“Well, you are going to be showered with attention tonight, looking like this.” I circle her waist and pull her to me, taking her hand in mine and starting to sway to invisible music. “Everyone is going to have their eyes on you when we dance.” I twirl her far, then spin her to me, so my arm is wrapped around her middle, and her back is pressed to my front, then I bend to whisper in her ear, punctuating each word so she can’t miss that I mean every single one. “You. Are. Beautiful.”
A shuddery breath escapes Lauren, her arms tighten around mine, and her cheek rests against my shoulder. “Tread carefully, Cupcake.” She looks up at me with a shimmering gaze. I don’t know what makeup magic she used, but it’s delicate and natural and makes her bright eyes big and pronounced and almost golden-green, balanced perfectly by the bright strawberry red of her lips that are beckoning me to lean the distance and kiss her until she’s left breathless. “I may just end up believing you.”
“I fully intend you to.” I brush my lips against her crown, trying to relieve the need to have them on her skin. “Whatever it takes.”
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t make promises neither of us can keep, Michael.”
She’s right. I don’t like it, but I accept it. “Come on, Rockstar, the car is waiting.”
I let her walk ahead of me, appreciating how her long slender legs look in the simple black heels she’s wearing, even more so when I realize how clever she was with making sure the focus of her look is the dress. Nothing about her accessories is extravagant or eye-catching, making the dress even more special.
“You’re staring,” she says without turning around.
“I’m admiring your intelligence.” The one-eyebrow-raised look she throws me over her shoulder makes it clear she doesn’t believe me, and I shrug with a grin and a wink.
“So, no cameras today?” she validates again once we’re in the car.
“No cameras today, Lore. Not the real kind anyway.”
“Okay, that’s good. I can dip my toes.” She leans back and lets out a long exhale.
“We’re starting with cocktail hour on the terrace, then dinner in the mansion. After that, it’s dancing and mingling in the gardens.”
“How many people did Sandra Jubilee invite to this mixer?”
“About sixty,” I answer after some thought. “Not much, but she likes meshing her crowds. Her quarterly parties are highly exclusive and a great way to meet industry influencers.”
“Oh.” Her complexion blanches, and the vein in her neck is thudding strong and fast.
“Lore, if you’re uncomfortable with this, I can just get someone else.” Her head snaps to me, eyes wide and lip quivering, and I want to punch myself like the asshole I am. “I don’t want to. I want you.” Her eyes grow even wider. “As my plus one!”
I groan and throw myself back in the seat, but at least Lauren is laughing now rather than on the verge of hyperventilating.
I sigh. “That’s just going to keep happening, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, we might as well just flow with it.” She’s still laughing, which makes me feel less like a moron.
“Do you at least feel better?”
“I’m okay,” she promises, placing her soft hand over mine, the touch of her skin too much and not enough all at once. “I just feel out of place.”
“It takes some getting used to.” I give in to the need to feel more of her skin against mine and thread our fingers, telling myself I should get used to intimate gestures like this if she’s going to be on my arm for the next few weeks. “But I assure you, you look like you were born for it.”
“Thank you.” Lauren’s smile radiates, and my chest expands. I want to make her feel like this every second I have with her until she sees what I see when I look at her—that she’s perfect.
Whatever it takes. I repeat.Just don’t break her heart.
* * *
Lauren
“Oh, wow.”
I’m glued to my spot, staring at the Greystone Mansion, just a short drive from Sunset Boulevard. I’ve heard about The Doheny Estate, everyone has, but standing at its entrance, feeling the history emanate from the walls, it’s all a bit overwhelming.
“Wait till you see the inside.” Michael flashes his perfect smile, stretching out his hand for me to take. But I can’t bring myself to move. The extravagant exterior is such a far stretch from my life, from anything I’ve ever known.
“Lauren, look at me.”