She smiled at me, but I was so furious.
“This is outrageous!” I whispered at her, and I heard her call my name softly as I stalked down the steps at the side of the stage and out into the crowd. The lights had been dimmed to give attention to the stage, and the golden curtains hung on all the high windows that looked out onto the starry sky gleamed like rich ghosts. I wished more than anything I could be on the back lawns, walking near the lake. I’d always done my job, and I supposed this was just another part of it, but anger boiled in me. Sex, and my choice to have it or not, was the one part of my life I’d shielded and kept for my own. I’d refused to get involved in this side of the businessfor a reason.
People moved out of my way as I charged ahead across the glossy wooden floor, and I didn’t blame them. I was furious. When I met someone—if I was everableto meet someone who didn’t already hate me on sight, thanks to my reputation as theIce Prince—I’d wanted it to be on my terms.
I hadn’t wanted my first intimate experiences to come with a price tag attached to my ass.
But, oh no, not even this was mine to decide. I loved Mother, but right now I could have happily tossed her into Lake Ontario and watched her drift away on her ridiculous, overdone dress. I felt mean even thinking that. Mad as I was, she had impeccable taste. I sighed.
But at least I wasn’t sharing this moment with Mr. Karlsen—Mr. Can’t Take No for An Answer. I growled to myself as Patton, one of the staff members handling payments tonight, raced ahead of me to secure the paperwork from the winner. Waiflike and in possession of some deadly boy-next-door dimples he flashed while being obnoxiously sweet, Patton had inspired some hardcore fans among the staff. Lately he’d worked the front desk with me unless he took the Saturday-night overflow clients. We’d had more than one conversation that ended with him asking me why I never took any shifts in the bedrooms. He gave me a wide smile when I approached him. I glared. He twisted away with his signed paperwork and rushed off toward Mother, so I could only assume he’d been in on her little joke.
I swallowed hard as I took in the man in front of me who’d won. Silver tinged the dark hair at his temples and gave him a distinguished presence. He was taller than me, but not by too much, and stocky with muscles. The short dark beard he wore was at least clean-cut, and the sunglasses perched on his nose had me holding in an eye roll until I noticed a beautiful golden retriever service dog—who went well with the décor in the ballroom—sitting very politely at his side. I liked the pup more for looking like she belonged, and then I cringed.What the fuck is wrong with me tonight?
Awkwardness of the type that sometimes tangled my tongue settled on me like a thick blanket, and I reverted to manners the way I normally did to hide it.At least he’s close to my type. Burly is sexy.“Good evening, sir,” I said, uncomfortably aware of his attention focused in my direction. “I hate to disappoint, but I do believe you overpaid.”
He stared at me for a second, and with his dark glasses I couldn’t tell much about what he was thinking. A slow smile spread across his face, and I got the niggling feeling I should know him from somewhere, but I couldn’t place him.
Fuck it.I only knew how to do one thing. I held in a sigh. “Thank you for patronizing the Courtesan.”
He chuckled. “You don’t remember me at all, do you?”
My heart froze. I’d gotten good at forgetting faces over the years. “Should I?”
“Probably not.” He didn’t elaborate and that chafed.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain.”
He shrugged a shoulder and it only served to highlight his biceps. I stared a second longer than I should have at his thick arms. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”
His words startled me, but they were the next logical step. I wanted to stall. I glanced around wildly for Mother, but of course she’d made sure she was far away from me so I wouldn’t be able to beg her to fix thismistake. I glared daggers at her back across the room before I swiftly said, “Of course, sir, this way.”
“If you don’t remember me, don’t you want my name?”
“Does it matter?” I whispered before I could stop myself. I was certain my comment had been buried in the hubbub from the stage and the people conversing around us, but he cocked his head like he’d heard me clear as a bell. I almost died of embarrassment. “I beg your pardon, sir, I didn’t—”
“Expect me to hear you?”
I closed my eyes, then forced them open again. “There is a lot of noise in here.”
He chuckled, a deep rumble of pleasant sound, and urged his dog closer to his side with the hand on her red harness. He pulled out a white cane from where he’d had it tucked under his arm, and it had been unnoticeable until now in the dimness away from the stage. There was nothing else for it, so I led the way through the crowd. I wasn’t sure how to proceed, and probably should have asked, but I was too nervous to consider making casual conversation. He didn’t seem to have trouble following me, anyway. With a soft command from him, his dog trailed after me, and he used the cane to guide himself around people until he was at my side again.
Finally I decided it would be rude not to ask about ways I could make his stay more comfortable. “Might I inquire, can you see?”
He snorted in amusement. “You don’t want my name, but you want to know if I can see?”
My stomach felt heavier than a cannonball and shame washed through me. “Maybe what I would really like to know is what compelled you to waste so much of your hard-earned money. That wasn’t an impulse purchase.” I tried to mediate my waspish tone with a laugh, but in the end it only ended up being a nasty, snarky bark of sound. I eyed one of the windows as we passed it, considering whether hurling myself out would actually murder me off.
He matched my pace toward the ballroom door, which increased as we cleared the last of the crowd. I was surprised when he stepped close and brushed a hand to my arm. “Will it be a waste?”
“I suppose you’ll find out.” I couldn’t swallow. I tried three times before I was able to clear my throat. We came to the door, and I was astonished when he opened it for me as if he was familiar with its placement.
“Same,” he said with a confident grin. His lips seemed soft surrounded by all that hair, one part of him that might not be hard and rough.
“What is your name, sir?”
“Does it matter?” He tilted his head to the side and the corner of his mouth kicked up.
I flushed hot from my head to my toes at having my words tossed back at me. It had occurred to me more than once that I wasn’t cut out for this business Mother loved so much, at least not in the capacity of everyone else involved in it. Somehow or other, whatever made her good at her job had skipped me, and I’d never felt the lack of that particular ability as much as I did right now.
