She didn’t miss a beat. “Noted. You look like you could use something stronger, though. Mind if I buy you a drink?”
“I’m on duty.” He nodded towards the entrance. “Designated watcher of the door.”
She followed his gaze, clocked his relentless vigilance, and made a little pout. “That’s dedication. Or are you being stood up?”
He took a measured sip, keeping his smile gentle. “Time will tell.”
She didn’t press further, just slipped away in search of a more amenable target, leaving behind a faint cloud of high-end perfume.
He was so focused on the door that he didn’t notice Liam was right beside him. Liam had the kind of presence that made people move out of his way without quite knowing why—tall, broad, with the quiet confidence of someone who could bench press apickup, drop it on you, and then save your life. Tonight he wore a suit that cost more than most people’s first cars, but he seemed just as comfortable in it as he did in scrubs.
Liam’s gaze flicked briefly to the door, then back to Deacon. “You expecting a SWAT team to crash the party? I can have security do a sweep. Just tell me who we’re looking for.”
Deacon smiled.
There was a short pause, filled by the clink of glasses and the echo of laughter. For a few seconds, it was almost comfortable, the two men side by side, neither needing to fill the space with talk.
Then, in a shift so subtle it could have gone unnoticed, Liam angled his body to face Deacon more directly and the energy shifted to something more serious. “I was reading a paper yesterday—there’s a new trial opening up soon, has anyone talked to you about it? I think Tabby’d be a good candidate.”
“No.”
Liam spent the next ten minutes laying out what he’d read and why Tabby would be a good fit. “Let me know if you want me to reach out to her cardiologist. It’s Dr. Henson, right?”
Even though Liam was a doctor, so it was his world, having him take such a special interest in Tabby and her condition meant more to Deacon than Liam would probably ever know. Especially with Deacon being a single dad, having no family before showing up to Hope Falls. “Thanks man. I’ll call Henson tomorrow and let you know what he says. And thanks for thinking of her.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s family,” he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Deacon nodded, and as he scanned the room, the doorsopened again, and this time when he saw a flash of red, it wasn’t a false alarm. It was her.
“Well, that mystery is solved.” Beside him Liam chuckled, then slapped his hand on Deacon’s shoulder. “Have a good night.”
Deacon barely heard Liam speaking and didn’t really register his words. He was only vaguely aware he’d walked away. All his brain power was focused on one thing. Jenna Thomas was walking into the Hope Falls Concert Hall ballroom.
She was there. She came. His mind, his dirty mind, instantly thought, but did she? Or did she do as he asked? Had she touched herself in the bath? Had she put lotion on and pretended it was his hands? Had she sprayed the perfume in a single spot that only he would be able to smell? Was she wearingonlywhat he provided? That would mean she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Which he couldn’t think about right now, otherwise, he’d embarrass himself or maybe even get arrested for indecent exposure because if he really thought about it, he wasn’t sure his pants could hold him.
He didn’t know, and he couldn’t think about it, but he hoped before the night was over he would find out.
Jenna’s legs were shaking as she walked up the steps of the newly renovated Hope Falls Concert Hall. She couldn’t believe she was there. She couldn’t believe the dress and the shoes fit. And she couldn’t believe she’d followed Deacon’s instructions. All of them. To a tee. She was currently in public with no undergarments.
Thankfully, the dress was designed to be worn without a bra, so it had a structured top, otherwise, that would havebeen impossible. But as far as underwear, this was the first time she’d ever gone commando. It felt…dangerous. Wild. Naughty. She probably shouldn’t like it as much as she did. It was ridiculous at her age.
As she handed over her gala ticket to the usher at the entrance, her hand was shaking. This was the final instruction. After this, she was flying by the seat of her pants, except she wasn’t wearing any pants.
When she arrived at the large double doors to enter the ballroom, before the attendant pushed it open, she took a breath and paused. “One second.”
He waited. If she walked through those doors, she would be relinquishing control. Number nine,I will do the rest. What was she agreeing to? What if he made a scene? What if he told her to do something untoward in front of people?
Untoward?
She’d been reading too much historical romance lately. He would never do those things. Why was she thinking the worst of him? He hadn’t even outed that they knew each other to a single soul. He sent her the dress she was wearing. The jewelry she was wearing. The shoes she was wearing. The perfume she was wearing, Baccarat Rouge. Which, holy moly, smelled amazing. She didn’t even know perfume could smell that good.
Behind her, she heard voices coming, if she was going to do this, she needed to put her big girl panties on, metaphorically, of course, and do it.
Her eyes opened and she nodded to the kid who looked maybe two years older than Blake. He pushed the door open, and she walked inside. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected to see, but she was immediately surprised at what she did see. The room was packed. There were probably a thousand people there. And she didn’t recognize a lot ofthem. It wasn’t just Hope Falls’ residents. The majority were non-townees. Which made sense. This event was being hosted by Niko Costas, Tiana’s fake boyfriend, and Brock Bartlett, Tiana’s ex-husband, and three other sports stars, including a world champion boxer, MMA fighter, and Super Bowl MVP quarterback.
Jenna wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that she was surrounded by so many strangers. Probably better, hopefully no one would notice her. She scanned the crowd and was relieved when she saw one familiar face and walked straight towards it, grabbing champagne on the way.
