She touched a finger to her forehead, remembering the migraine.
“You’d think that’d be easy,” Dom said. “There are plenty of cemeteries around here.”
Determined to ignore him, she turned to Mrs. Forrest and continued. “It needs to be somewhat dark, very oppressive, and not too far from the city. It’s expensive to take all the film equipment too far.”
“That’s a little frightening, don’t you think?” asked Mrs. Forrest. “How do you do it, dear?”
Mackenzie leaned in and lowered her voice. “When I’m out shooting remote locations, I carry a gun.”
Mrs. Forrest gasped. “Oh, goodness. Do you know how to use the thing?”
“Well, yes. I’ve been using one for years. My mother started taking both me and my brother to the shooting range when we were old enough to legally carry a gun.”
Please stop and move onto someone else. Surely someone else at this table would be more interesting to talk to.
“You must be a terrific shot. Do you have it with you now?”
“No. Not enough room in this little thing.” She winked at Mrs. Forrest and shook her clutch. “And nowhere to strap a holster on this outfit.”
Everyone at the table laughed. Good, now maybe the conversation would turn elsewhere. She threw a glance in Dom’s direction and he looked down his nose at her, his lips turned up as if he was trying not to give her a haughty smile. He was so irritating. She wondered if he practiced. She flipped her hair and turned away.
Words like fascinating and exciting swirled around the table. She shifted her water glass, aligned her fork next to her plate. Taking compliments was not something she was comfortable with, and neither was being the center of attention.
When the conversation thankfully turned to other things, she relaxed against her seat and felt the sudden warmth of Dom’s hand. Every nerve ending jumped to attention. He had casually, maybe even conveniently, laid his arm on the back of her chair. Before she could sit forward, she could’ve sworn he brushed his thumb across her shoulder blade. A trail of sparks lingered on her skin and she shivered involuntarily.
Mrs. Forrest whispered into her ear. “What’s your date’s name? I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten.”
“Dominic … Serrano, I think. But he’s not my date.”
Louder now, Mrs. Forrest said, “Mr. Serrano, what is it that you do? I detect a bit of an accent, though not much. Spanish, is it?”
“My family is originally from Northern Spain—yes. But I’ve lived in the States for years now. I’m surprised you even picked up on it.”
“Ernie and I made the mistake of visiting Madrid during the summer months a few years ago. Remember that, honey? It was so humid …” While Mrs. Forrest continued, Mackenzie sipped her wine, not paying much attention until Dom began to speak.
“I work for a multinational corporation that has contracts with the U.S. government. We have a small presence here locally, but it’s classified, so I really can’t say much about it.”
“Goodness. We’ve got exciting here—” she patted Mackenzie’s hand “—and mysterious there. What a couple you two make. Is your office here in the city?”
Mackenzie bristled. “Careful, he might have to kill you if he tells you.”
Everyone laughed, including Dom, who rested an arm easily over the back of her chair again. She made sure not to lean back this time.
“We maintain a small field office downtown, but the majority of the region’s work is out of British Columbia. I’m in charge of things here in Seattle, and I occasionally work in Portland, Spokane and Boise. But I’m afraid that’s about all I can tell you.” Dom’s smile stretched to his eyes and seemed genuine.
Why did he have to be so charismatic? It’d be much easier to ignore him if he wasn’t. She toyed with the evening bag on her lap, turning it over and over, and the prongs of an embedded crystal caught the chiffon of her skirt. Damn. While Martin talked about one of his recent projects, she picked it loose, but the stupid thing snagged the fabric.
“Why don’t you just put that on the floor beneath your chair?” Dom said. “I’ll make sure no one steals it.”
“Everyone knows it’s bad feng shui to put your purse on the floor.”
“Pardon me?” He sounded amused.
“Purses are never to go on the floor. It encourages money to fly out.”
His faux pained look told her that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Who told you that?”
What an asshole. “My mother.”
“And you believe it?”
She gritted her teeth. “It’s a habit, okay. Is that better?”
“Well, here, let me set it on the empty chair beside me, then. We certainly don’t want anything flying out of your purse unexpectedly.”
Oh my God. Even though she was irritated, she almost snorted out loud and had to bite her lip to keep quiet. If only he knew about the panties tucked inside.
“Fine.” Without looking at him, she held out her purse and hoped she came across as indifferent, bored and completely disinterested. She couldn’t care less that he was sitting just inches away from her, that she could feel the heat of his stare on her back and neck, that he was so damn hot. No, she didn’t care at all.
“Did you find any interesting silent auction items?” She directed her attention to the woman sitting across from her. As she replied, Mackenzie found her mind wandering.
You want me, the imaginary voice whispered melodically in her ear, almost as much as I want you.
She stiffened her spine and popped a roasted vegetable into her mouth. What was it with that damned voice in her head? Her stupid wishful thinking. Who cared that she found Dom massively attractive? That she longed to feel his hand sliding along her skin again. His lips against her throat. What the hell was wrong with her? Yes, he was gorgeous, but—
She glanced at him again. He twirled a few strands of pasta on his fork and lifted it to his mouth. As his lips closed over the utensil, he looked up at her and their eyes locked. His jaw flexed as he chewed slowly, then swallowed, never dropping his gaze from her face.
The fluttering of her heart belied her cool exterior.
Too much wine. She pushed the glass away to reach for her water, but the base of the stemware caught on a fold of the tablecloth and slipped from her fingers. In an instant, Dom’s hand was there and caught the glass before a drop was spilled.
How did he move so fast? I’ve had way too much to drink.
“Finished?”
She nodded her head. With a lift of his brow, he held the wineglass in front of him in a silent toast.
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