them you want to throw a rainbow at them?” I asked, disbelief as well as laughter in my voice.
“How about thank you?” she suggested with a wide smile. “Or stop it before I fall in love with you?”
Her smile grew even bigger. Then she let out a soft peal of laughter before shaking her head at herself. “What am I saying? You’re the Great Dane. You don’t fall in love with people. Even if they do throw rainbows at you.”
“I really thought I’d left that nickname behind,” I groaned, focusing on that part of her comment instead of the falling in love part.
Not because I was in love with her—obviously—but because I could see myself falling for her eventually. If I let it happen, which I wouldn’t, but still. She was the first person I felt the kind of connection with that would’ve made it possible.
Leah glued her face to the window once again when we pulled away from the hotel. She reached for my hand though, taking it between us and squeezing as she pointed at lesser known landmarks on our way to the hotel where the event was being held.
Her eyes lit up when she told me different facts she’d learned about the city, and she smiled at me over her shoulder when I asked questions about what she was saying. A part of me wished I didn’t have to share her with all those people who would be on the rooftop with us.
If it had been up to me, I’d have preferred to take her to all the places she’d mentioned and to walk around the streets, letting her explore to her heart’s content. But there were about a hundred people waiting for us, so it wasn’t up to me.
The hotel where the event was being held was modern with big glass windows all lit up. As soon as the limo pulled up in front of it, she took a deep breath and let go of my hand. “I guess this is us. Let’s try to get me through one more night of not putting my foot in it, shall we?”
“I think you’re past that point,” I said. “So far, everyone has loved you. It’s probably safe to say you’re settling into your role.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “There’s plenty of time left for my mouth to run away with me, though. You should stick close by.”
“You don’t need to make excuses to get me to stick close by,” I said, teasing her as I slid to the end of the seat to climb out. “I’ll be right there with you.”
The door opened, and I got out before reaching back into the limo to offer her a hand. The smile on her face froze when she noticed there were some reporters around, cameras flashing and trained on her as she emerged from the car.
It wasn’t so crazy yet, though. In fact, it was probably more because the press had heard that some big names would be gathered in one place this evening and not necessarily because of Leah. At least there were enough pictures being taken of her that we could rest assured she would be featured in the press tomorrow.
Flashing her a smile, I took her hand and hooked it into my arm before leading her into the hotel. She blew out a breath when the doors shut behind us, glancing up at me as we walked toward the elevators.
“So that’s what that feels like, huh?” she mused. “I thought it would be much worse. It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t even slip a nipple.”
I snapped the fingers on my free hand. “There’s always next time.”
“Celeb goals.” She laughed, preceding me into the elevator when the doors slid open. We cracked a few more jokes on our way up, but I sensed her nerves as the car climbed higher and the numbers above the door rose.
Tightening my grip on her hand, I placed my fingers on top of hers and waited for her to look up at me. When she did, I looked right into her eyes. “You’ve got this, Leah.”
She held my gaze for a few more moments before she nodded, then closed her eyes as she took a breath. “Yeah. I do. I’ve got this.”
As if on cue, the doors opened quietly and we strode out into the party. People recognized both of us almost immediately, descending on us to introduce themselves to Leah and catch up with me. Just like she had with the investors