Huge Deal - Lauren Layne Page 0,15

better himself. Kate looked . . . different. He gave her a once-over, trying to put his finger on what had changed, but it seemed to be a little of everything. Her dress was hardly scandalous. It showed off toned shoulders and was cut diagonally, revealing plenty of her right thigh. She was still short, but the stiletto heels gave her a few inches he wasn’t accustomed to, the silver shoes wrapping around trim ankles that were . . .

Kennedy swallowed and dragged his eyes back up again, careful not to let his gaze linger on her small but definitely there breasts.

Her hair was mostly the same, but it looked extra shiny, and instead of overwhelming her small features, it seemed to accentuate them, calling attention to the glossy, full lips, the pink cheeks, the . . . angry eyes.

There she was. That was still the same.

“Kennedy. Happy birthday.” Her tone was cool, at odds with the fire in her brown eyes.

“Kate. I understand I have you to thank for the party.”

“Oh gosh, no.” She looked vaguely appalled. “I mean, Claudia asked for my help with the organization, because, well, I’m awesome at it. But this was all her.”

Kennedy nodded. Not that he didn’t appreciate Claudia’s good intentions, but he was relieved, somehow, to know that Kate got him. That she understood he’d have much preferred a different type of party—or none at all.

“Can we talk about the dress?” Lara said, twirling her finger, indicating for Kate to spin. “It’s fantastic! Even more fantastic than it was in the dressing room. Ian, doesn’t she look fantastic?”

“Fantastic,” he repeated with a wink at Kate, who blew him a kiss.

Kennedy frowned at this, too busy trying to wrap his head around this new version of Kate. “When—? What—?” He cleared his throat. “You look different.”

“Nice,” Matt muttered.

“She got her hair cut Thursday, remember? She left early?” Ian mimed snipping motions with his fingers.

“Right.” Kennedy had forgotten the strange anomaly of Kate leaving before eight p.m., much less five p.m. And he’d been out of the office most of the day yesterday on the trading floor, and then at a few off-site meetings.

Besides, it was a hell of a lot more than a haircut. Kate was . . . arresting. And he couldn’t look away.

“You guys going to be here for a bit?” Kate asked. “I’m going to go get a cocktail.”

“I’ll get it,” Ian and Matt said at the same time.

Kennedy had the oddest urge to slap them. Or himself. Why did he not offer? He normally would have for any other woman. But with Kate he was never at his best. Even less so, apparently, when he could see her thigh.

“Nope, stay here,” Kate ordered, already moving away. “I want to check on a few of the vendors, make sure they didn’t ignore my demands. Requests,” she amended quickly. “Also, I have a private bet with myself to see exactly how long that stupid ice sculpture will last.”

“Oh, thank God that wasn’t your suggestion,” Sabrina said with relief.

“Offensive,” Kate said, waving her finger at Sabrina. “Very offensive that you’d even consider it could be mine.”

Kate continued walking away, and the rest of the group began placing bets among themselves on the fate of the ice sculpture.

“What do you think?” Matt asked Kennedy. “How long until that frosty jawline of yours becomes a puddle?”

“I bet a hundred bucks the frown will be the last to go,” Lara said.

“I don’t think anyone would take that bet,” Ian said.

“Will you excuse me a moment?” Kennedy asked, too distracted to respond to their ribbing. He walked away before any of them could reply.

The pink of Kate’s dress made her easy to spot in a sea of the usual New York black. She was talking to a server carrying a tray of champagne, who nodded at something she said. Kate was on the move again before Kennedy could reach her, and he followed her across the room to a table, where she spoke to a burly man behind it wearing a chef hat and holding a carving knife.

He reached her just as the man handed her a plate with a slice of damn good-looking roast beef. “Thanks, Larry.”

“My pleasure,” the man said in a voice higher than Kennedy would have expected for someone built like a linebacker. “You know, this is the first time I’ve worked the USDA prime beef carving station at a dedicated slider bar, but it seems to be a big hit.”

“Yeah, well,