kidding, Riley. Come on, let’s dance,” Perry said.
He plucked the glass from her fingers and placed it, with his own, on the next tray to pass them. He was taking her hand before Riley could cordially turn down his offer and in seconds she found herself on the dance floor.
The song wasn’t a slow tune, which meant he really didn’t need to hold her so closely. Yet Riley didn’t pull away. She was certain any one of the media staff that were present would snap a picture on their phone and immediately text it to their editor. The picture of her dancing with Perry would no doubt grace the cover of at least one tabloid first thing tomorrow morning. Any other fashion house looking to snag Perry’s talent would see that RGF had beaten them to the punch. With that thought, Riley moved easily to the rhythm of the music. She smiled and eased out of Perry’s embrace so she could spin around before coming back to join Perry. The move gave anyone aiming for a photo op an unfettered view of her smiling...and wearing an RGold original dress.
Another minute and the song was over. The band would probably continue to play until midnight when the DJ, who was set up in the far corner of the ballroom, would take over. Riley still hoped to be upstairs in bed by that time. Now she decided it was time to conclude this meeting.
“Well, I certainly don’t wish to stop your celebrating,” she said and dropped her hands from his shoulders. “I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me.”
Perry let his hands slip from her waist. “Surely you’re not leaving the party. We still have an hour to go until midnight. There’s champagne to drink and more dancing to be done!”
Riley smiled at the joy in his sea green eyes. “Oh no, I think I’ve had enough partying for one evening,” she told him.
“Nonsense,” a deep voice said from behind her. “You have to make time for just one more dance.”
Riley’s shoulders instantly stiffened at the familiar voice.
“You don’t mind, do you, Perry?” he asked as he shook Perry’s hand.
“Of course not,” Perry replied. “As long as she continues to have a good time. We should all be on the dance floor at midnight. I’ll be talking to you soon, Riley.”
She managed a quiet good-night to Perry, her genuine smile already shifting to the cool, aloof one she’d grown famous for.
This time, the band did begin playing a slower tune, and to her dismay, Chadwick Warren stepped closer and asked, “Shall we dance?”
Riley didn’t like how close he was.
Nor did she like how well he wore that single-button charcoal-gray tuxedo. Chaz, as everybody called him, was too tall, standing beyond even her older brother RJ’s six feet two inches. His face was too chiseled, eyebrows too thick and beard cut too precisely. There were waves in his close-cropped ebony hair, too many of them, and he smelled... Well, the cologne he wore smelled too damn good.
There was no way Riley would ever let on that she was bothered by any of the above. She nodded and took the final step to close the distance between them.
“You look stunning tonight,” he said the moment his arms slipped around her waist, his hands flattening at the small of her back.
For the second time tonight, Riley lifted her arms to let her hands rest on a man’s shoulders. The first time had been for business. This time, she prayed, would not overshadow the work she’d just completed.
“Thank you,” she replied. “You’re wearing the Crew, from King Designs’s winter collection. It’s an excellent cut that wears well, even if a modern cut would have worked better.”
The color of the tux also added to the intense look in his deep brown eyes.
He chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
For a split second Riley thought she could become lost in his soulful eyes. She wondered how it would feel to run her fingers over his rich mocha-hued skin. That was ridiculous. She didn’t shake her head to clear the thoughts and remind herself of who and what he was, but she did shift her gaze to a woman across the room wearing a blue sequin gown. Again, they were most certainly surrounded by reporters, bloggers and photographers, so Riley’s smile stayed in place as she concentrated on moving with the music, instead of the fact that she was dancing with the enemy.
“Seeing you like this is a pleasant surprise,” Chaz said after a few moments of silence.
“I’ve spent every New Year’s Eve in Milan for the last three years,” she responded before snapping her lips shut. He did not need to know anything that personal about her.
Chaz looked down at her seriously.
“You don’t usually dance at parties was what I meant,” he said.
He was right. She did not dance at parties. Whatever events Riley attended were carefully selected and always related to RGF business in some way. She would not admit that the last thing she’d wanted to do tonight was attend this party. If she’d been able to do exactly as she’d wanted, Riley would be upstairs in her room with a cup of hot chocolate and a tray of Oreo cookies—her favorite guilty pleasure. She would be in bed wearing her pajamas and watching some old holiday movie. That would have been the perfect way to bring in the New Year.
And if she’d been able to do that, instead of attending this party, she would have missed seeing him. Riley was definitely okay with that. She’d first met Chaz when she was seventeen at a fashion show in Miami. Years went by where she only caught stories about him either via office gossip or the media. And then last year he moved back to New York.
“I had a meeting with Perry,” she told him, and took a step back, letting her hands slide down his chest and torso until they were once again at her sides.
He looked at her quizzically this time. “The song’s not over.”
“But I’m done,” she replied.
He released his hold on her and gave a slight nod. “Like Cinderella running from the ball before the stroke of midnight.”
Riley lifted her chin. “I don’t believe in fairy tales.”
DAMN.
That woman could wear a bedsheet and she’d still be the sexiest lady he’d ever set eyes on. Too bad she was public enemy number one. Or rather, her family—the Golds—were the archenemy of Chaz’s uncle, Tobias King. Chaz had been inducted into the feud via his parents’ deaths when he was nine years old. And again a year ago when family loyalty insisted he take a leave of absence from his thriving social media consultation business to help rebrand and boost sales for the men’s line at King Designs.
All of that came second to the fact that each time he’d been in the company of Riley Gold this past year, she’d treated him like he was part of the Republic and she was a high-ranking official with the Resistance. The thought made Chaz smile, even when his body had already begun to react to seeing her in that tight black dress.
She looked dangerous, desirable and just a little
