Page 24 of Forbidden Virgin

She tossed her sleek long hair to the side, and lifted her champagne flute to her mouth. With cherry red lipstick and a flirty sleeveless dress, Amanda didn’t look like she was thinking about business. He knew the way she dressed when she wanted to get his attention and this came pretty darn close. “I mean it. I do want to do business with you and Preston, I want a piece of the pie.” Probably true. Smart and driven, Amanda recognized a good deal when she saw one.

“And what does Jacob have to do with it?” he asked. Inviting Jacob to the dinner party sure added to his stress.

She caressed her choker necklace, and her eyes lit. “He mentioned he was in town and I thought why not invite him? I call it a happy coincidence. Since you’re so hands-on with his daughter’s training, I suggested he bring her along.” She sipped her champagne then sat it on a table. “You know for the sake of learning,” she continued, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

His jaw clenched. Of course she knew about his and Kate’s affair. “Leave her out of this.” If Amanda thought she could intimidate him in any way, he had to set the record straight.

She narrowed her eyes, the contours of her face tightening. “Why should I leave her out? You haven’t. You should treat her like an employee yet you screwed her silly, didn’t you? It’s written all over your face.”

He swallowed. “My private life, or hers, isn’t any of your business.”

She glanced around them to make sure no one listened, and leaned closer. “It is if it puts the deal in jeopardy. Do you think Mark Preston will invest millions in a hotel chain where the owner is screwing his best friend’s daughter?”

If she wanted to blackmail him, she didn’t know him at all after their time together. His blood chilled in his veins. “I’m not playing any games. What do you want?”

“For you to see what’s right in front of you,” she said with a note of impatience. “When you broke up with me, I assumed you needed time to get used to the idea of marriage. We were a great team, Graham, and we can be a team again.” For the first time in a while, a veneer of vulnerability cloaked her and she tilted her head to the side, maybe anticipating his response.

He curled his fingers into a ball. “We’re over, Amanda. I’m sorry if you believed otherwise.”

“This girl is just a phase—you can’t be serious about her.”

“If you want to try for the Preston deal, it’s with the absolute certainty we’ll never get back together. If you blur the lines and think for one second our personal relationship is still at play, then I won’t pursue the account any longer.”

“You would do this for her? Wow. You must really care for her,” she said, her shoulders sagging with disappointment.

He reached for her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, making her look in his eyes. “Amanda. You know me. I like to be honest, and I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”

“Yes.” She blinked a couple of times, her voice faltering for a moment. “Well, I won’t make it awkward for you anymore. I’m still in for the Preston account and I’ll remember the words you just said to me.”

“Thank you.”

“Now let’s talk to the others.”

They walked through the gardens of her place others may find beautiful and lush. All he wanted was this evening that had barely begun to get over with. When he found Kate talking to her father, he had to fight the urge to walk up there and kiss her, his body already showing signs of withdrawal. His throat thickened. His heart drummed foolishly at the sight of her. She wore a turquoise dress that enhanced the color of her big, expressive eyes. When she saw him, she walked toward him and he took a detour so her father wouldn’t notice him.

“Hey,” she said, joining him.

“Hi. How’s it going?” he said, making an effort to glance around the room instead of looking into her eyes.

“This mess is my fault, isn’t it?” she asked, fiddling with the fabric of her dress.

He shook his head. “You meant well. You know, maybe I should just tell Jacob what happened.”

She touched his elbow, bringing his attention to her. The softness from moments earlier vanished and she raised an eyebrow. “No. You have no right. It’s our story, albeit a short-lived one, and I should have a say in it.”

He clenched her wrist, bringing her closer. “I understand but wouldn’t it be easier if we told Jacob?”

She jerked away from him. “For who? For you, because then you don’t have to sleep with a heavy conscience?”

A waiter appeared with a tray filled with champagne flutes and he picked one, then chugged it down his throat. He inhaled, looking at her. If he told Jacob, his friendship was done, but Jacob would also make her life hell. Was it worthy to strain her relationship to her family when she’d be moving out of the country soon anyway? Jacob would try to suffocate her even more if he knew she had slept with an older man—even more than he probably already planned to by sending her sister for a “visit.” Just like this unannounced visit he’d made to check on her. “Hmm.”

“I’m telling you to go with the flow. Grin and bear it during this dinner. You’ll get your Preston deal, my father will keep living in fantasyland, and we’ll be able to enjoy each other until I leave,” she said steadily, and a wave of pride moved through him. She enjoyed submitting to him in bed sometimes but outside the sheets Kate knew how to take care of herself and keep him in check.

Damn it. She’d be okay in Europe away from her family. Away from me. A couple of guests approached them, and he should have known an intimate gathering in Amanda’s concept meant twenty plus people and someone playing a violin. He went through the motions, talking and nodding without really paying attention to the subject even when Jacob joined their group. Every once in a while, he glanced at Kate, and whenever his conscience caught up to him, he turned his head in the opposite direction as fast as he could manage. She chuckled, obviously more entertained than he, with a flicker of mischief in her baby blues.

What would his life be like after she left? The same as it used to be before. He cleared his throat. Less sex and laughter. Less . . . of everything. Shit. Out of all the dumb decisions he’d made in life, it was time to admit—at least to himself—that falling in love with her had been the worst of them.

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