“Since you got the invitation, do you know what this one’s for?” I asked, raising a brow.
“I think it was to help with medical bills for that little boy who was struck in the hit-and-run accident. I think that’s where I recognized his name from, anyway.”
“Shit. Now I feel like a complete d-bag,” I muttered.
The car continued to lurch and crawl as Bernie made his way through the downtown traffic, and my stomach wasn’t feeling so great with the bubbles sloshing with each pause.
“You’re looking a little green,” Brandy noticed. “Want me to finish that for you?” She wiggled her brows and pointed with her free hand.
“Actually. Yeah.” I smiled and handed her my flute and leaned my head back to focus on breathing, staring at the nip and tuck upholstery of the ceiling.
“So this is the real reason you don’t like the limo,” Brandy chuckled. “Now it makes sense. Does anyone know?”
“I told them I outgrew it. I was tired of getting teased endlessly,” I whispered, steadying my breathing as the sloshing continued. “Besides, it only happens in traffic.”
Brandy continued to laugh all the way to the onramp of the highway, and I immediately perked up as the car began to steady its speed.
“Traffic doesn’t look too bad,” she said, sipping from one glass and holding the other.
“Things are looking up,” I said, watching the downtown corridor flash by on our way to the floating bridge. The silvery, pink, and blue skyscrapers gave way to brick homes and condominiums lining the highway.
The traffic on the highway was nonexistent, which made the commute a breeze. I grabbed my empty flute back from Brandy and filled it halfway up as the nausea subsided. Our car glided onto the ramp of the 520-floating bridge, and I took a triumphant gulp of the fizzy stuff as we made our way across the water. I prevailed.
“This place is always so beautiful in the summer,” Brandy replied, looking out the window.
She was right. The calmness on the one side of the bridge allowed for the sun to dance off the glistening water, whereas the other side of the bridge presented the choppy whitecaps, which bounced off the worn cement of the bridge. I always wondered why there was such a difference between the two sides. There was always the calm side and always the choppy side, kind of like my life.
The car began to slow again and my stomach tightened. Just as I was about to take another sip of champagne, my entire body lunged sideways onto Brandy’s lap as our limo hit whatever was in front of us. I braced myself for a vehicle to crash into us from behind, but thankfully it was only the one hit as the sound of brakes and tires squealing behind us stopped. Bernie immediately rolled down the partition and looked panic stricken, checking us for injuries.
“You girls, okay?” he asked, breathless. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.” His face was ashen and his brown eyes wide.
I hoisted myself out of Brandy’s lap and straightened up to see out the windshield.
“We’re okay, Bernie. Are you?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered, clearly shaken.
“Not a drop spilt,” Brandy offered, trying to make him feel better with her usual dose of humor.
I shook my head and looked through the windshield. It looked like we’d hit some sort of white utility trailer. I couldn’t see what kind of vehicle was towing it, but judging by the size of the trailer, it would have to be something beefy. All I knew was getting in an accident on the bridge was every commuter’s worst nightmare. Bernie quickly opened his door and jumped out. I hoped they could quickly trade information and we could move on.
“Whoa. Sometimes things are meant to be,” she sang, squeezing my elbow.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. There was nothing worth getting in an accident over, especially as the horns blared behind us.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” she purred, yanking on me to look outside. “Did you know such perfection was possible?”
Clearly the bubbles had already gotten to her.
I craned my neck and saw Bernie hustling over to someone, and that’s when I saw him. I didn’t believe my eyes. Men like this didn’t exist in Seattle. We were a city full of hipsters and techies, but here he was… standing right next to our car. I felt as if my world had done a pause. Just the mere sight of him made my heart flutter like I was back in grade school waiting to open my very first Valentine.
This was crazy!
As he exchanged information with Bernie, I watched his every move. From his dark hair that the breeze mussed up slightly to the lopsided grin that he wore, I simply couldn’t look away. There was something so intriguing about him. I mean there was no denying it. The guy was completely built, but there was something more.
It didn’t hurt that his smile was out of this world, but any guy who just got rear-ended and had the decency to smile about it was unusual. The dark shadow along his jawline signaled a morning without a shave, which complimented his rugged appearance and I just…
“You stopped breathing,” Brandy mumbled and all I could do was smile.
He was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, and his shoulders were broad, filling out his charcoal t-shirt. As my eyes fell back down to his jeans, my insides clashed madly as I glimpsed bronzed skin where his shirt had tugged up slightly. I looked over at Brandy who was in the same zone as me.
The way the sun was setting, I didn’t think he could see inside, but it somehow felt like his eyes were on me, watching me fidget. Okay. That was probably wishful thinking, but it really did feel that way. So much so that I refused to look in his direction, even though it was killing me not to check him out.
“Can he see through the windshield, do you think?” Brandy mused.
“Why?” I asked. “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure since the privacy glass is down.”
“Well, it looks like he’s captivated by someone back here and it’s not me,” she stated.
“Yeah. Then he definitely can’t see back here,” I said, feeling the heat run up my body.
“I’m pretty sure he can, and all I can say is lucky you.”
I turned my attention back to him and saw him speaking with Bernie, but I will admit his gaze did manage to gravitate in this direction.
“I think I’d trade my soul for one night with him,” I whispered.
“That’s my Gabby,” Brandy chuckled. “You just needed a Mr. Perfect to show up.”
“He’s completely unattainable,” I replied, daring myself to look at him once more. “That’s why I can say it. He’ll drive off, so will we, and I won’t have to worry.”
His hand gripped a leather wallet, and my gaze followed up his long, muscular arm as I watched him stuff it back in his pocket. How could a slight movement do this to me? His laughter echoed all the way to the car as he patted Bernie’s shoulder and dipped his head to peek through the windshield. This time there was no doubt who he was looking at as our eyes locked, sending a shiver up my spine. His long lashes outlined his amber eyes, and they were like liquescent gold as the sunlight caught the bronze flecks just right. I didn’t even think that was a possible eye color, except maybe in a little movie I happened to love back in high school and college, but still those were contacts. These weren’t. His lip quirked up, and he gave a slight nod. So slight, I wasn’t even sure it happened.
Brandy squealed and tightened her grip. “He’s coming this way,” she said.
“Quick. Sit over there.” I pointed to the backseat, and she dove toward it. I started laughing but followed right behind her. I felt the giddiness of high school fill me to the brim, and I had no idea why.
“How come we just did that?” she muttered, ready for the next commandment as she adjusted her dress.
“I have no idea,” I confessed.
I pointed at the Grecian God as he peered into the darkened glass next to us. He did a double tap on the window with his knuckles as his lips twisted into a cocky smile. When he stood back up,
I noticed his shirt hugging his flat stomach and began dreaming about my fingers skating across it and started chuckling.
“What’s so funny?” Brandy quipped and I shook my head.
“I have no effing idea, but this mirage of a man is turning me into a mess.”
“He’s no mirage,” she replied.
I watched as the man threw us another lopsided smile, but I also knew this time he couldn’t see us. He just seemed to like the idea of messing with us.
“So, you got the President inside here or a bunch of giggling high school girls on their way to prom?” His voice low, scalding my insides.
Brandy looked at me horrified. “This is why you hate riding in this thing,” she stated.
I nodded quickly, keeping my eyes on the guy who was slowly moving toward the door.
“Completely pretentious modes of transportation will never lead to good things.” I took a deep breath in.
“Yep. My bet is that it’s a bunch of sixteen year olds,” he said coyly, arrogance filling his every word and gesture. “Waiting to get—”
Brandy’s breathing stopped at about the same time mine did.
My heart fell to my toes as he opened the door and ducked his head inside the limo. He was gorgeous. No. That’s not true. He was beyond gorgeous. His amber eyes filled with mischief as he looked at Brandy and then at me.
He looked to be in his late twenties. I heard Bernie talking, but I couldn’t decipher what he was saying. All I could do was look at this piece of perfection as he toyed with us and obviously enjoyed it. My hand slid up by my necklace as I attempted to block my scar from his view, but all that did was make me more self-conscious.
“Are you two okay?” he asked.
I nodded, speechless, and looked away.
“That was quite a hit,” he continued. “I’m an EMT if…”
I whipped my head around, intending to give him a mocking glance, but instead I wound up blushing as his smile turned to a wonderfully wicked grin with his eyes capturing my discomfort.
“If he can do that with his eyes, I can’t even imagine what he can do with…” Brandy whispered in my ear.
“What was that?” the man’s voice rumbled, eyeing me, not Brandy.
“Okay, you’ve had your fun,” I told him, flushing from the inside out. “We’ve got an event we’re late for.” I watched his eyes follow my lips as I spoke, which did nothing but create a hornets nest inside of me. How could his eyes do that to me, penetrate me like that?
“You’re right. What was I thinking? You’re the only ones who have a place to be.” He flashed me another wide grin. The intensity in him shifted only slightly as he pretended to be annoyed. “I wasn’t on my way to anywhere in particular. In fact, I had only planned on driving back and forth on the bridge all night. One side… Then the other…”
“I didn’t mean that where we had to go was more important than you,” I sputtered out. This is what I hated about riding in these things. Limos automatically put people in the ass-hat category. However, wanting to live up to the already laid reputation, my lips pinched together, and my arms crossed automatically.
“Maybe we’re headed to the same place,” he replied, his eyes carefully reading my actions, teasing me. “Although, judging by how you’re dressed, it’s doubtful.”
I frowned and looked away from the guy and mumbled, “You really should drive more carefully.”
The guy laughed and my eyes flicked back to his. “That’s what most people hear when they’ve just gotten rear-ended,” he replied. “Well, I think I struck out here so my insurance will be in touch.” He gave me a wink and ducked out of the car.
I watched Bernie and the guy trade goodbyes quickly before he jogged back to whatever vehicle was pulling the trailer.
Brandy reached for the bottle of champagne and replenished both of our flutes. “I think someone’s got a crush on the mystery man.”
“I do not.”
“You always get this way when you do,” she continued laughing.
“What way?” I demanded.
“Snippety.” She smiled as if she’d won the battle.
Bernie climbed back into the car, apologizing profusely, and Brandy and I both resituated back to the side seat. I watched as the utility trailer pulled away and we followed.
“It looks like it did more damage to this car than his trailer,” Bernie said. “It’s gonna be in the shop for awhile.”
“That’s a shame,” Brandy replied sarcastically. Finally the woman was on my side about riding in this car.
“So what’s that guy’s name?” Brandy asked Bernie. I jabbed her in the ribs, and all she did was laugh.
“Jason something or other,” Bernie replied. “I’ve got it written down. He certainly got a kick out of you two, didn’t he?”
“Jason,” Brandy repeated it for me as if I didn’t hear it the first time. “That’s a nice name.”
She was about to get on one of her ‘pair up Gabby’ kicks so I quickly deterred her, hoping her champagne consumption would aid in my rescue.
I turned to her and asked, “You wanna know what’s more ridiculous than showing up to places in a limo?”
“What?” she asked playfully, batting her lashes and forgetting about setting me up with the stranger.
“Pulling up to a place in a busted-ass limo,” I replied, and we both started laughing. Dating crisis averted once again.
Chapter One
Mia
“Come on, Mia. You can do this,” Ginger Mesnet coaxed me. She shook her head full of blonde curls as she climbed up the steps with her black stilettos clacking.
I looked up the long flight of marble stairs that threatened to carry me straight to hell. Granted, it was a hell I chose, but I didn’t expect things to feel so wrong once I arrived.
On the surface, the idea sounded like a good one, possibly even fun. Enjoy a night of drinks, meet a few good-looking men, and help out my brother, Luke.
Luke owned one of the largest private security firms in the country. Celebrities and politicians regularly tapped his company for services that law enforcement couldn’t provide. He also specialized in countersurveillance and risk management, which often meant being proactive when it came to the bad guys, which was what led me here tonight.
My brother’s line of work often put him in complex situations with outcomes bordering on downright dangerous. Thankfully for him, he managed to run into the right woman who was about as twisted as he was, and they both loved the adventure of it. In fewer than two weeks, they’d be walking down the aisle, and because of that, I volunteered to keep an eye on someone for my brother so Luke could spend a blissful three weeks away from work.
My preference? I tended to enjoy a paintbrush and a blank canvas rather than sneaking down an alley to spy on someone, but here I was in all my sparkly glamor.
I think my willingness to help my brother out was because his relationship with Hannah had secretly given me hope that screwed-up people could find love. Plus, he’d caught me in a weak moment. I’d just broken up with another quasi-boyfriend before coming to New York. I seemed to specialize in men who were as walled off as me. Usually, it was a win-win.
Regardless, I now stood at the entrance to a singles event in the middle of Manhattan with a gallery owner I didn’t want to disappoint and a mission to spy on someone for my brother, of whom I’d only seen a photo.
I watched Ginger tread up the stairs as a group of men, with satin and feathers wrapped around their heads, meandered up the steps.
Was this what my life had come to?
Why, yes. I think it had.
“I don’t hear your feet trying to catch up.” Ginger’s voice rang through the air as her red silk dress cascaded down the steps behind her.
One thing I learned about Ginger was that she lived for any type of affair that would allow her to dress up and drink, which was probably what made her the perfect owner of an art gallery. She was also the perfect unsuspecting companion f
or the night.
A woman with a black cape hopped up the stairs, and I kept in a groan.
Did I mention the singles event tonight was a masquerade ball? I guess that would explain the capes, masks, and feathers a little better. Truthfully, the idea of hiding behind a disguise seemed like a great idea yesterday.
Now?
Not so much.
It didn’t provide nearly enough protection from the world I was about to enter.
It was like Eyes Wide Shut met a New York Furry Convention.
It didn’t matter how much gold glitter I’d painted around my eyes. I didn’t belong here. Where I did belong was back in my studio on the beach in California, painting to raging music and blissfully ignoring the outside world.
A man clad in a rented tuxedo zipped past me and glanced over his shoulder as I stood rethinking my life. His peacock mask made me cringe as his beady eyes stared back at me like I was a disgrace to singles everywhere.
I probably was. I didn’t like dating, relationships, or any complication that involved emotion. I reserved those pesky feelings for the canvas.
The man hopped up the rest of the steps to join the other singles, and I debated whether I wanted to make a run for it. No client of my brother deserved this type of devotion. Besides, how would I know who was who with masks on everyone? As a team, we didn’t think this through very clearly.
I sucked in a deep breath and glanced around. It was definitely time to get out of here. Ginger would have to forgive me, and so would my brother.
“Don’t even think about getting out of here.” A man’s sultry voice snuck up on me from behind. He sounded like pure sex. The huskiness intrigued me, but I refused to turn around to give him what he wanted.
When I didn’t acknowledge him, the man placed his fingers on the small of my back and an unexpected thrill spiked through me.
Irresistible Love at Silver Falls (Island County Series Book 7) Page 21
