Despite the jealousy churning in my gut, I barely manage to keep my tone even as I bite out, “Why would I when the art speaks for itself? Speaking of which, I need to borrow her for a moment. Marcus wants to introduce her to some collectors.”
Spinning her around, I keep a tight grip on her waist,schooling my expression as I guide her across the floor as Walker calls out, “Nice to meet you, Lizzy!”
“You too!” she calls over her shoulder with a wave.
Weaving through a sea of bodies, I beat a hasty retreat down a deserted hallway.
“What the fuck, Rowan!” Lizzy hisses, trying to pull away as I lead her down the dark hall.
Once we reach a small, private alcove, I finally release her.
Green eyes flashing with anger, she wobbles as she spins to face me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demands, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can’t just drag me away like that!”
“The fuck I can’t! You were flirting with Walker Prince in front of everyone! You’re supposed to be my girlfriend!”
“Oh, so you can spend time schmoozing with Carrie, but I can’t talk to someone for five minutes?”
“That was work!”
“Really? Because it looked a lot like she was all over you, and you were enjoying the hell out of it!”
“You do realize you were flirting with my competition, right?”
“So it’s okay for you to make it look like you and Carrie are back together? For the record,hewas flirting withme! I was just being nice. Besides, you promised me you’d stay by my side the whole time!”
“Keep your voice down,” I whisper-hiss, glancing around.
“Oh,I’m sorry. Am I embarrassing you?” she snarks, voice dripping with sarcasm as she throws her hands in the air. “Heaven forbid Rowan Cole be seen having a disagreement with hisfake girlfriend!”
“That’s not what this is about, and you know it,” I growl, gripping the back of my neck in frustration.
“Then what?” She steps into me, the scent of champagne and jasmine filling my nose.
Annnd, now my dick is hard.
“Because from where I’m standing, you abandoned me to take photos with your ex, then got pissed when someone else paid attention to me.”
“First? You said it was okay. Second? Walker isn’t just ‘someone else.’ He’s a calculating asshole who’s been trying to one-up me since both of us were nobodies.”
She narrows her eyes. “Is this really about Walker, or is this about your ego?”
“Myego?” I prowl into her, crowding her up against the wall. “This isn’t about myego. This is about you letting him put his hands on you!”
“Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her breath catches when her back hits the wall. “He barely touched me. Also, why do you even care? This is all fake,remember?”
Like hell.
“Is it, though?” I ask, my voice dropping low as I brace a hand against the wall next to her head.
Her eyes widen, pupils dilating as she looks up at me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that watching another man touch you makes me want to rip his fucking arms off,” I snarl. “I’m saying that leaving you alone tonight killed me. I’m saying that none of this—” I wave a finger in the minuscule amount of space left between us. “—haseverbeen fake for me. Not. For. A. Second.”
Silence thrums. Her chest rises and falls, breasts straining against the fabric of her dress.
My heart thuds an erratic beat in the head of my dick. Mouth parted, her breath pants against my lips as I lean in, right before a shadow catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.
“Shit.”
