“Glen, this is gorgeous.” I turn the little rose charm around, watching it scatter spots of light over my skin. “A briar rose, right?”
I don’t remember the last time someone bought me a present just because they thought I’d like it. Not because they wanted me to shout out their product, or they wanted to butter me up to sign a contract, or they wanted to get close to me. I have to blink hard to fight the tears pressing against the backs of my eyes.
I go up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. “Thank you. Put it on me?”
Julie frowns, tapping at her phone. “Excalibur Jewellery sent you their new ruby collection. I think they were hoping you would—”
“Excalibur can wait until the next event,” I interrupt. “I’m not a billboard for companies to stick signs all over.”
“It’s valued at over twenty-five thousand,” she snips.
“You’d better send it back, then. I’d hate for all that money to go to waste.”
“But—”
“Julie, I’m trying to have a romantic moment, here. Could you please work outside?”
She harrumphs and jumps to her feet. “Bet you’re glad I found you new security now,” she mumbles, sashaying out of the room and slamming the door.
“Yes, thank you!” I call after her, pressing the necklace into Glen’s hand. “Please?” I ask him.
“Are you sure?” His lip quirks. “It’s not worth twenty-five thousand.”
“It’s worth a Hell of a lot more, as far as I’m concerned.”
He lets out a soft breath and carefully drapes the necklace around my throat. His big hands are almost unbearably gentle as he fastens the clasp, and I shiver as the cool chain slides over my skin.
Behind us, the door clicks open again. “Oh. Holy shit.” I turn to face Kenta. He trails his eyes over me. “Holyshit.” He repeats.
“Thank you,” I say, flattered. “And thank you for the necklace. It’s beautiful.”
Kenta smiles. “He wanted us all to give it to you together, but I thought you’d enjoy watching him blush.”
“Oh, I definitely did.”
He steps forward, kissing me hard. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” His hands slip down over my hips, then back to my waist. “Christ, it’s going to be hard not to touch you tonight.”
“You can touch me plenty as soon as the premiere is over,” I promise. “Where’s Matt? I want to thank him.”
The guys exchange a look. “He left to speak with the FBI a few hours ago,” Glen says. “He hasn’t gotten back yet.”
That’s weird. “Is there a problem?”
They both shrug. “We wouldn’t know until he gets back,” Kenta says, dragging his hand up my waist, snagging the fabric on my skin. My eyelashes flutter, and my eyes flick over to the bed. Temptation tugs at me.
I sigh. “You should go, now. If I get distracted, I won’t be ready in time.”
Kenta laughs, planting one last kiss on my lips. “Yes, ma’am. We’d better suit up as well.”
“See you soon,” I whisper.
The guys leave, and I head back to my dresser, examining my face in the mirror. I usually have a hair and makeup team, but the guys didn’t want to risk letting a bunch of people into the suite, so I pick up my curling wand and set it to warm up.
I spend the next hour and a half fixing my hair and makeup. I go for a modern pin-up look, with big cat eyes, a red lip, and bouncy pinned-back curls. When I’m finally done, it’s almost time for us to leave. I touch up my lipstick, then drop the tube into my clutch, along with some tissues, a bobble, and some mints. After a moment’s thought, I pull out the bottle of pepper spray Matt gave me, and toss that in, too. Better safe than sorry.
The excitement in my belly flares as there’s a hard knock at the door.
“Come in,” I call, and it flies open. Matt strides inside. “Hang on a sec,” I say, sliding my feet into my heels. “I’m almost ready—”
