Page 168 of Remy

I chance a glance toward him on the sofa.

Big mistake.

He pushes to his feet in a tuxedo, blinking back tears through a bittersweet smile. “I wish your Mom was here to see you.”

My heart pangs, but I keep my gaze on him, deliberately not chancing eye contact with the other tux-clad man who stands, sucking the entire world into his vortex.

“That dress is amazing.” Lucy clasps a hand to her chest, the other reaching out to steady my father.

“Thank you.” I blush, glancing nervously toward the far hall leading to the front door. “Are we ready to leave?”

“We sure are.” Dad leads the way toward the entry, Lucy holding pace at his side.

I can’t move. Especially not when Remy’s massive frame haunts the corner of my vision.

He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t budge.

I itch to look at him to determine if his silence is for good reason. Does he think I look okay? Have I met his expectations?

“Everything okay?” he finally murmurs, his voice more roughened than usual.

I nod, suddenly mute.

From my periphery, I watch him round the sofa and come toward me.

Shit.

I can’t do proximity. Not when I can already smell his delicious aftershave.

I kick my legs into first gear and start toward the entry.

It doesn’t take long for him to close in behind me, his presence tickling every nerve down my spine.

“You sure know how to steal a man’s attention.” His words are so devastatingly low I question whether they’re a figment of my imagination. “I’ve never seen anything more stunning.”

My breath catches, clogging the back of my throat.

I shouldn’t pause, not when Dad and Lucy are already outside, leaving the two of us alone, but curiosity digs its claws into me, forcing me to turn.

I become entranced by his unfathomable gorgeousness. I’ve seen him in what feels like a hundred different suits. All of them black. But tonight, in his tuxedo, his devastating handsomeness is beyond compare.

He’s different.

No longer a criminal at work.

He’s a man at play. An incredibly suave one, whose hungry eyes rake over me.

“It’s a beautiful dress.” I wipe a sweaty palm over the boning of my bodice.

In this moment, I could almost kid myself into believing that he’s a normal guy, and I’m a normal girl, and a future between us would be far from a mistake.

“It has nothing on the woman wearing it.” He weaves a hand around my back, raising the tiny hairs all over my body as he gently guides me toward the front door.

Every inch of my skin remains flushed and tingling for the twenty-minute drive into Berkeley Springs. Remy takes a turn off one of the main roads and parks in front of a small brick building, a chipped paint sign stating Les Délices de Versailles hanging above the awning.

It doesn’t look like a black-tie restaurant.

If anything it seems more like an everyday eating house. One that locals know to steer clear of if the lack of cars out front is any indication.

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