in all his panty-singeing glory, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged his thighs to perfection. His blue checked shirt was open at the collar and rolled back at the sleeves, inviting Lainey’s eyes to linger on smooth olive skin.
“What were you saying about me?” he asked warily as he walked over.
As usual, Lainey gave him a saccharine smile, which he didn’t return. He might have been all biceps and close-up-worthy eyes, but Damian McKnight was the sworn enemy of all that was fun. Mr. Stick Up His Butt, she’d called him once.
It was truly baffling why she found his seriousness so damn appealing.
He used to be fun before Jenny broke his heart into a million little pieces. Maybe you need to show him how to have fun again...
Yeah, right. Damian had always acted like she was a little bug that buzzed around him, invading his space. Hanging around where she wasn’t wanted. And the one time she’d gotten drunk and tried to kiss him the year after he got divorced, he’d made it clear he wouldn’t go there with her, despite the fact that he’d been giving her eyes all night. She was twenty-one then, and fully aware of what she wanted with him.
“We were reminiscing about some of Lainey’s finer dating moments,” Imogen said.
Damian smirked. “Like that time you had to climb out that lawyer’s window because his other girlfriend came home early?”
“He told me he was single,” Lainey protested, reaching for her drink. “I would never have dated him if I’d known.”
He shook his head. He often did that around her...they all did. “Where’s your third musketeer?”
“Inside, talking to her lover boy,” Lainey replied.
“And what about you?” His gaze skated over her. “Any recent victims?”
Lainey drained the rest of her champagne and tried to appear as though she hadn’t noticed the searing look. Damian had the Blue Steel thing down pat, and she knew for a fact that women all over Melbourne would give their right arm to be on the receiving end of it. And since his stint on TV, the guy even had a fan club on Facebook. A freaking fan club!
“I love being single, you know that. But I might head out later, see if anyone takes my interest.”
His jaw tensed. Interesting. “If you do, be sure to give him my condolences.”
There was a strange undercurrent in Damian’s tone, a little hum of tension that sent ripples of curiosity through her. Was it because he didn’t care or because he didn’t like the idea of her chatting someone up?
She never could tell with him. He said he wasn’t interested, but his body language told a different story.
“And what are you up to tonight?” she asked.
“Not much. Mum needed a hand with the pipes in the kitchen, and Dad’s back is still giving him a hard time,” he said with a brisk nod. “I’m exchanging hard labour for lasagne.”
Well, damn if that didn’t make her insides melt. Despite his sharp rise in business and wealth, Damian never forgot where he came from or who was important in his life. He was dedicated to his family, always making himself available for his parents or his sister.
It still baffled Lainey why his wife had left. Who in their right mind would walk away from him?
Damian’s eyes flicked over her once more, and she felt it all the way down to her toes. “Anyway, I’d better get to it. Behave yourselves, okay?”
“Never.” Lainey had to contain a laugh as he rolled his eyes, walking away without a backward glance.
The man had an ass so perfect it should be in a gallery.
“So uptight,” Lainey muttered, her eyes locked onto the way his hips rolled as he disappeared into the house. “But so smoking hot.”
Imogen snorted. “I think you mean ‘so unattainable.’”
“Potato, po-tah-to.” Lainey tapped her nails against the table. “So, I want to know more about this whole Carmina Ball plan. I’m intrigued.”
“I was going to keep it a secret.” Imogen dropped her face into her hands. “But Corinna kept topping up my glass and then with the shock of your news, I...ugh. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“My lips are sealed.” Lainey mimicked turning a key in a lock. “How are you going to get in without an invitation?”
“I know the caterer.” Imogen leaned forward. “I’ll arrive with her team and then slip off to change into my costume after the party starts.”
Lainey sucked on her lower lip. The plan was totally insane. Absolutely and utterly bonkers.
Speaking of Damian, did you know he scored a ticket to the Carmina Ball?
Corinna’s words rang in her head like a siren song, along with the teasing thought of being able to do anything she wanted before leaving for London. If Imogen could sneak into the ball in disguise, Lainey could, too.
What the hell will you do once you get in?
Anything. A wicked smile curved on her lips. She could do anything at all.
“I don’t suppose there’s room for a sidekick on this grand adventure?” Lainey asked.
“Now why would you want to do that?”
While Lainey was confident in her seduction abilities with men in general, Damian seemed to be her white whale. He resisted her where other men didn’t, and she had her suspicions it wasn’t due to a lack of physical chemistry. They had it in excess. Her body sparked whenever he came near her. And as for him...well, she’d caught him looking at her before with that heated blue gaze. But for some reason, he never acted on her flirty suggestions, never returned any teasing innuendo.
But the whole point of a masquerade ball was to have a little fun without revealing your identity, right? She could test her theory that they did have something between them.
Damian McKnight had a hold over her unlike anyone else. He was a man among boys. A total and utter fantasy.
In quiet moments, she’d wondered if he was the reason she chose to date flighty, flaky types. She could never have Damian, so she went for the opposite—the loose cannons and the jokers. The guys who would never tempt her into falling in love.
“Let me revise that,” Imogen said, narrowing her eyes. “Do I want to know?”
“Probably not,” Lainey admitted. Her eyes snagged on the empty doorway where Damian had exited a few minutes ago.
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” Imogen asked, tracking Lainey’s gaze. “Not a good idea.”
“Please, Immie,” she said. “He won’t know it’s me. I’ll keep my mask on and I’ll get out of there if things go bad.”
“I thought you were only trying to wind Corinna up.” Her friend gripped her drink, her hand hovering
