Page 275 of By His Play

Spinning around, I stare up at him.

“Wow,” he muses, his eyes holding mine for a beat before dropping lower.

My body heats, my skin tingling wherever his gaze meets.

“You look…”

As he fights to find words, I take a moment to appreciate him.

Kieran can wear anything—or nothing—and look beyond hot. But Kieran in a tux…a low ache starts up between my thighs.

Any thoughts of what the night will hold or the gossip that’s going to follow our announcement have vanished.

The only thing that matters right now is the man standing before me.

“Fuck, Luck,” he groans, dragging his hand down his face. “You look insane. Do we have time to go upstairs and?—”

“No,” a deep voice barks, and when I look over my shoulder, I find both Kieran’s brothers giving him a warning glare.

“As if you can say anything. When I visited your office, you were knee-deep in—” Lori slaps her hand over Kieran’s mouth as Elizabeth’s eyes widen.

“Enough of that, little brother,” Kian teases.

“Are we ready to go?” Kingston asks.

Kieran’s eyes come back to me.

He’s excited about this event. He is about anything the KC Foundation does to raise more funds for our kids. But right now, I can’t help but wonder if he’s secretly planning to ditch it in favor of spending the night in our hotel room.

Fine by me.

“Grab your girl,” Tate instructs. “The cars are waiting.”

Kieran takes my hand, and together we follow the others out.

There are two limos out the front of the building.

One for them, and another for us.

Riding separately seems ridiculous, but seeing as this is our big night, Kieran wanted to make a point.

My stomach tumbles and my steps falter.

“Effie?” he whispers, concern laced through his voice.

Letting my eyes roll up his chest, I find his gaze.

“I’m okay. I’ve got you. I’ll always be okay.”

He sucks in a deep breath at my words before gently tugging me toward the car.

My nerves only get worse as we make our way through the city.

Thoughts about how badly this could go fill my mind.

Everyone is going to hate me.

No one is going to accept it’s real this time.

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