Page 35 of Red Hot Harmony

“Do you remember about Mia’s Hope on Friday?”

The charity event Eden was pretty much forcing me to attend.

“Yes, that’s what we’ll need to talk about tomorrow. Among other things.”

“You’re scaring me, Dante.”

“No need to be scared, darlin’.” I smiled at the sight of Snowflake dragging one of my boots across the living room. “It’s good stuff.”

It really was. At least, it felt that way.

5 Camille

No matter how much I’d tried to mentally prepare myself for this moment, it was everything I hadn’t expected it to be. Blinding camera flashes. A sea of unfamiliar faces. Apocalyptic noise level. My arm locked around Dante’s elbow so tight, I must have cut off his circulation.

“Don’t look anyone directly in the eye,” he whispered in my ear as we walked along the short stretch of sidewalk from the limo to the front entrance of the venue.

“Does that help you?” I dropped my gaze to the cream-colored cocktail dress I was wearing and smoothed a line of wrinkles crisscrossing the front. I’d bought the piece specifically for the event at Harper’s insistence.

“You need something fab, sweets,” he’d said to me one morning while in my office at work, browsing an online Calvin Klein catalogue. Then he’d called me over to show me a knee-length, figure-hugging number.

“It’s very...open,” I’d pointed out the low décolletage.

“You’ve got the body for it,” Harper had argued.

Now half of L.A. was staring at my boobs. And the worst part? The fabric was so soft that at times, I forgot I was wearing a piece of clothing over my strapless bra and panties. Basically, it felt exactly like it had in my recurring teenage nightmares in which I’d accidentally gone to school naked.

“I’m an attention whore, darlin’.” Smiling—mostly for the crowd—Dante offered a response, bringing my thoughts back to the present as he rested his other palm over mine. “I don’t mind.”

Tonight, he was dressed to impress. Low hung jeans. Boots. Black long-sleeved shirt. The top three buttons were strategically left open, revealing a portion of his toned chest and a thick gold necklace. He was bad in every sense of the word. His eyes, his hair, his smirk. And it only made me want him more.

“I love you, Dante!” someone shouted from off to the side.

“Dante, you look great!”

“Dante, will you sign my T-shirt?”

Eden, his publicist, whom I’d met three days ago during the dinner at his place, strode in front of us, leading the way and helping the security guard shoo the overly eager fans away. She was a small woman with short brown hair, sporting a pair of impressive pumps and tight dress pants that accentuated her curves. Her voice and her personality, however, didn’t match her miniature size.

My mind drifted back to the moment when she witnessed me and my daughter entering Dante’s living room, her eyes wide with shock. It was Tuesday evening and instead of having the lesson at my place, we’d driven to his house. The fact that we were going to see Snowflake had earned Dante extra points. Despite the pipe disaster at the boutique, which ended up requiring my presence, it had been difficult to say no to the invitation on account of the tiny, cuddly creature and the promise of sushi. It didn’t even matter that it was takeout.

I needed a night off. Partially because the sexual tension between us was making my head spin and partially because Dream Bride had been so slammed these past few weeks, I was working even when I wasn’t there.

“I don’t want her to get caught in the crossfire,” Dante had said to me on the phone the day before. “Eden can walk you through some things... And I miss you.”

I found it charming that he cared about our well-being so much that he’d decided to arrange a meeting with his publicist. I also found it unbelievably sweet that he didn’t shy away from telling me how he felt. It didn’t seem to be in his nature.

And now, as we marched over to the edge of the red carpet that was rolled out along a huge step-and-repeat banner, I felt a whole multitude of emotions bubbling up inside me. They’d been maturing all week, taking form, shaping up into something solid and certain.

Like a ripening fruit.

Or like a flower about to bloom.

Eden came to an abrupt stop and spun around, her gaze falling on Dante first and then on me. “Ready?” I heard the word leave her mouth.

The noise was becoming too much. I sucked in a deep breath and tried not to think about anything but the feel of Dante’s fingers cupping my hand, the comforting warmth of his touch.

“Always, darlin’.” He grinned at Eden, his head dropping to my shoulder before he whispered, “It’ll be quick. I promise. You look gorgeous.”

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