Damn it all, but that heated look and the low desire in her voice heated my blood. I turned and held out my elbow, and she slid her hand along my forearm like we were in some old black and white movie. “It’s customary for one of us to escort any new employee for their first gala.” Usually that meant taking them for a walk around the room before abandoning them to their colleagues.
Not tonight. It would take a fucking earthquake and the world falling apart to tear me away from Harper for more than a few minutes at a time. I only allowed that to maintain our reputations and keep things discreet as we’d discussed.
“Thank you for the drink. How did you know this is my favorite?” She sipped the fruity cocktail, her red lips leaving a light stain behind.
My cock twitched with the need to have those lips wrapped around me. I concentrated on her instead of what I wanted. No one could know about our secret romance. “I took a chance. You mentioned during one of our meetings that you don’t typically enjoy hard alcohol. Forgive me, but you seem like a fruity drink kind of woman. The kind whose coffee order includes five different things that are not coffee.”
She chuckled that low, vibrating sexy as hell laugh. “Guilty.”
Julian walked up to Harper’s other side and held out his arm. “May I have this dance?”
Harper’s eyes shot up to mine. “Dancing? I didn’t realize there would be dancing.”
“Of course. We’re famous for it.” I passed her over to Julian, taking her glass in the process. “There’s nothing more elegant at a formal gala than a traditional ballroom dance.”
“I don’t know how to dance.” Harper tried to back away from Julian, but he hooked an arm around her waist and held her tight.
His mischievous grin set off alarm bells in my head, but I trusted him not to break our reputations. “Julian can, and he’s a fantastic partner. All you have to do is relax and let him lead.”
Julian swept her away in a whirl of red skirts.
I carried Harper’s empty glass to the bar and handed it over. Dante waited for me, his body coiled tight as he watched Harper and Julian.
The music soared high then fell low. Julian and Harper danced like they were made for it. Harper’s hands rested on Julian’s shoulders, and every now and then she smiled. It was the smile that tore me up with guilt. By the time the song ended and Julian walked her off the dance floor and into my arms, I’d almost made up my mind to call the whole thing off.
But holding her, seeing her pulse leap and flutter when I held her close, obliterated any chance I had of doing what was right.
“Have you changed your mind?” Harper called out my turmoil within seconds of our dance. “I’m sure you’re worried about the risk we’re taking. I understand if you want to back out.”
I shook my head, the motion helping clear my thoughts. “I’m willing to risk everything. I’m less concerned about myreputation and more concerned with whether it’s right to feel this way about my best friend’s daughter.” I almost saiddeadbest friend’s daughter, but I managed to cut it off at the last second. She didn’t need the reminder.
“Dad always encouraged me to follow my heart. He said that no matter where it led, he knew I’d be okay.” Her voice came out watery, but her chin lifted. “He said love didn’t always follow conventional rules. He discovered that when he fell in love with my mother.”
“He loved her very much.” My heart ached for her. So much loss for one so young. Age did not make it easier, but the life experience made me better able to handle my grief when I lost my parents a few years ago.
“He did.” She blinked several times and cleared her throat. “I don’t think he would mind me being with older men. And he wouldn’t mind me being with you, his friends. As strange as it sounds, I like to think he would approvebecauseyou were his friends.”
“Harper.” I lowered my head, almost desperate to ease the pain in her expression.
“It’s okay, Alexander.” The way she said my name unraveled me. I’d never felt anything like it before. And she wasn’t finished. Her fingertips trailed down my arms and then up to rest on my shoulders. “Dad always talked about how much he respected you. I’ll never know for sure since he’s gone, but that’s what I like to think. You were his best friends, and you make me happy. That would make him happy.” Her chin quivered and she blinked again, but not before a lone tear fell from her lashes and trailed down her cheek.
“I wish I could bring him back for you.” I thumbed the tear away, the touch featherlight. It rocked me to my core when she locked eyes with me.
How did she do this to me? I barely knew her. The first time I’d seen her was during her interview, and even then, the sight of her, the way she spoke and carried herself, put me on high alert. Harper was dangerous to me. It would be too easy to fall in love with her, and if I did that, if I gave her my heart, that was the end of it for me. I’d never love another, and I would burn the world down to keep her.
The music ended and I swept her off the dance floor and over to the bar where Dante and Julian waited.
“Has it been long enough?” Julian asked Dante.
Dante sighed long and low.
“What are we talking about?” Harper took another drink from the bartender and raised it to her lips.
Julian smirked. “Whether we can ditch the gala and head upstairs. With you.”
Harper’s hand tightened on the glass. “How long do you usually stay at your own gala?”
“About this long.” Julian shrugged. “But you know how it is when you’re trying to be sneaky. Everything feels wrong and you overthink every action. No one will think twice about us leaving.”
