Page 53 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 1-4

He held out a hand. ‘Primo Holt. I don’t believe we’ve actually ever met?’

Faye might have laughed out loud. Anyone who didn’t know who this man was most likely didn’t have a pulse. But shock kept her from breaking into laughter. She almost wanted to look around them, to see if there was a camera crew capturing her reaction for some kind of a prank show. She might inhabit the same world as Primo Holt, but she was a lot further down the food chain.

She put out her own hand, but just before they made physical contact she had a strange sense that her life was going to be changed for ever the moment they touched. She didn’t have time to pooh-pooh the audacious thought before he was clasping her hand in his, and a powerful surge of electricity ignited her blood and made her skin prickle into goosebumps.

Faye couldn’t help the intake of shocked breath. She saw how his eyes widened a little, as if he too had felt it. They were beautiful eyes. Blue. Piercing and direct. They stood out against the tan of his skin and the stunning architecture of his face. Thick dark golden hair swept back from a broad brow. He really was ridiculously gorgeous—as if the gods had decided to bestow upon this man even more than his birthright of incredible wealth and fortune.

And yet any sense ofbeautywas diluted by a hard jaw and the sheer power field around him that was almost tangible. He was ridiculously masculine, in a world where most men were soft from privilege.

She struggled to make her brain function and somehow managed to say, ‘I’m Faye MacKenzie.’

His hand squeezed hers minutely before letting her go. ‘Yes, I know who you are.’

Faye instinctively brought her hand back into her chest, almost cradling it, as if to keep the sense of his hand holding hers for as long as possible. Dimly she wondered what on earth was wrong with her. She was behaving like a star-struck groupie.

She blinked and dropped her hand to her side. He was still there, but she felt marginally more in control of her reaction.

‘How can I help you?’

He frowned a little and his mouth tipped up, which only brought Faye’s attention there. Her belly did a swooping somersault. Mother. Of. God. The man’s mouth was pure sin. Sculpted and full and firm. And he was laughing at her. Teeth straight and white. He was quite literally an angel in human form. But he wasn’t a benign angel... She sensed that he could very much cause havoc.

Faye dragged her gaze back up. She bristled at the way he was affecting her so easily, making her take leave of her sanity and senses, and she seized it—anything to feel less unmoored by this man’s presence.

‘Is that amusing?’

His mouth straightened, but there was still a glint in his eye. ‘No, not at all, but actually there is something you can help me with.’

‘I find that a little unbelievable.’

Primo leaned against the wall beside Faye, supremely nonchalant. To be under this man’s laser-like gaze was beyond disconcerting. She felt very conscious of the fact that she wasn’t half as glittering as other women at the party. She wished she’d put on more make-up.

‘And why would that be?’ he asked. ‘Aren’t you one of the world’s foremost art experts?’

Her insides jolted. He knew what she did? She couldn’t help a small frisson of pleasure from the compliment. ‘I wouldn’t know about that, but it is my sphere of interest, yes.’

‘I’ve looked you up. You have an impressive list of satisfied clients and have brokered some of the biggest deals in the last decade.’

Now Faye felt embarrassed, and she ducked her head slightly. ‘It’s something I’m passionate about, which makes it easy to do it for a living.’

‘Passion certainly makes things more interesting, no?’

Faye looked at him. Was he...flirting with her? The expression on his face was inscrutable, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. An incendiary image of her and this man with naked limbs entwined flashed into her head before she could stop it. It left her even more disconcerted and breathless. Men didn’t have this kind of viscerally physical effect on her.

Clearly oblivious to her wayward imagination, Primo glanced behind them at the party and then back to her. ‘What would you say if I asked if you’d like to come for a drink with me?’

Faye’s heart thumped and she felt momentarily dizzy. Was Primo Holt, one of the world’s most eligible bachelors, really asking her out for a drink?

‘Not here,’ he added. ‘Somewhere close. I’d like to get your professional opinion on something.’

The dizziness subsided. It wasn’t a date. It was work-related. It wasn’t his fault that his every utterance sounded like something far more decadent and illicit. But a small rogue part of her pointed out that if it was entirely professional he’d have asked if she would meet him at his office, or during work hours. Not late at night. For a drink.

But maybe this was how he conducted business. How would she know? The man was famously discreet in his business and personal life. He’d never been linked with a woman long enough to cause speculation to mount, and the women he did get pictured with all seemed to be as discreet as him.

He was looking at her, waiting for an answer. Even though he’d said he wanted to discuss something, a giddy excitement gripped her. It scared her. Faye got asked out on dates. She even went on some. She even spent the night in some men’s beds. But rarely—and not for a long while.

‘You want to go for a drink to discuss something?’ It was as if she had to have it confirmed.

He nodded. ‘That is unless you need to stay at the party. We could arrange another time?’

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