Page 19 of Covert

Sam tried not to squirm, the intensity of his stare sending her pulse skyrocketing. Thankfully, she was saved from answering by the arrival of their meals, and quickly focussed her attention on the plate of steaming scallops in front of her. As she speared one of the plump molluscs and bit into its juicy freshness, he reached across the table toward her.

“You have some parsley right there.”

She froze, as he brushed his thumb across the corner of her mouth and let it stray to her bottom lip.

It took every ounce of willpower to resist the powerful urge to turn toward his hand and nibble his finger.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, as he removed his thumb, bowing her head and wishing for longer hair to shield her dazed expression.

“No problem.”

His voice sounded husky and she wondered if had any idea the sort of effect he had on her. She’d never experienced such a profound sense of confusion when it came to a man: the jittery nerves, the racing pulse, the hollow stomach. It disconcerted yet electrified her simultaneously.

As she mopped up the last of the garlic sauce with bread, Sam risked a glance at Dylan. Relishing the luxury of studying his impressive profile as he turned to gesture at a waiter, she didn’t notice the man walking purposefully toward them until it was too late.

“Hey, Princess. Fancy seeing you here.”

Sam’s heart sank. Quade Miller, her eldest brother Dimitri’s best friend, towered over their table, his expression smug as he glanced from her to Dylan and back again.

She clenched her hands under the table, wondering how much Dimitri had told Quade about her journey to Melbourne and wishing he wouldn’t call her princess. All her brothers and their moronic friends had called her that for as long as she could remember, delighting in the fact she hated it.

“Hi, Quade. How are you?” Pasting a fake smile on her face, she made the necessary introductions. “By the way, this is Dylan.”

Quade’s grin broadened as he shook Dylan’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Heard a lot about you.”

“Really?” Dylan quirked an eyebrow and gave Quade the same supercilious glare she’d seen countless times before, the one reserved for people who displeased him in some way.

“Yeah, Sam keeps her family informed of her goings on.” Quade shot her another cheeky grin. “Way to go, Princess. So everything I’ve heard is true?”

Please don’t blow it, she silently wished, knowing one wrong word from Quade could send her plans straight to hell, along with her lying soul.

“Possibly, though you know how that brother of mine loves to gossip.” She deliberately kept her response light, knowing Quade would report back to Dimitri and her family, who thought she was head over heels in love with Dylan Harmon, her prospective husband, as she had implied to them.

Quade winked and jerked his head in Dylan’s direction. “In this case, I think he’s hit the nail on the head. Seems like all the speculation is correct.”

Dylan continued to glare daggers in Quade’s direction and Sam knew she had to get rid of the other man fast.

So far, so good, but all it would take was one stray word to blow her cover.

“Nice seeing you, Quade. Though if you don’t mind, we’d like to finish our dinner.” She sent a warm smile in Dylan’s direction, hoping Quade would get the hint.

Thankfully, he did. “Sure thing, Princess. You have fun.”

He nodded at Dylan. “Nice meeting you, Dylan. I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you in the future.”

Sam swore she heard Dylan mutter ‘not if I can help it’ under his breath as Quade walked away and joined a large party at a table across the room.

Dylan’s frigid stare made her want to rub the goosebumps from her arms. “Who’s he?”

She noted the clenched jaw, the thinned lips, and wondered why Quade had made Dylan so uptight. If anyone should’ve been uncomfortable, it was her. She’d been so sure Dylan would read something into her rigid posture and stilted answers yet here he was, looking like an actor who’d forgotten his lines on opening night.

“An old friend,” she said, sipping her water, thankful for the opportunity Quade had presented her.

Though she’d spoken to and texted her family, trying to convince them her continued absence meant she grew closer toher prospective ‘husband’, Quade’s back-up story that he’d seen her having a cosy dinner with her intended would be exactly what she needed to keep their prying noses at bay.

“An old boyfriend?”

“Jealous?” She almost chuckled at the notion, but the strange look that flitted across his face made her wonder.

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