And those are just the ones I know about. He has a limited attention span. Once he gets his dick wet, it’s all over. Apparently, he’s a real animal in bed. But not so great when it comes to commitment. Look at poor Selah. She comes from one of the best families in town and he walked away without a second glance. So someone like you…let’s just say that your time should be up any minute now. Better enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Really?” I ask in a skeptical tone.
Her gaze snags on my diamond bracelet, lips twisting into a sneer. “That should come in handy. Nice and easy to hock back home in Cali, huh?”
“Is that it?” I cross my arms. Confrontation in general kind of makes me want to puke. But here we go anyway. “Are you finished with your mean-girl takedown?”
“Good question,” says a familiar deep male voice.
“Ethan.” The woman’s eyes go as round as dinner plates. “I didn’t see you there.”
“You’re done for the night, Jenna.”
“What? But I was just—”
“Leave,” he orders. “Now.”
And the girl all but runs.
Ethan watches her go in silence before turning back to me. Still not wearing his happy face. But at this stage, I’m not sure he even does that emotion. “Tell me, Alice, do you dance?”
“I sway back and forth in time to the music if that counts?”
“That’ll do.” Ethan offers me his arm. “Let’s go.”
Only a few couples are on the dance floor. This time, there is definitely room left for Jesus. Ethan holds himself and me with a stiff formality. I bet he knows how to waltz and foxtrot and all sorts of things. I think I can remember how to do the Macarena. Something tells me he wouldn’t be open to that suggestion. At any rate, the music is all wrong for anything half that interesting. We assume the standard waltz pose and rock back and forth.
“Thank you for running interference, but I could have handled it,” I say when the silence between us starts to unnerve me.
A grunt.
“Is this the part where you warn me away from your brother?”
“Would it be any more effective than Jenna’s mean girl routine?”
I wrinkle my lips. “No.”
“I’ll save my breath then.”
“Not going to offer to cut me a big check to leave town either?” I say, because apparently all of those words I held in over dinner are now intent on spilling out. “Not that I’d take it. But you’re much less high society gangster than I thought you’d be.”
“High society gangster?” he asks, brows raised. “Really?”
I shrug.
“I can see why you two get along. You both have a peculiar sense of humor.” And the look on his face makes it clear exactly what he thinks of our shared brand of humor. Still, he’s out here, dancing with me in public. Especially surprising given he’s made what he thinks of me more than obvious.
“Wondered when you’d notice she was gone,” says Ethan.
“Something on your mind, big brother?”
“Maybe don’t ignore your date next time. That is if you plan to keep her. I have to get back to the office. Have a nice night.” Ethan takes a step back, giving me a nod and tugging on the cuff of his shirt, before departing the dance floor. Numerous people watch his exit.
Beck’s gaze narrows. Unlike his brother, there’s no politeness or messing around. He slides his arms around my waist, melding us together from chest to knee. “Was I ignoring you?”
I open my mouth to reply, then reconsider and shut it. Honesty isn’t always helpful.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “I’m sorry. That conversation probably saved Elliot Corp. somewhere between two and four million. Time I could have been spending with you. I won’t get my priorities that wrong again.”
It’s hard not to giggle. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well, I had a nice chat with Penny. It was fine.”
With my hands on his shoulders, we move slowly in time to the music. It’s just like when we were in the bar, only completely different. Absolutely everything has changed apart from the way he makes my knees weak. And the way he looks at me like I’ve just replaced the sun as the center of the galaxy. That sort of thing can really go to a girl’s head.
“This was a work function for you,” I say. “Perhaps I didn’t quite understand what that entails, but I do now.”
“It’s no excuse.”
I shrug.
“Especially if it was bad enough that Ethan’s commenting on it.”