Page 38 of The Nanny and the Don
“Baby, we only enhanced what was already there. You better act like you know,” Ty said, snapping in my face.
“He’s gonna love it,” Celeste added.
I didn’t have the heart to tell them that our relationship wasn’t like that. I could tell that they were excited about my first formal event. I don’t think excitement was what I felt. There was a ball of nerves sitting at the bottom of my stomach and making itself known in the elegant black gown. Thank God I went with black.
Once the glam squad was gone, I paced the floor grateful that the heels we found didn’t hurt my feet. I thought about goingdownstairs to wait for Mr. Gray. There was about thirty minutes left before we were supposed to leave.
I didn’t want to sit around down there waiting on him. My anxiety was bad enough. Still, it was silly to not want to go downstairs to wait. I was almost afraid to sit down in my dress because I didn’t want to take the chance of something getting on it before he saw me. I don’t even know why I cared, but I wanted to look good for him.
He’d gone through all the trouble of hiring a team of people to make sure I looked good on his arm. The least I could do was make sure I didn’t mess anything up before we got there. As much as I detested the idea of going to some boring formal event, I was eager to get out of the house. It had been far too long since I had gone anywhere. I mean, I had been kidnapped a few weeks ago. At the same time, some part of me felt honored that Mr. Gray wanted me to accompany him to the event.
A man like him could have taken any woman in the world, but he wanted to take me. He might have been trying to keep an eye on me, but I was sure his guards were on post outside as usual. Sicily had the day off so she could come in and keep an eye on the kids while we were gone. As silly as it was, I kind of felt like I was going on a date. A date with my mean boss slash kidnapper, but a date either way.
Deciding to get out of my head, I grabbed the sequin clutch I’d selected to match my dress and went downstairs. When I reached the living room, my steps halted. Standing in the middle of the room like he was just waiting for me to show up, he looked like the first black James Bond in a simple black tux and bow tie. He was too fucking sexy to be so damn mean. I took a deep breath before proceeding toward him. I didn’t have to go far because he met me halfway.
“God, you’re stunning, Devlan,” he murmured.
“Thank you,” I said, dropping my eyes to the floor.
Placing his hand under my chin, he lifted my eyes back to his fervent gaze. “Keep your head up, princess. Don’t lower your eyes fromanyone.”
Forcing myself to keep my eyes connected to his, I nodded.
“Sicily is getting the kids ready for bed. King has already asked where you were, so I don’t suggest you go in and rile him up. You ready to go?” he quizzed.
It broke my heart to hear him say King was asking for me. At the same time, he was probably right. I didn’t want to stir him up by going in and telling him that I was leaving.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” I nodded.
Taking my hand, he led the way out of the house. Our ride to the venue was uneventful. An instrumental hip hop mix played as we rode in the backseat of the car. When we made it to the location, the driver stopped in front and climbed out. Mr. Gray didn’t move until he opened the back door to let us out. I didn’t realize that Mr. Gray was still holding my hand until he slid out of the backseat with me in tow. He didn’t stop moving until we made it to the entrance.
“Good evening, Mr. Gray. Mr. Four Quinn is requesting a moment of your time at your convenience.”
“Thank you,” he said, nodding as we continued inside.
The event seemed to be pretty swanky. There was a live band playing classical music and servers walking around with champagne on trays. As we moved through the room, several people tried to get Mr. Gray’s attention, but he never lost his stride until we were at a table all the way at the back of the room.
“I hate these things,” he complained as he pulled a chair out for me to sit in.
I sat down before asking, “Why did you come?”
“One of the first foundations I helped start is hosting. I have to show my face.”
“What’s it for?” I quizzed.
“The foundation provides clothing, shoes, and a piece of luggage to children in foster care. It also helps start the older kids with job training and transitioning into the real world.”
“Oh wow. That’s amazing, Mr. Gray.”
“Steel,” he corrected.
“Sorry,” I said, letting my eyes fall to my lap.
“Devlan, it doesn’t matter how intimidating or scary someone is. You are just as good and just as important as anyone in any room. You hear me?”
I nodded and gave him my eyes knowing why he said that. Then again, why was he saying things like that to me? Every day the lines of what was going on with us blurred. Sometimes I forgot that I was a hostage. Was I even a hostage anymore? I was out at a fancy upscale event as if there was nothing wrong.
“Champagne, sir?” one of the servers asked, standing next to our table.
