by Bella Grant
I wondered how many girls had worn the necklace before me. I took the necklace off and placed it in the inner pocket of my purse where I knew it would be safe until I handed it to Nick Saunders. It was the right thing to do. Maybe he could peddle it to the next girl that let him sleep with her.
"Ma'am, we'll be pulling up shortly," the driver's voice cut into my thoughts.
I hadn't been paying attention, but I now looked out the window. Even though it was dark, I could see the house, or rather, the mansion that loomed in front of us.
"Holy shit," I swore under my breath as we pulled up to the gates and security let us in. The massive house in front of me was like no other.
NICK
From the corner of the foyer, Nick watched as his limo pulled up to the house and the woman he had eagerly been waiting for stepped out of the car. For one second, he didn’t recognize her – gone were the rough edges he had seen at the café, replaced by a softness he hadn’t noticed. She had filled out some more and was curvier than he remembered. His pants tightened as he resisted the urge to run to her and sweep her into his arms. That was sure to make her leave the party. He’d be lucky if she stayed after discovering he was the guy from the café. If she chose not to stay, he wouldn’t blame her.
He tried to focus his mind on other things, but he could not stop gaping at her. She was stunning, a word he had never used to describe another woman. She wore a daring red dress, something he would never have imagined her wearing. Her red lips were eye-catching, her curves he could see from the distance, and her hair accentuated her dress. She was beyond beautiful, and even though in his wildest dreams of her he had imagined her in a black dress, or earthy, neutral colors, he loved how the red dress made her eyes shine. If only she had worn the necklace he’d sent her… it would have signified her guard was down.
He saw one of his hostesses approach and greet her, then guide her toward the tent. He knew he should be out there to welcome her, and in any other circumstance, he would have had no problem walking up to the woman and making easy conversation, but for some reason, this woman stumped him. When had he become this shy man afraid to talk to a woman?
He watched her walk, swinging her hips and smiling and talking to the hostess. After a few seconds of observing her, he was ready to make his debut. It was reckoning time.
SARA
I walked with the hostess, who guided me toward the tent where the event was taking place - an outdoor set up that looked like a five-star hotel.
"Beautiful," I said to the hostess, whose name was Diane. Simply breathtaking, I thought but didn't say it aloud since I didn’t want to sound too eager and stick out like a sore thumb. I had to remember that even though I had never seen such opulence in my life, I had to act like I was born and bred with a silver spoon in my mouth so I didn't look ridiculous, at least not until I was kicked out of the party, which was sure to happen.
"You haven't been to this event before," she stated rather than asked.
"No, I haven’t," I admitted. There was no use lying. Based on her greetings to her co-workers and how she had so expertly received me, Diane had probably worked there for years and most likely knew all the guests’ names.
"Usually Mr. Saunders receives his first time guests personally. He likes to show them around. Perhaps he will show you the grounds later," she said with a curt smile.
"Perhaps," I replied, smiling. Perhaps not. I’m not sure I wanted to be that close to a man who was so filthy. Then again, how was I any different from the other guests? I had accepted an invitation to a party that I should not have come to. If anyone was filthy, maybe it was me. In a way, I was glad he had not come to receive me because he would have seen right through me.
I hoped when I began mingling with other guests, he would not notice me. Except there was one major problem. I still had his necklace and needed to return it to him. Damn. I felt my bag to reaffirm the necklace was still there. It was.
As I stepped into the tent, I couldn't believe that I was even in a tent. Mr. Saunders had transported the best ballroom from one of those expensive hotels and imported it into the tent. It was magnificent. Granted I was easy to please, but the place was professionally decorated with flowers, crystals, and the best of what money could buy.
"Nice, isn't it, ma’am?" Diane said, smiling. “Quite breathtaking when you first see it. You know, the first time I saw the set up my first time working for the Saunders, I wondered if I had died and gone to Heaven.”
"It is elegant," I said, trying to control my excitement. Perhaps if I acted like being in a five-star hotel-tent or whatever was the norm for me, I could blend in easily.
"Can I get you something to drink, ma'am?" she asked, motioning to a server with a tray of wine glasses.
"Sure," I replied with a smile.
"What would you like? We have..."
"Just water, thank you," I said, cutting her off gently. My head was already spinning from the wine in the limo, and the last thing I wanted to do was to make a fool of myself at this event.
"Sure," she said. She pulled one of the glasses off the tray and handed it to me.
I stifled a smile, thinking that I could have easily grabbed the glass of water myself. She made me think of those rich folks who needed someone to brush their hair and teeth for them. Usually, I was the one grabbing water off the tray for folks, not the other way around.
"Thanks, Diane.”
"My pleasure, ma'am. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No, thank you so much," I replied. Diane nodded and started walking towards another guest. That was what I should probably do, walk towards another guest and introduce myself. Then it hit me. The people around me ran multibillion-dollar companies. They owned the kinds of cafes I worked in. What the heck was I supposed to talk about? My job as a waitress? I felt cold sweat breaking out along my spine. I thought about what sort of job I was supposed to have. I wasn't sure if my side photography gig counted as a billion-dollar business. I was screwed and I knew it.
I looked around. Several ladies who looked like they had just stepped out of a fashion magazine mingled with their partners. I moved closer and closer to the corner of the room until I was almost invisible. The women had wine glasses in one hand –no doubt sipping on the most expensive drinks in the world– and flirted with the men surrounding them.
Maybe it was time to leave. Who was I kidding? I didn't belong here with these women who looked so expensive. I knew their clothes, shoes, jewelries were priceless. Maybe I should have worn the necklace. Maybe that would have helped me fit in.
The men were dressed in suits obviously custom-tailored for them. I watched how they held the women's delicate waists and whispered to them. If nothing else, my curves made me stand out. The red dress drew attention, and I started to regret wearing such a bright color when everyone else was dressed in black. I mentally cursed Amy for making me wear the dress when I could have worn a simple black dress.
An elderly woman walked toward me. I straightened and moved a little bit out of the shadows. Even though I didn't want to be seen, I didn't want to look like I was hiding either.
"Hi," the woman said as she approached me. I was too shocked to reply. I instantly recognized her: Madison Saunders, billionaire heiress and television personality. “How are you this evening?”
"I'm okay. Thanks," I replied quietly.
She waved a loose strand of graying curly hair off her face and sipped from the glass she was holding. "Dear, I noticed you were by yourself and I felt you needed a friend."
I wasn't sure how to respond, but I didn't have to; she continued talking.
"What's your name?"
"Sara. Sara Nolles."
"Hi, Sara. I'm Madison Saunders. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand for a handshake.
I took her hand, shaking it, a billion questions running through my mind. It never occurred to me that Madison Saunders, who I loved watching on TV, was related to Nick Saunders. "So honored, Ms. Saunder
s. I love your show."
She smiled. "Thank you so much. If only they would stop introducing new technology. It makes me crazy. It's hard to keep up with that stuff, you know?"
"I can imagine," I said. A moment of warm silence passed between us.
"These affairs can be intimidating, right? I remember my first ball. My parents had prepared me for it, but I was still shocked."
"Yes," I said, glad to have company, any company. I relaxed.
"But this is for a good cause. Nick and Zia raise money every year to preserve the forest. Someone has to save our lands or they'll all be turned into skyscrapers and malls. We don’t want that.”
"No, we don't want that," I agreed, laughing.
"So why do you support the preservation project? You're a nature lover as well?" The question caught me off guard and she noticed. "You don't know what tonight is about, do you?"
I shook my head, very much ashamed that I had come to an event without doing my homework. I had thought this was just a party. I never realized it was an actual event. "Not really," I said in a low tone.
"The short version is that Nick does a good job of extracting money from his rich friends to preserve a large forest for natural preservation."
"That's a great cause," I said. I would never have thought that someone who seemed so chauvinistic, and a self-confessed playboy, would have interest in doing anything selfless.
"It is. He used to bear the entire cost himself, but over the last three years, he started this extravagant fundraiser to help mitigate the rising costs of keeping the land safe from the government’s land development craze.”
Oh great! I was attending a fundraiser and had no money to my name.
"So the fundraiser is really a silent auction with large items for public bid at the end of the night,” Ms. Saunders explained.
I maintained my smile despite the anxiety in my head. "That must be exciting."
"It is fun to see how much people are willing to donate when they know they'll be publically acknowledged.”
"I’m sure," I said, my mind thinking of my purse with less than twenty dollars in it.
"Come on. We don't want to stand all night talking to ourselves. Let's introduce you to some guests."
"Okay," I said.
She must have heard the hesitation in my voice. She started laughing and sipping her drink. "You need a drink to relax. Why do you think I'm on my third glass of whatever this wine is?"
"Why?" I asked, smiling. I liked Ms. Saunders and wondered about her relationship to Nick, but I didn't want to sound nosy. Besides, I didn't want to explain how I knew Nick. Or rather, how I didn't know Nick.
"To relax, of course. I drink to relax. Are you here by yourself?""
"Yes," I said, then wished I had said I was waiting for someone. But who? Maybe waiting for someone that doesn't show up is better than waiting for no one.
"Then you should be aware of Nick Saunders. If he knew you were here by yourself..."
"Grandma.” A deep, intensely familiar, sexy voice spoke to Ms. Saunders. “Why are you scaring the lady?"
I knew it was him without even turning around. The guy from the café. Nothing had prepared me for this moment, but I didn’t have much choice but to turn around and say hello to him. One part of me was annoyed that he had tricked me into coming after my objections at the café, and the other part of me was happy to see him again. And then a third, more reasonable part of me imagined this was a mistake and him being at the café and me getting an invitation was a horrible twist of faith. He had meant to invite another Sara and I had showed up to his event.
"Who is this lovely lady you're talking to, Grandma?”
I turned around, fully expecting him to look shocked when he saw my face, but he simply smiled at me, his brown eyes daring and bold. He was exactly how I remembered him. Devilishly handsome. I let his brown eyes gaze back at me, looking deep into my eyes, and I thought I'd melt.
"Oh, she's your guest, isn't she? You can't tell me you don't know the lovely Sara Nolles," his grandmother said.
I forced myself to keep smiling as I imagined his smile fading any second once he heard “Sara Nolles.” But his smile did not wane. Instead, he reached out and took my hand. When his skin touched mine, I almost withdrew my hand because it felt like he had scorched me. He looked so rugged even in his suit, I had imagined his hands would be rough, but they were rather delicate. I had to remind myself that he was ultra-rich and could afford as many manicures as he wanted. But I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me with his money. I held his gaze and shook his hand, waiting for the instant he would call me out as fake and pull me to the side.
"Nice to finally meet you properly, Sara," he said. “The café was just too stifling.”
I was seething with anger, but I did my best to control it out of respect for Ms. Saunders. Did he really think he could push me around just because he had money? I had made it clear I didn’t want to date him, but he had pushed. I had to admire his tenacity, though, but not at that moment.
His grandma looked at him and smiled. She turned to me like I was her long lost friend and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "See you around, Sara. Be careful of this one," she said as she walked away.
When she left, he turned to me and smiled. “I’m sorry I had to do it this way. You were blowing me off, and I wanted to make a good first impression, a second time.”
“We’ve already met. How can you make a new impression?” I was still mad, but I was beginning to soften. He was certainly persistent. Even though I had no plans of getting into his bed, he was trying so hard that I had to like him just a bit for his persistence.
“Well, I was hoping you would let me try again.”
“I’m afraid that might be too late. Your grandmother already warned me,” I teased, trying not to smile.
“Yes, my grandmother,” he smiled lovingly at her. “She likes you.”
"She’s lovely," I said.
"She can be pushy sometimes." He bent over and whispered in my ear, "The old lady certainly scared me when I was growing up."
I chuckled at the thought of the kind old woman being hard on him. “You must have deserved it.”
“Maybe so. I was a rascal,” he said. “I guess she wanted to see me grow up right.”
I smiled at him. Maybe he wasn’t too bad after all.
"You're not drinking?" he asked as he signaled to a waiter.
"Everyone in your family wants to get me drunk," I told him with a smile. "And really, you've not formally introduced yourself." I knew who he was, but I wanted him to confirm. I needed him to tell me he was Nick Saunders, the man whose diamond necklace lay in my purse.
"My poor manners. Maybe Grandma didn’t do a good enough job of making me a gentleman. I’m Nick Saunders," he said, reaching out his hand again.
"Sara Nolles. But you already knew that."
"Yes, I did a little homework. Did you?”
I didn’t want to tell him I had not researched him. It hadn’t been important when he was just Nick Saunders, but now that he was Mr. Rich from the café, I had to give him a second thought. “Not much. All I know is you own a Rolex and a limo and like your coffee strong.”
"I take it you want to know more about me, then?” he asked, his gaze making me catch my breath.
"Possibly, Mr. Saunders,” I replied. I did want to know more about him, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
“Please call me Nick,” he said with a smile that was sexy as heck.
“Okay, Nick,” I hesitated. It was weird to address a man so rich and powerful by his first name. “Before you go any further, I have to tell you something," I said, my voice low.
"Sure, Sara. May I call you Sara? You look so beautiful tonight. Do you know that?” he said.
"Yes, of course," I said. Hoping he hadn’t misunderstood, I corrected myself when I saw a grin spread on his face. "I mean, yes you may call me Sara. Not yes that I know I’m beautiful. You know… I mean...”
"You are beautiful and it's okay to admit that." He lowered his voice and drew closer to me. “You are the most beautiful girl here.”
"Thanks." I was too shy to dispute his comments.
"So, Sara it is then."
I nodded, not trusting myself to say another word. I had to stop acting like a teenager around him. “About the necklace you sent me,” I started but was cut off when a female voice called to him from afar. He turned his attention toward her. While he responded, I allowed my eyes to travel over him. He was dressed in a suit that had been crafted on him. His eyes, a deep shade of warm brown, were thoughtful and sexy. His mouth had a curve that deepened the few times he had smiled at me. I stole a glance at his upper torso and could tell he had great definition behind that suit, like someone who spent a good portion of his days working out.
"Oh no," he mumbled as he recognized the woman calling to him.
"What?" I asked as I turned to look at a skinny, dark-haired woman approaching us. She was hot. Damn, she was sexy. As she walked towards us, I felt like I was in some kind of well-rehearsed fashion show and one of the models was approaching me with well-practiced cat steps. She wore a shiny, short dress that fitted her like a glove and left nothing to the imagination, heels so high I wondered how she didn’t fall on her face as she walked towards us, and her lips were a bright red. Her curls bounced and fell back into place with every step. She was perfect, the kind of woman I had always wanted to be, and for an instant, I was jealous of whomever she was and whatever she was to him.
"Hi, Olivia," he called to her.
The way she looked at him told me without any doubts that the two of them had something naughty going on. Her face looked familiar, but I didn't feel like trying to figure out how I knew her. It didn’t matter anyways. I imagined that all the women at the party were A-list celebrities. I had probably seen every one of them on TV or in a magazine at some point in my life.
"Kiss me," Nick said to me, turning around to face me, his back to the fancy Olivia. “Now.”
