Being such a great judge of character, I wasn't even jealous of the many hours she spent with Chase. As a matter of fact, I loved teasing Chase about Hannah being his work wife. I knew to the depths of my soul that she would never bethatkind of assistant, the type who would cross lines and go after my handsome fiancé, no matter how tempting his pretty face could be.

And of course, I completely trusted Chase. He was one of the rare good ones. AndIwas the woman he came home to every night. I was the one he'd proposed to a month ago.

"Did you just get here?" I asked.

She nodded, her eyes widening as she glanced up at the humongous chandeliers.

"We just got here too." Touching her elbow, I tried to regain her attention. "Should we take ourselves on a little tour?"

"I'd love that," she gushed.

Chase was busy with another story, so I didn't bother interrupting him, instead taking Hannah's arm and leading her away. I'd been here many times, but the building, inside and out, was still stunning to me, all art deco with elegant mirrored panels andsleek geometric patterns adorning the many windows overlooking the lights of the city.

"This place is so New York," I said as we slowly walked among the tables. "It's everything I love about living here."

"You grew up here, right?"

"I did. For the most part." With the exception of boarding school and summer trips to our place in the Hamptons.

"I can't even imagine. You must know every street, every store, every restaurant."

"Not quite," I answered with a laugh. "But I'm getting there."

My hand brushed the fine linen tablecloth as we passed, and I took a second to finger the soft material. "Italian or French?" I mused out loud.

A tuxedo-clad waiter with a tray stopped near us. "Truffle arancini?" he asked.

"Why thank you."

The two of us helped ourselves, eating the food delicately, trying our best not to mess up our lipstick or drop crumbs down our cleavage.

We made the rounds, and I dropped all the info I knew about the historical setting, the rich history of the building, some of the famous people that had been married in this very room, introducing her to everyone that we came across.

When people began to sit down, Hannah and I found our way over to the table set aside for Chase's company, Empire Buzz, and we took our seats on either side of Chase. He leaned his head in close to Hannah, speaking to her for a second while I made polite conversation with Chase's right-hand man on my other side.

We were soon inundated with appetizers and drinks, and then the lights went lower as the presentation began. It was supposed to be the next biggest thing in the tech industry, the vibe in the room full of excitement. But my goodness, did I find it dull. Beyond dull.

I shifted in my chair, drawing closer to Chase. Maybe there was a way to make this night a little more interesting?

Staring straight ahead, my eyes fixed on the large screen, I put my left hand under the table, letting it land on Chase's knee. I sensed him giving me a quick glance, then he gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting it drop away.

My grip on him tightened as I moved my hand up his thigh, but his own hand returned, suddenly strong, stopping me in my tracks. Yeah, this wasn't the time or the place I supposed.

With a sigh, I tried my best to focus on the presentation, something about quantum computing and artificial intelligence and scalability, all the techie lingo causing my eyes to glaze over, wondering when we'd get to the good stuff like the silent auction winners.

Giving up on actually trying to understand the topic at hand, I let my gaze wander, and once again, my glance fell upon Ethan and his table which was a bit forward and to the right of where we sat. His dark head leaned in close to the guy next to him, and he whispered something then smirked.

He was the king of smirks, something about that cocky half-smile making it seem like he knew everyone's deepest, darkest secrets, and he could blow this whole city apart if he chose to reveal them. Even though I had nothing to hide, he made me feel as if I did.

The way his seat was angled, I had a great view of his profile, and I took a second to study him, that insane jawline, that perfectly mussed hair, his lips still slightly curved like something was amusing him.

All the sudden, he shifted, and before I could look away, our eyes locked together for the briefest of moments. Oh, dear God. Why did he have to catch me staring at him? Smug jerk that he was, he probably thought I was checking him out.

My cheeks flushed, I snapped my attention back to the screen, determination flooding me not to look that way again tonight. And I definitely succeeded. If there was one good thing about me, it was my determination. If I put my mind to something, I could do it.

The rest of the dinner was a bit of a blur, Chase and his team gushing about the presentation all throughout our meal, while I smiled along, pretending, kind of wondering why I was here actually. I downed the champagne, nodding, agreeing, and laughing when everyone else did, most definitely not looking around again and letting my gaze wander.

Chase was his usual charming self, everyone hanging off his every word. Clearly, the man knew what he was talking about, and it was an incredible turn-on to see. He hadn't always been so successful, only within the past year, and we'd ridden the wave up together.