certain she would ever be ready for that next step. The fact that he was an escort was a far larger roadblock than she had anticipated. Sex had already been a huge hurdle for her. A long-term relationship, presumably with a view to marriage, was more than she could contemplate. What kind of influence would he be on Allison?
Yet, who else could make her feel the way Rowan did? Who could take his place?
Vera bit down on her lower lip. “Will you call me?” she asked.
His smile, slow and devastating, promised patience. “Every day.”
Chapter 10
The grand ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami, teemed with color. Women in elegant dresses and gowns every color of the rainbow and every color in between mingled with men in tuxedos and business suits. The lyrical background music from the string quartet could scarcely be heard over the buzz of conversation.
Vera supposed that the polite thing, now that the award ceremony was over, was to mingle. Besides, she had to find Iris to offer her congratulations; her friend had been recognized by the Florida Medical Association for her work with the Broward health system.
Vera glanced around the large room. People gathered in clusters of conversation. Romantic partners were easy to pick out; the physical gap between them was smaller than that of colleagues. It seemed to her that many people attended with their partners, and why not? The celebration of the individual was as much a celebration of the people who stood behind them and supported them.
It also occurred to her that she was one of the few who had chosen to attend the ceremony alone. A month earlier, it would not have bothered her. Now, she felt out of place—obviously and conspicuously alone.
She smoothed her burgundy gown. Rowan’s voice came back to her. Can you think of that special day? Do you remember how you felt?
That day, she had held her head high and walked out of YOLO in a T-shirt and jeans. If she could pull off that stunt among the social piranhas of Las Olas Boulevard, she could certainly effect that same level of confidence in a group of her peers, socially dull physicians like her.
She caught a glimpse of Iris, halfway across the ballroom, standing among other doctors she recognized. With a smile, Vera made her way over, but before she reached Iris, a man in a tuxedo joined the group.
Vera’s heart stuttered as Iris, with welcome in her eyes and a dazzling smile, turned her face up for a kiss. Rowan leaned down to brush his lips against her cheek. The smile on his face was warm and genuinely affectionate as he offered her a glass of champagne. Iris dimpled her thanks and said something that made him laugh.
No, it couldn’t be.
Vera closed her eyes and willed the image away. She had been thinking of Rowan the entire evening; hell, she had been thinking of Rowan the entire week. Her obsessed mind had summoned him. She had to be hallucinating.
She opened her eyes. Rowan and Iris stood next to each other with the proximity of longtime lovers.
Shock ripped Vera’s breath away.
Iris was his client, and he had flown down to spend the weekend with her. He had escorted her to the award ceremony.
Fury flared into her brain, sizzling through the restraints of polite society. She stalked up to Rowan. “How dare you!”
He spun around. “Vera?”
Her anger made her tremble. “You’re here, with her? How could you? After last week, after everything we shared, everything you promised—how could you throw it all away? How could you throw us away?”
“Vera, I—” He caught her wrist before the hand she flung out connected with his face.
She yanked her hand out of his grip and glared at him. “No rights, no expectations…that’s what I told myself. But damn it, if you’re going to make me fall in love with you, then I have rights and expectations.”
He took her arm. With his other hand against the small of her back, he turned her toward the door. “We’ll talk in private.”
She shoved him away. “We have nothing to say to each other. You can go to hell.”
“Vera, please, let me explain.”
Iris placed her hand on Vera’s arm before she could stride away. “I see you’ve fallen for my reprobate brother’s charms. He isn’t an escort—no, nothing so honest—but he is a model and a jackass.” She darted an accusing look up at Rowan. “I’m sure you’re going to make him sorry for his idiotic prank. He