He nodded slowly. “Just inquiring if he’d seen anything we should be worried about, but all is clear. Only a fool would try to stalk you at a public event like this.” He paused. “Though then again, we don’t know who exactly we’re dealing with.” His firm touch eased me closer as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Let me do the worrying for the both of us tonight. I want you to enjoy yourself.” His lips moved closer, grazing my earlobe. “After all, we won’t see each other again for a while.”
I closed my eyes briefly, reveling in the heady feel of his lips on my skin. When he straightened, I rested a hand on his shoulder, running my finger along the back of his collar. “You promised you’d come to visit us in Italy.”
His eyes darkened with lust as I toyed with his shirt lapel. “I will, but to me, the idea of even a week without you in my bed is…” He lowered his lips to almost touch my own. “…an eternity.”
He kissed me deeply, breaking away only when the music stopped and changed to a new song.
I gazed up at him through my eyelashes. The champagne was working, making me pleasantly relaxed, forget about all the staring eyes. I bit my lip in the way I knew drove him crazy. “I guess tonight we’ll need to do something especially memorable…”
His turquoise eyes flashed with desire. My own heartbeat kicked up, already imagining him ripping off my dress after the gala, throwing me onto my bed, making love to me enough times to get us through the time apart.
“You know, we might need to leave this thing early…” He tipped my chin up for another kiss. I could feel hundreds of eyes on us. The billionaire and his nanny. Possibly married, possibly not. The most scandalous couple in New York. But just as he lowered his lips to mine, someone nearby cleared their throat.
We pulled back. I blinked, slightly shaken, to find one of the twins standing at our side.
“What is it, Bramble?” Severn growled.
Bramble smiled at me coldly. “May I cut in? I have some important business to discuss with Severn. Wearehere for business, after all.”
I stiffened, balling my fists. “Can it wait?”
Her smile turned saccharine. “I’m afraid not.” She faced Severn with a seductive little pout, not an expression a professional assistant should ever make. “I was just speaking to Alistair Mack, the investor from Glasgow, and he has a very timely business opportunity to discuss with you…” She motioned to an older businessman at a nearby table, who lifted a glass of Scotch in Severn’s direction.
“Very well.” Severn released me reluctantly. “I’ll handle this as quickly as I can, Willow.” He handed me my phone from his pocket.
Bramble slid her hand into Severn’s recently empty one, moving seamlessly into the place I’d just been standing in his arms. “Let me fill you in first on the details of his business proposal…” She expertly swayed with Severn across the dance floor as she whispered low.
Grumbling, I realized I was standing alone on the dance floor like an idiot and quickly scurried back into the ballroom for another glass of champagne. I spotted Zara in the crowd, flirting with a boy with a cute blond beard, laughing at some joke he’d made. I could hardly cut in and ruin her flirtation. The only other person I recognized was Locke, who was at the buffet table, loading up a plate.
Grabbing my own plate, I sidled up to him.
“These little cheese things,” he said in fascination, holding up a canapé. “Delightful. Usually, the food at these events is catered by humans and is utterly awful. But a fae chef prepared this one. Here, try it.”
“I’m not hungry.” But Locke pressed the bite on me so insistently that I couldn’t resist. “Oh. Wow, that really is good.”
He smiled. I started loading up my plate next to him. “Your friend,” he purred, glancing toward a corner of the ballroom. “The dark-haired witch. Is she…available?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re interested in Zara?” I felt a little rattled by the idea of Locke being interested in my best friend but shrugged. “She’s single as far as I know, but you have competition.” I jerked my head in the direction of the blond boy. The odds were there’d been a few girls who had caught her eye, too.
Locke scoffed. “He’s human. Please.Thatisn’t competition.”
I rolled my eyes and ate so many of the little cheese things that I started to feel sick. I handed my plate to a passing waiter as I made my way to the bathroom. Severn was still outside on the dance floor with Bramble, and I didn’t see why whatever business information she needed to convey to him couldn’t be done without draping her arms all over him.
I took my time in the elegant hotel bathroom, reveling in a few quiet moments of solitude. I scrolled on my phone, not surprised to see that photos from outside the gala had already leaked online, along with more speculation about Severn and me. As I’d predicted, the press saw this as a major declaration about the state of our relationship, dredging back up the rumors that we were secretly married.
I bit my lip, nervous. It struck me that those photos were also practically an advertisement on my location if the stalkers felt like swinging by to nab me again.
It’s okay. Severn’s security is tight.
I washed my hands and touched up my makeup in the hotel mirror just as the door swung open. A smell of cinnamon and spice worked its way in. In the mirror, I watched Severn’s other assistant sashay in, wearing a dress similar to her sister’s but a little longer. Briar’s eyes met mine in the mirror, and she smiled coolly.
Great. A quick check under the stalls told me we were alone, and the last thing I wanted was to be trapped in a bathroom with Briar.
“Bramble seems to be having the time of her life dancing with Severn,” Briar purred viciously as she reclined against the marble countertop. She didn’t even pretend that she was there to reapply makeup or go to the bathroom—she was clearly here to corner me.
I snapped my lipstick closed. “I think you and your sister need to accept thatI’mdating him.”
Briar smirked. “Keep telling yourself that, little human. I’m sure it’s a thrill to climb into bed with the New Court regent, but trust me, your time with him will be short-lived.”
