wish he harbored that they had more time. She didn’t belong in the city. She belonged in the Arctic or on the Amazon or wherever she could chase this passion of hers, and it didn’t matter how hard he’d fallen…the last thing he’d do was give her a reason to stay.
He’d play the part of her date for the night, but after that, things had to be over between them.
There wouldn’t be a reason left to hang on.
He’d keep telling himself that.
…
Rue had been to dozens of society events during her privileged upbringing, and she’d long grown bored with the pomp and circumstance. The fancy clothes annoyed her. The holier-than-thou attitudes disgusted her. And the fact that the majority of people who started a conversation with her seemed to be looking for an opening to crow about themselves didn’t help.
But this night was different.
It might have been because she knew she’d have to deal with Boyd, and it may have been because she wanted so badly to win his grandmother’s approval for her calendar, but it wasn’t either of those things.
It was Ethan.
Ethan getting to her in a way no one ever had. Being real. She hadn’t realized just how self-absorbed her last few flings were, particularly the model, until she immersed herself in all things Ethan Chase. He didn’t have a vapid bone in his body. He was the most genuine person she’d ever known, and the fact that he came packaged in scintillating hotness didn’t hurt a thing. And if he was good to look at, there were no words for what he was in bed. God help her if he was out of practice, because already that man could bring her to her knees with a simple look, and she knew exactly how to bide the time when she got down there.
She shivered at the thought, and immediately he h
ad his arm around her. Just like an actual boyfriend might, but not like any she’d ever had. Of course, she hadn’t exactly trekked into the realm of an actual relationship—they’d all failed too quickly, except the one that had lasted and gone down in spectacular flames anyway. No wonder she hated emotional ties and relationship protocol and the society that demanded they be “right.” For as long as she could remember, she’d wanted to break free from all of that. Now she was on the verge on doing so—not just for what amounted to an adventurous vacation, but for the long term—and something was pulling her back.
Something was telling her not to walk away from Ethan.
She figured it had to be the stress of the night, but most of her anxiety had dissipated once Mimi Von Adler had approved the association between Rue’s calendar and her charity. She’d loved the idea, even agreeing to have staffers handle production and fulfillment of orders after Rue put the layout together. The necessary contracts would be in Rue’s inbox first thing Monday, and Bridget had sort of wink-nudged that the internship was Rue’s. But more than that, she’d told her about a job offer with one of her colleagues that would pay travel expenses and a salary. Rue could start immediately, or she could start when the internship ended. Either way, her dream was coming true.
Ethan touched her arm. “Anything wrong?”
“Actually, no. The calendar approval is a load off, and talking with Bridget, I’m pretty jazzed about the internship.”
“I could tell,” he said. “I can see how much it means to you.”
“I wish my mother would,” she said, glancing in the direction she’d last seen her. The woman was in absolute denial over what her daughter wanted. As many times as Rue had told her what she was going to do, she had a feeling her departure would come as a shock.
“So if you win, is it safe to assume you’ll be in the Arctic soon?” His usual demeanor had slipped a notch. In the short time she’d known him, he’d quickly become her biggest supporter. Perhaps it was the gala itself, or maybe he was thinking of Amy.
She forced a smile, though his distraction unsettled her. “No, the seal pups are born in the spring. If I’m awarded the internship, I’ll be in the Galapagos.”
“Just like that,” he asked, “you pick up and go to the Galapagos? It’s that easy?”
She frowned. “It’s not always easy, but it’s the job. It’s not like they never plan ahead, but if sharks are swarming somewhere and you care about sharks, you need to get your butt on a plane and immerse yourself in that. If you’re not passionate enough to go to the far-flung corners, it’ll show in your work. They want people who are passionate.”
He shook his head, and by her guesstimate, it was half from thinking she was nuts and half out of respect. “They’d be crazy not to take you.”
She didn’t tell him about the job offer. She couldn’t, and not just because she was struck by how he genuinely seemed to believe in her.
A shadow crossed her vision before she had a chance to melt into the floor. “Well, if it isn’t the happy couple.”
Boyd Von Adler. And he sure couldn’t fill out a tux like Ethan could. His dark hair was plastered down to the point of being immobile, and his movements lacked Ethan’s quiet confidence. But Boyd did have one thing right. She and Ethan were a happy couple in every sense of the word. At least, for the next few hours.
“I’m glad you finally understand that,” she said.
“I understand. I understand that you’ve been lying to me. I asked around, and everyone who knows your boyfriend here knows he’s still faithfully married to a dead woman.” Boyd leaned in, obliterating her personal space. “I don’t like being lied to.”
Ethan didn’t say anything, but a quick glance told her he was on the verge of saying a lot of things. She laced her fingers through his and gave a gentle squeeze.
A couple of people watched them, so she forced her voice low and her tone calm. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Ethan and I are seeing each other. And whether or not I’m seeing anyone, you don’t get to stake a claim on me. I. Am. Not. Interested. So back off.”
He did, an inch. And then a smirk crossed his face. “How about we discuss this over a dance?”
Boyd was already tugging on her arm when Ethan stepped into his space, eyes blazing. “She said she wasn’t interested.” He wasn’t loud, but he was firm enough to stop Boyd in his tracks.
“What are you going to do about it?” Boyd sneered. “I have enough money to buy you and your quaint little family business and bury you all. I don’t suggest you make an enemy of me.”
“And I don’t suggest you make a victim of yourself.”
The words, hard as steel, cut through Rue for all the wrong reasons. Sizzling, delightful reasons. Hello, Ethan’s inner caveman. But the amusement was short lived, because Ethan was taller, broader, and infinitely more furious than Boyd, and she had the distinct feeling Ethan wasn’t just talking shit.
She eased between them, Ethan’s hand firmly in her grasp, and took a step away from Boyd. With her back against Ethan’s front, he had little choice but to go with it. To Boyd, she said, “Are you not familiar with the word no? Because if you don’t, learn it. You keep pushing me, and I’ll press charges. Either that, or I’ll let go of Ethan’s hand.”
“If he touches me, he’ll go to jail.” Despite the threat, Boyd’s words wavered with a hint of uncertainty.
“If you touch her,” Ethan said in that deadly calm voice, “I’ll go to jail. And you can take all the satisfaction in that you want, but all the money and plastic surgeons in the world won’t be able to fix your face.”
Caveman Ethan was hot. A freaking inferno. And Boyd apparently had at least one brain cell because he wisely took a step back. “He won’t always be there, you know.”
There went the brain cell.
“Whether he is or not,” Rue said, “the answer is no. I suggest you keep that in mind.”
Boyd scowled and looked as if he wanted to say something, but a quick glance at the growing number people watching them had his jaw snapping shut. “We’ll finish this conversation later,” he said.
After he disappeared into the crowd, Ethan said, “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“He’s just posturing. I think he knows he lost.”
Ethan turned her in his arms, no apparent concern for the lingering looks cast their way. “I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who ever knows that. Knowing would require admitting it, even to himself.”
“He and I have known each other for a while. We were actually friends somewhere between the ages of boys are icky and college. He was interested but he never pushed so hard that I worried about his intentions. If his parents are laying on the same kind of pressure mine are, I almost don’t blame him for snapping.”
Ethan’s green eyes flashed. “Don’t justify what he’s doing.”
“I’m not,” she said quickly. “Just telling you there’s more there, but that doesn’t mean I trust him.”
His face relaxed and his arms tightened around her. God, she wanted to dissolve into him. Or, screw that. She wanted to go to bed with him. She wanted him to take all that possessive, animalistic protectiveness and love her with it. “How about we get out of here?”
His brow quirked. “And do what?”
She stretched until her lips brushed his ear and whispered, “Get out of these clothes.”
“What about your hob-knobbing?”
“I paid for my ticket, and I arranged for some extra credit. I think I’ve done my part. Unless you want to spend some time with your family—”
“I work with them—all of them—six days a week, and we have dinner together on Sundays, although I have been known to skip a day in favor of a hot air balloon ride. I think we’ll all be okay.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
He didn’t argue that time. Just let her lead him through the doors and onto the sidewalk, where the night air felt heavenly. He must have had the same th
ought, because he immediately lost the bow tie and unbuttoned his collar. “God, that feels better. Want to grab some iced coffee?”
“Yeah,” she said with a wicked little grin, “but let’s get it to go.”
Chapter Fourteen
If there was anything odd about a couple in formal wear walking around Central Park in the relative middle of the night, no one showed it. But appearances weren’t everything. Despite the casual nature of the slow, moonlit stroll, she was wound so tightly, she thought she would explode. The park wasn’t anywhere near empty on a night like that, but the playgrounds were, and she didn’t hesitate to pull Ethan to the first one they passed.
“I don’t think you’re dressed for the playground,” he said. “Besides, isn’t it closed at this hour?”
She shrugged. “The gate’s open. And there’s something I really want to do.”
“One of these days I’ll learn to stop asking questions,” he muttered. But he followed her to the back side of a large stone feature and didn’t hesitate when she dragged him in for a kiss that quickly turned from semi-decent PDA to the kind of thing that had her wanting to fling clothes to the ground.
He broke free of the kiss, breathless. “Jesus, woman. What you do to me.”
“I hope that’s not a complaint.” As she spoke, she rubbed the hard ridge his pants did little to disguise.
With a growl, he launched back into the kiss, dragging her gown upward around her hips, freeing her to wrap her legs around him while he ground against her. Every inch of him was hard, the pressure exquisite. She absolutely longed for him to plunge his fingers—or something else—inside her, but she had a feeling the sweet relief would only cripple her.
“This is new,” he murmured against her lips. “Wanting you like this.”
“How do you want me?”
He pulled back to kiss her neck, then closed his teeth gently on her ear. The contact sent an unexpected thrill through her, almost distracting her from the unanswered question.
The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) Page 15