Nora’s eyes became watery with regret for a moment. She recovered quickly, though, pasting a smile on her face and patting Sunny’s hand. “But then you joined The Revue and you’re such a lovely soul, Sunny, just like your gran. It’s like I have a second chance now, and seeing you with Cole does my heart a world of good. So thank you for taking him on, dearie. I know he can be quite challenging, but so was his grandda. The man would have worked himself into an early grave if I hadn’t come along to distract him, and I just want my Cole to be happy, truly happy like his grandda was.”
Sunny felt her own eyes brimming with tears. And if she still had any doubts about Cole’s plan to ease Nora’s mind in the last months of her life, they disappeared.
She squeezed Nora’s hand back, and said, “You’re right. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Your approval is all I need.”
“That’s right!” Nora told her. “The rest of them can kiss our Irish behinds!”
Sunny laughed. “But I’m not Irish, Nora.”
“I’m giving you honorary citizenship,” Nora informed her. “’Cos I’m rich, and I can do whatever I want.”
Sunny’s reply of laughter was interrupted by a musical swell, and then all conversation came to an end as all eyes turned toward the stage, where an older man in a tux came to stand behind the podium.
After a few opening jokes, he said, “I was honored to receive this award last year, after 35 years in Las Vegas, and even though tonight’s award winner won’t be able to enjoy AARP membership for at least 20 years, I fully approve of the board’s choice. This young man has drive and has done more for his family’s business holdings in ten years than I’ve done in 35. I couldn’t be more honored to present this year’s Businessperson of the Year award to Cole Benton, CEO of the Benton Holdings.”
Polite applause sounded and Sunny turned to Cole with wide eyes. “Wait, you’re the Businessperson of the Year? Oh, my gosh, congratulations! Why didn’t you tell me?”
She felt slightly guilty, thinking of how she’d tried to get out of coming here with him earlier. She would have not only stranded him without a date, but she also would have diminished the experience for his grandmother, who might not have many more chances to see her grandson receive awards like this one.
Cole just smirked and gave her a peck on her surprised mouth before standing up and finally letting go of her hand.
His speech was short and to the point. An almost terse list of milestones The Benton Group had reached under his leadership and an only slightly less terse list of what he had planned for the corporation’s future.
Sunny could tell he wasn’t even trying to amuse the crowd as the man who’d introduced him had. In fact, if his body language was any indicator, he thought all this pomp and circumstance was silly, and he’d much rather be in his office, making The Benton Group as great as his vision for it, rather than giving all these overstuffed businesspeople a bullet list.
Sunny’s heart swelled with happiness for him, anyway. This was a special night for both Cole and his grandmother, and she was very proud of him.
But then his stance softened a bit, and instead of irritated, he seemed slightly uncomfortable as he said, “But before I go, I’d like to thank one person in particular...”
To Sunny’s surprise, his eyes landed on her. “Sunny Johnson, we’ve only known each other a short time, but you’ve made my life brighter. This award means more to me because you’re by my side. Thank you.”
Sunny didn’t realize her heart had stopped beating for a few moments while he spoke, until it came back with a thunderous roar. His sentiment was easily the nicest thing any man had ever said about her in public. And even though she knew it was just Cole acting a part, she couldn’t help but be touched.
Nora also seemed moved by Cole’s unexpected words of gratitude toward Sunny. “He really seems truly smitten with you,” she said, her eyes full of wonder. Like Sunny was some kind of miracle worker. “It’s just like when his grandda and me met. Oh, we knew. Right away we did.”
“Excuse me,” Sunny said, standing up.
She hated to be so abrupt with Nora, but she suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. Cole had no idea what she’d been through with Derek, or how his words, no matter how fake, would affect her. She rushed to the bathroom, needing a moment to compose herself before she could face Cole and play her part again.
Luckily the restroom was empty. She braced herself against the marble sink, letting the cool surface seep into her hands. She breathed and reminded herself, “It’s just an act. It’s just an act...” until the tears backed down and she could feel her emotions leveling out.
She gave herself five more minutes, wishing she could splash her face with a little cool water before she went back out there, but it would be hard to play her part make-up free.
Instead, she reached into her purse and applied another smear of lipstick across her full mouth.
Mask back on, she opened the door to face Cole and return to being the new love of his life—only to run straight into someone’s chest. Someone’s very muscular chest.
“Oh, no...” she said, her face full of apologies as she looked up, way up, at one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen.
Even if she hadn’t met Max at Nora’s Christmas event, she would have recognized him as Cole’s brother. His features were also chiseled, but in a way that brought to mind a Greek statue as opposed to a predatory bird. The only thing that kept him from being too pretty was the slightly askew angle of his nose, a ridged testament to a long-ago break that didn’t properly set. His hair was also much darker than Cole’s, black and silky, but his eyes were the same light green.
However, whereas Cole’s eyes were piercing, Max’s had a playfully wicked gleam in them that Sunny suspected just might be permanent.
“Hi, again, Max,” Sunny said, then she grimaced at the brown smudge on his formerly crisp white tuxedo shirt. “Sorry for getting makeup on your shirt.”
“So it’s true, you’re here with my brother,” he said with a shake of his head. “Just goes to prove what Grandpa used to say, ‘Nora always gets her way.’”
“Ah, well...” Sunny didn’t know how she felt about not only lying to Nora about the nature of her relationship with Cole, but also to his brother. “I’m just glad we could make her happy.”
She reached into her clutch and pulled out a makeup remover wipe. “Here, let me get that,” she said, wiping her makeup off his shirt.
“Wow, that actually worked,” he said, when she finished, and his shirt was once again white.
“These wipes are like magic. I can’t tell you how many times they’ve saved me from a costume change.” She gave him an embarrassed smile. “I can be kind of clumsy sometimes.”
He smiled back at her, his own eyes twinkling, “You’re pretty charming, sweetheart. I can see why my brother decided to roll over for Nora in this case. But poor me, I would’ve flown back from Italy sooner if I’d known Cole would beat me to the punch.”
Sunny’s nose wrinkled. There was something weird about how he talked about her and Cole’s relationship, almost as if he knew it was fake. However, instead of being grateful that they were honoring Nora’s last wishes, he seemed amused, like this was all some sort of game.
“What do you mean by Cole beat you to the punch?” she asked.
Chapter 11
Cole didn’t like this situation. He didn’t like it at all. First what happened in the hotel room. He’d gone there, planning to tell Sunny in the most businesslike way possible that she was to immediately come back to his penthouse, but instead he’d ended up taking her against the wall. Like an animal, who had no control over himself.
If there was one thing Cole hated, it was feeling out of control. You didn’t make it to Businessperson of the Year in less than fifteen years by not having c
ontrol over yourself. Cole had worked like a fiend to get himself to where he was today, and he didn’t appreciate this showgirl coming along, distracting him, not only from his work, but also the bigger plan.
Sunny had been right about one thing. This was only supposed to be a business arrangement, something designed to prevent his grandmother from doing something crazy before he could get her kicked off the board and remove the threat of his good-for-nothing brother getting control of the business.
So why then was he giving more mental energy to Sunny, thinking about having her again and again until he got his fill, than he was to his business? And why couldn’t he stop himself from behaving like a lunatic when it came to her?
He’d meant to let go of her hand as soon as they got to the event. Let her keep his grandmother distracted during the business dinner while he talked shop with the only people who mattered in his world, other powerful businesspeople. But when he’d walked in with Sunny, he’d seen the surprise on his fellow businesspeople’s faces. That he didn’t mind. He knew that they were an unconventional couple—even by Vegas standards.
What he minded were the looks that had followed the surprise. Heated looks that let Cole know he wasn’t the only one affected by Sunny’s combination of curves and good looks. He wasn’t the only one who’d be more than willing to ravage her behind closed doors.
And suddenly he’d found himself unwilling to let go of her hand, to the point that he barely let other men talk to her beyond a short introduction. Then he’d taken over all conversation from there, his voice level, but his eyes sending the “don’t touch, she’s mine” message loud and clear. He’d actually considered bringing her up onstage with him, so everyone in the room would know who she’d come here with, and who would be taking her home tonight.
What the hell was wrong with him?
And that last part of his speech. Tacked on at the end, meant to sell the story he was peddling to Nora. But like an actor who took his craft too seriously, he’d found himself actually believing the lies he was spewing. For a moment there, the stupid award that hadn’t meant much to him beyond an obligation to attend a function that would take him away from his work, actually did mean something. And it was because Sunny was out there in the audience, her open face clearly conveying how proud she was of him.
“You’re clearly infatuated,” Nora said under her breath when she made her way up to him through the sea of people rushing to congratulate him and shake his now free hand after the speech. “Didn’t I tell you she was special?”
“That you did,” he answered, his eyes searching the room for Sunny.
“She’s in the powder room,” Nora informed him, “so you can give your dear old gran some of your precious attention while you’re waiting for her to come out.”
He returned his attention to Nora. “Sorry, Nora, I wasn’t aware attention was what you wanted from me,” he said, his voice tight.
He didn’t appreciate being manipulated by her, or having his hand forced, and it was hard for him to keep his resentment on a leash while talking with her.
But if she noticed, he couldn’t tell past the smug and triumphant look on her face. “All I’m really wanting from you, dear grandson, is a ‘you were right and I was wrong, sweet Gran.’”
It would be a cold day in hell before Cole said that, but he was saved from having to tell her so when he saw Sunny emerge from the restroom—only to run into his brother, Max.
He watched Max smile down at her, his head tilted in the way Cole recognized as full-on flirting. Then Sunny pulled out some kind of cloth and started wiping the front of his shirt. Touching him. She was touching him.
Cole’s blood ran cold and he abandoned his grandmother without a word of explanation.
“Cole, where are you going?” he heard her ask behind him.
* * *
“What do you mean Cole beat you to the punch?” Sunny repeated.
Max Benton looked back at her, the expression on his face quizzical. “Wait, Cole didn’t tell you about Nora?”
She answered him with an equally quizzical look of her own. “Yeah, of course he told me Nora is sick, but what does that have to do with him beating you to the punch?”
Max paused, the gleam in his eyes going from wicked to shrewd as he opened his mouth to say something else—only to have Cole swoop in from out of nowhere.
“There you are, Sunny,” he said, threading his fingers through hers, with a smile that didn’t get anywhere close to his eyes. He turned to his brother. “Max, you’re just now getting here? You missed my speech.”
Max grinned, and he seemed to quite deliberately let his own green gaze linger on Sunny for a few more moments before raising it to look at Cole. “Missed the speech, but it looks like I got here right on time for the show. You two are putting on quite an act for Nora. Poor, sick, Nora.” His wicked eyes lingered on Cole.
Sunny sensed something frost over in Cole, even though his expression was still set on neutral. “Actually, you’re too late for that, too. Sunny and I were just leaving.”
Sunny raised her eyebrows at him. They were?
Max frowned big with mock disappointment. “Already? But I just got here. And I’m sure you’ve been boring poor Sunny to death all night.” He gave Sunny a pitying look. “Cole lives in Vegas but never learned to play. Not even a little bit.” He pulled out a card and held it out to her. “But if you’re ever interested in having some fun, call me.”
Even if Sunny had been thinking to reach for the card, she wouldn’t have had a chance. All the civility fell away from Cole’s face, and as his hand gripped hers tighter as he stepped to Max, blocking Sunny’s view of him and his proffered business card.
“Why do you have a business card, Max?” she heard him ask. “It’s not like you do any real work for our company. Also, maybe you haven’t noticed yet, but Sunny’s here with me.”
“But is she having a good time?” she heard Max respond. “That’s all I was trying to find out.”
Cole’s shoulders flexed angrily underneath his tux, and for a few seconds, Sunny was afraid he was going to punch his own brother right there in front of his grandmother and everyone else.
But at the last moment, Cole stepped back and walked away from Max without another word. Pulling Sunny along with him across the room, and right out of the party. He didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Nora.
The next thing Sunny knew, they were back in the limo. Cole finally let go of her hand just as the car pulled away from the curb.
“Um...do you want to talk about that?” she asked him.
He reached into his tux and took out his smartphone. “Not particularly,” he answered, without looking up from his phone. His were thumbs flying over its keyboard graphic.
Sunny clamped her lips in irritation before rephrasing. “Okay, Cole, I’m not asking. I’m telling you we need to talk about what just happened in there.”
Cole kept on typing.
“What are you doing that’s so important you can’t have a conversation about pulling me out of that party, like I was your toy and you were taking me home?”
“I’m emailing my lawyer about an addendum to the contract you signed,” he answered. “You’ll need to agree not to communicate or be seen with Max.”
“Are you kidding me?” Sunny asked him, her brain near exploding with outrage.
“I never kid about business,” Cole said. “And Max is bad for business. Irresponsible. Useless. He’s never done anything for the company except tarnish our image tomcatting all over the world. I don’t want him bothering you.”
Sunny, who’d never had a sibling, but had often wished for one growing up, found his attitude toward his brother alarming. “Really? He didn’t seem that bad. A little flirty, but nothing I couldn’t handle. We don’t have to add an addendum to what was on
ly supposed to be a confidentiality agreement.”
He looked up from his typing, his face hard. “I think we do.”
“I’m telling you we don’t, Cole. Nora was really happy tonight. Really happy. I’m doing this for her. And I’m not looking to disappoint her in any way. I’m happy to stay far away from Max, especially if he doesn’t have her best interest at heart.”
Cole’s shoulders relaxed, but only a little. He let a few seconds of silence go by then said, “I like to be in control.”
“I’m getting that,” Sunny answered, her voice laced with wry amusement.
“No, you’re not,” he bit out. “If you got that, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, because you wouldn’t have been flirting with Max right in front of me. Touching him...”
“I got makeup on his shirt! I was trying to wipe it off! What is wrong with you? We’re just supposed to be pretending we’re together. Why are you being so crazy? It’s just pretend—”
He was across the seat before she could fully finish her declaration, mauling her with his mouth, his tongue taking total possession.
She should have pushed him away, screamed at him to get off of her, because he was acting like a maniac. But she didn’t. Instead, she kissed him back, desperate for his mouth.
Her brain went into a complete short-circuit, and for minutes on end, nothing else registered except the feel of his lips, and the press of his body against hers. But even his hot kiss became not enough for her after a while. She wanted him. All of him. And even though she was still a bit tender from their earlier session in the hotel room, she started thinking about ripping her own dress off if it would get him where she wanted him to be that much faster.
But then he broke off with a curse, tearing his lips from hers.
Vegas, Baby Page 7