road with her again, his self-preservation kicked in to remind him of how callously she had walked away from everything they had planned.
He was just getting a drink for his date when he lifted his head and almost dropped the glass of wine he was holding. His heart took off in a gallop. Darcy. She was a vision in white, the flowing dress hinting at the small but toned body under it. She looked ethereal: like an angel who had just fallen from the heavens. She was exquisite.
And then his eyes landed on the man who’d followed her in. He was interrupted from spearing the man with his glare when his date stepped up next to him.
“Lucien?” His jaw clenched, but he pulled his attention from Darcy and turned to his date.
To his surprise, his voice didn’t betray what he was really feeling: jealousy so severe it twisted his gut. “Let’s go find a corner.”
It was like she was in one of those nightmares where she was standing in the middle of the school cafeteria naked. In reality, no one was staring at her. She wasn’t getting pointed at while people whispered behind their hands, but hell if it didn’t feel that way. Darcy unconsciously ran her palms down the sides of her dress while she attempted to calm her wildly beating heart. She had never before been to an event like this. Sookie’s had been successful, but it was a small family-run business. The people in this room ran 95 percent of the restaurants in the city—she had done a bit of research to prepare.
Despite her nerves, she took a minute to admire the room with its cloth-covered tables and exquisite place settings accented with huge fresh flower arrangements. The people in the room were dressed in labels she had only ever seen in magazines. She felt terrified and excited all at once.
“Want a drink?”
She turned to her date: Kevin. She enjoyed Kevin’s company and as luck would have it, he also happened to own the Smoothie Hut—a chain of them, apparently—and was coming to the event anyway. It was childish but she was glad it was Kevin who was her date, what with how well he and Lucien had hit it off. It was a small dig, but a very gratifying one. Maybe his sea-green eyes didn’t send her body into chaos with a look, but he definitely had potential. He was nice, funny, and sexy with his unruly chestnut-brown hair.
“Wine, please,” she said.
“I’ll be right back.”
She scanned the room for Lucien because she was hoping to get him to make the introductions, but she spotted him in a corner with his date and business seemed to be the last thing on his mind.
A table was set up with name tags, which was an enormous help, so she crossed the room and retrieved both hers and Kevin’s. He returned with their drinks just as she spotted a vendor she had spoken to the other day, so she squared her shoulders and walked over to introduce herself.
“You did that very well. Have you spoken to everyone you were hoping to?” Kevin asked an hour later.
“I think so. It wasn’t so bad after the first introduction.” She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for being my wingman.”
“My pleasure.” He looked at her empty glass. “Dinner is going to start in a minute. Would you like another glass of wine?”
“Yes, please.”
He hesitated for a moment before he brushed his lips over her cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched him go, and her heart beat just a little bit faster.
“You’re certainly making your way through the male population.”
And then her heart stopped altogether before it lurched into a rapid rhythm. She turned to Lucien as his words settled over her and anger came to the fore. “As someone once so eloquently stated, my personal life is none of your damn business.”
Her words had the desired effect as Lucien’s eyes went dark with anger before he turned without another word and walked away. She wasn’t sure what it said about her that she actually derived pleasure from that. And then she worked to put Lucien out of her mind before her date returned. But all through dinner she stewed. Not only had he not introduced her to his vendors, but he implied she was being a slut because she made the contacts on her own. She was so angry she finally sought him out. His date was draped over him like a fucking poncho. He