“Grier, wow. You look gorgeous.”
He greeted me the same way he always did—with a hand on my waist and a quick kiss on the cheek. Somehow, it felt different. His hand was lower, closer to my hip, and he used his hold to pull me closer for the kiss rather than leaning over and keeping space between our bodies. He smelled warm and spicy, and I caught the scent of mint on his breath.
Our bodies brushed as he lifted his head and looked down at me. “Hi,” he said.
My stomach fluttered again. This time with attraction. Objectively, I knew that Seth was exceptionally handsome, but the firm way he was holding me and the appreciative way his eyes roamed over me made my mouth dry.
Clearly I had a thing for men who weren’t afraid to take charge. I just hadn’t realized that Seth was that type of man.
“Hey,” I finally replied when the silence stretched between us for too long. “You smell really good.”
My cheeks heated as the words popped out of my mouth. Seth smirked and squeezed my side before he released me.
“Thank you.”
I took a step back and cleared my throat. “Actually, I need to be thanking you. I’m glad you were able to join me tonight.”
He reached out, running his hand down my forearm to clasp my palm before he laced our fingers together. “Me, too. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ask you out since you started working for Davide, but he told me that he’d ban me from the gallery if I did.”
“He didn’t.”
Seth nodded. “Oh, yes, he did. He’s been quite territorial about you and anything that might make you want to quit.”
I laughed a little. “So, it’s not because I’m a good friend but because he doesn’t want to lose an employee?” I teased.
“I think it’s mostly the good employee bit with a healthy dash of friendly protectiveness.”
We were both laughing as we walked toward the entrance of the restaurant. Seth paused to open the door for me and used a hand on my lower back to guide me through first.
While my body didn’t respond to his touch the way it did Elijah’s, I still enjoyed the heat of his palm against my back and the way his hand slid around my waist to hold me to his side as we stopped in front of the hostess station.
“Good evening. Do you have a reservation?” the hostess asked with a smile.
“We’re here for the Faulkner event,” I answered.
“Of course. Please follow me.”
Seth’s arm remained around me, his hand curved around my hip, as we trailed her. The back of my neck prickled, and I turned my head to look toward the bar. My eyes immediately landed on the tall man with dark hair leaning back against it, a beer loosely held in one hand. I blinked in surprise when my gaze met Elijah’s burning blue irises.
What was he doing here? I would have expected to see him if Lucy and Chris were hosting the event, but he wasn’t close to Yancy and Charles. Was he?
The tip of my pump caught the edge of someone’s chair. Stumbling, I apologized to the diner seated in the chair and forced myself to focus on where I was walking.
“You okay?” Seth asked.
“Yeah.”
“That the guy?”
I blinked, once again taken aback. “What?”
“Davide mentioned you’d recently stopped seeing someone because he acted like you were nothing but a booty call. It was part of his warning-slash-threat for me to treat you like a queen. He said you deserved better than that, and I’d better make sure I gave it to you.”
I glanced up at Seth’s profile. “Really?”
His answering smile was small. “Yeah. He may not come right out and say it, but Davide loves you like a little sister.”
My stomach bloomed with warmth, but the feeling dissipated quickly when Seth asked, “So, was that the guy?”
