Page 40 of Hot Mess

I shook my head. “It’s not rude to ignore them, they are after information. You don’t have to give it to them.” I looked up and out the window.

“Looks like we’re here.”

Kayla gasped. “That’s a lot of people.”

“You’ll be fine. We’ve practiced getting out of the car. We walk in, we sit around and eat the food and listen to the speakers, and then we leave. It will be over before you know it.”

Kayla slid out of the car like a pro. She was stunning. I couldn’t have asked for a better companion. She was lovely and poised. I didn’t like how the paps focused on her, but what did I expect? She was gorgeous. I could barely take my eyes off her myself. The red carpet went smoothly, even though I wanted her by my side, we had agreed that she wasn’t going to pose with me. She was there to keep the studio off my back. Our relationship was going to stay shrouded in mystery until further notice.

“That was nerve-wracking,” she said.

I slipped her hand into the crook of my elbow. The carpet gauntlet was behind us. No more paparazzi.

“You did good,” I said as I patted her hand. “Now it’s just dinner, a lot of speeches.”

I had been completely wrong when I told her the event would be over before she knew it. The food was cold and rubbery, the speeches interminably long. I laughed when appropriate and applauded when they ended. It felt like hours before everything ended and we were headed back out and waiting for our car to be called.

Kayla was too beautiful. It seemed like a shame to waste her beautiful dress on walking down a hallway and sitting around. She deserved to dance in the dress that made her feel like a princess and look like a queen.

Music was being pumped in from somewhere. I didn’t want to stand around waiting. I took her hand and found a small open area of the floor.

“What are you doing?” Kayla giggled.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take you to a proper ball, but you look like you’ve been wanting to dance in that dress all evening.” I pulled her to me and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in close, but not crushing her against me.

At first, we swayed to the music, and then I remembered the basic foot pattern of the waltz. We didn’t have much room, not enough to swing her skirts out. But enough to twirl her around for a bit. We couldn’t have been dancing for long before someone was standing sour-faced near us, watching.

“I am willfully ignoring you,” I said as we danced past.

“Your car is ready when you are, Mr. Sadler.”

I gave him a nod, but I wasn’t ready. I knew once we were back in that car, I had to be hands-off, and that was the last thing I wanted, to take my hands off Kayla.

“Thank you for the dance, Nick. We should go. People are staring.”

“They are looking at how beautiful you are, and how good we look together.”

“You, sir, are a tease.” She stopped dancing.

I had to give in. The evening had taken forever, and yet the moment I had her in my arms vanished in a blink.

Getting into the car wasn’t nearly as complicated as it had been earlier, and Kayla didn’t need to worry if she looked awkward climbing out once back at my place. I followed her inside.

“I’m going to change, and then I’ll head back to my hotel. The stylist is supposed to come back here and pick the dress up in the morning. I had an interesting evening. Thank you for the dance.”

I stepped in close.

“I can help you take that off.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her lips. Her mouth was so fucking kissable.

I dipped my head and pressed my lips to hers.

Her breath caught and she leaned into me.

I pulled back. “Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll leave you be.”

Walking away from her was harder than expected.

17

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