He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and tried to hide a smile. “Yeah, I might have borrowed some family jewelry from the safe deposit box. With Mom’s permission, of course, and with one condition: she wants pictures.” He pointed at her lap. “Open it.”
She flipped open the box and blanched.
“A-are you crazy?!” she sputtered, gazing back up at him with wide eyes. “I—Theo, I can’t—”
“Sure you can. Here, let me help you put it on. Turn around.”
“You can’t be serious.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a stern look. “Oh, I’m quite serious, Miss Adams.”
“This isn’t a family heirloom or something, is it?”
He ignored the question. “We’re going to a black-tie gala and there’s a dress code. This is a Manhattan glitterati event. You’re going to be mingling with a lot of very wealthy people, and you should look the part. Just for one night. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
She frowned at him. “But I’m not—I-I’m just a barista from Florida. I’m not one of them. I don’t know—”
“Quit worrying,” he said softly. “I’m glad you’re not one of them. I wouldn’t want you to be. And besides, you’re just borrowing. It’s like a costume.” He took the box from her and twirled a finger in theair in silent command for her to twist in her seat. “Now, I didn’t know what color your dress would be, so I had to go with the most neutral thing.” When she obeyed, he brushed her hair away from her neck. “It’s notmyfault that just so happened to be a whole bunch of antique diamonds.”
Audrey glanced at him over her shoulder while he swept the diamond-encrusted necklace around her neck. It was strung with five rows of diamonds curving along her collarbones into a vee that dipped lower and dripped with a much larger diamond suspended at the lowest point. It was cool and heavy, and Theo looked exceedingly pleased with himself while he fastened its clasp.
Even with it on, she could see how much it sparkled beneath the passing streetlights.
“There,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck before leaning back in his seat and snapping the box shut. “You were already gorgeous—but now you’reready.” He took her hand again and interlaced their fingers once more.
Only when they got close and found their place in the line of cars waiting to pull up outside the hotel did he squeeze once and finally let go. Lights flashed in the distance as someone got out of a car.
“Are you okay being photographed?” she asked with a worried frown. “Should we go around the back? Or did you bring a mask?”
Theo shook his head slowly. He was as resigned as she’d ever seen him. “No. I’m going as I am. It’ll be better to get it all over with at once like this—rip the Band-Aid off.” He sighed and looked at her again. “At least this way, so many of them will have pictures of me that it’ll be hard to sell my new likeness as an exclusive. But areyouready, sweetheart?” He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re showing yourself to them too. Don’t be surprised if we end up in the tabloids. The Redmonds are an old, well-known New York family. We even have our own charitable foundation I’m representing here tonight.”
“I’m all right so long as I’m with you.”
“Okay. Then let’s do this.”
Wesley stopped the car and someone opened the door from the outside. The paparazzi didn’t start yelling in earnest until Theo unfolded his long legs and stood, stooping to help Audrey out next—and then they seemed to realize who he was.
“Theodore! Theodore Sullivan, look this way, look here!” Lights from the cameras bounced everywhere, blinding Audrey and making her see spots. She clung to Theo’s arm and he helped her stay steady before shutting the door.
But as soon as Theo lifted his head and showed the right side of his face to the red carpet, all hell broke loose.
Between the inordinate amount of flashbulbs popping off and the photographers’ screams, it was practically a feeding frenzy.
“What happened to your face?!”
“Where did you get that scar?”
“Look here, Mr.Sullivan! Look here!”
“Were you in an accident?”
“Was it from when your father died?”
Some of them realized that probably wasn’t the right approach and quickly shifted tactics.
“Is your mom planning to retire?”
“To your left! Your left!”
