Work In Progress (Red Lipstick Coalition #3) - Staci Hart Page 0,62
used against me. “A-Amelia Hall.”
Her hand was cold and firm as she shook mine. “Bane.”
I blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Your name is Amelia Bane, isn’t it?”
A painful flush tingled in my cheeks. “Y-yes, of course.”
Tommy transferred my hand to his free one and squeezed it, gripping the back of my chair with the other. “We haven’t exactly had time to get to the Social Security office,” he said with a charming smile and a devil-may-care tone, but I could feel the tension on his skin against mine.
“Yes, you probably have’t. Your little surprise marriage is causing such a stir. Must be a full time job to keep up with,” she said with a smile as easy as Tommy’s, her voice light. But snaking through the undercurrent was accusation and malice.
The hairs on the back of my neck sparked, drawing to attention.
“I knew the second I met Amelia that she would become vital to me. Why wait once you know?”
The conviction in his voice struck me so deeply, my heart reverberated like a bell.
He squeezed my hand again.
Vivienne laughed. “You’ve always been a fantastic actor. You fooled me once.” Her eyes shifted to blatantly gauge my reaction.
I did my very best to hide my shock over learning Tommy had been with Vivienne Thorne. Judging by her smile, I did a lackluster job of it.
“Takes a snake to know a snake,” he said, the humor in his voice gone. “Now, if you’ll excuse us—”
“Oh, come on, Tommy,” she said on a laugh. “I heard a rumor that Blackbird dropped you, but you made a deal to get back in. And within hours, you married a book blogger from the Times that nobody’s ever heard of? There’s coincidence, and there’s contrived.”
Tommy’s face hardened, the shadow passing behind his eyes foreboding. “If you’ll excuse us,” he repeated with force, “my wife and I are trying to enjoy our night. You can direct all questions and unfounded accusations to Theo. He’ll answer without using words like nosy, bitch, and mind your own fucking business.”
That smile she wore only deepened in its certainty. “Of course,” she said, turning to me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bane. I’m sure I’ll be seeing both of you soon.”
Tommy watched her walk away with a look as fiery as it was cold as granite. But I watched him, my palms breaking out in a clammy sweat.
“She knows,” I said under my breath.
He turned his attention to me, brows drawn. “She doesn’t know anything for sure,” he said, leaning closer, releasing my hand to capture my chin in his thumb and forefinger. “It was why she was over here, trying to shake us down. She’s jealous. You have the gig she wanted, the story she wanted.”
“B-but she doesn’t know that.”
“No, but she assumes, and that assumption will drive her to be a fucking nuisance. Vivienne has an active imagination and too much ambition for her own good.”
I peered into the depths of his russet eyes. “Did…did you date her?”
A laugh huffed out of his nose. “No, we didn’t date. We met at an industry event, had too much to drink, and ended up tumbling into bed in what I thought was a chance encounter.”
“But it wasn’t?” I asked quietly.
“I assumed not after I caught her trying to break into my laptop when she thought I was sleeping. That was the first and last time I took anybody home without a signed contract.”
“Oh,” I said stupidly, not knowing what else to say. Especially with him close enough to see the slivers of brown and burgundy in those dark eyes of his.
His lips smiled. “Don’t let her get to you. I won’t let her hurt you, Amelia. I got her fired once. I can get her fired again.” He must have read my indecision because his smile faded. “Do you trust me?”
I drew a quiet breath and answered honestly and inexplicably, “I do.”
“Good. Because I promised to honor and cherish you, and that’s what I intend to do.” He paused, his gaze smoldering, his eyes shifting darker, pupils widening to swallow what little color existed in his irises. “I’m going to kiss you, Amelia Bane.” The possession, the raw heat in his voice as he said my name lit a simmering fire low in my belly.
My permission was given in an exhale, a shift into him, a parting of my lips as my body said yes before my brain could even consider his words.