"Big statement, but can you deliver?"
With a nonchalant shrug, she turned away, leaving him with a tantalising view of bare skin to her waist where the emerald satin of her designer dress tied in an incongruous bow.
She took two steps, paused, and glanced over her shoulder.
"If you stick around after the launch, you might find out if you're lucky."
She sashayed away, working her hips for his benefit, the satin clinging to a fine ass.
He'd given himself thirty minutes to show Melbourne's high society he was back and there wasn't one damn thing they could do about it.
Until the daring blonde had crashed his resentment party for one and dangled that tempting offer.
He didn't want to be here any longer than he had to but sticking around now held a certain appeal.
Chapter 2
Ruby grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, needing to hold something before she gave into the urge to rip off the rare green diamondplaque de counecklace and have a good scratch.
How her sister Sapphire did this on a regular basis, she had no idea.
The diamonds weighed a ton around her neck and it felt like her ear lobes had lengthened by an inch with the matching earrings dangling in a waterfall of sparkle.
While the crowd oohed and aahed, admiring the pieces she created especially for this collection, she had to curl her fingers into her palms to stop herself from scratching.
Her oversensitive skin beneath the jewels prickled. Wouldn't the press have a field day with that:Ruby Seaborn, lapidary and creative geniusbehind the Seaborn latest spring collection, allergic to her owninventive masterpieces?
It had to be her subconscious telling her she belonged behind the scenes rather than a genuine physiological reaction. She only used the finest metals and gems. Gems that were harder to come by these days thanks to Maroney Mine, the corporate mining giant devouring everything and everyone in its path.
If she ever got her hands on Jax Maroney, the CEO, she'd throttle him.
Speaking of getting her hands on a guy… She darted a glance over her shoulder at the truculent Adonis propped against the far wall, deliberately detached from the milling crowd.
He might be wearing a charcoal pinstriped suit, baby-blue business shirt ,and indigo tie, but his respectability ended there. With unreadable ebony eyes, an inscrutable expression, and that imperceptible curl of disgust to a sexy top lip, the guy had bad boy written all over him.
Along with the folded arms and ominous glare, he'd been rudely brusque when she'd approached. He didn't want to be here. Which begged the question why he'd turned up and who was he?
The Seaborn’s had built their reputation on exclusivity. Every person here tonight had lineage, class, and money. Money to burn.
Money her family's jewellery business needed desperately to survive.
She stared a fraction too long, her gaze locking with his, and as a mocking eyebrow arched, a shiver skittered over her skin, making it prickle from more than the necklace.
Unaware she'd been holding her breath, she exhaled and saluted before turning away. She slipped a finger beneath the front-fastening choker-style necklace that seemed to have a stranglehold. It didn't help, his potent stare eliciting a heat that coursed through her body like a power surge.
He exuded something raw, something primitive, and she unwittingly responded on a visceral level, the tug of excitement deep inside unexpected and unwelcome.
She'd usually toy with a guy like him, have her fun, then move on. He wasn't her type. But with Sapphire convalescing on enforced leave, she'd assumed more duties than she couldhandle. Creating the pieces she loved had been surpassed by spokeswoman and modelling tonight, with more to come. Much more.
Even now, several months since her sister had almost collapsed and Ruby had learned the truth, she wished the last year had been different.
She wished her mother and Sapphire had trusted her.
Dealing with grief over losing their mother had been tough, and she'd admired Sapphire assuming CEO duties ofSeabornas well as being the face of the company. After all, it was what Saph had been groomed to do since she could walk.
Ruby never envied her sister the responsibility, preferring to indulge her creative side, happy to be the scatty, carefree Seaborn.
Thanks to Sapphire's bombshell before she had an enforced recuperation, Ruby now had more responsibility than she could possibly want or imagine. And it made her mad as hell that it had taken her sister's near breakdown for her to discover the truth.
