Page 42 of Wright Together

I looped my arm through his and moved us toward the bar. “And you? Did you wear that suit so I could take it off?”

“Obviously.”

“Is that why you were all alphahole when you saw me with Max?” I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Alphahole? Is that a real thing?”

“Oh, definitely a real thing.”

Whitt cleared his throat when we reached the bar and ordered us drinks. I took my wine, glad it was an open bar, thanks to the Wrights’ generosity.

“You and Max used to date, right?”

“Sure. A couple of years ago.”

I waited for him to say something more, but he didn’t. He let that simmer between us.

I took a sip of my wine. “Was there another question in there?”

“He was touching your tattoo.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Jealous?”

“Curious,” he said instead.

“Max’s buddy Joseph does both of our ink. He’s a genius. Max hadn’t seen my new peonies.”

“Oh.”

I smacked his arm with a laugh. “Yeah. Oh.”

He looked like he wanted to say more. I could see Mr. Relationship all over him. The need to know whether Max and I were well over. The possessive glint I’d seen in his eye that said he didn’t like anyone else touching me. I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t turn me on. I could see that he was half-tempted to throw me over his shoulder and walk out of the room with me. And even though I’d said that I didn’t belong to anyone, I wouldn’t complain. Not a bit.

“So, how did they get you to have this whole party?” I asked him.

The place waspacked. Not just with Wright employees, but all of the Wright friends and family were in attendance, too. Couples were dancing in the center, people drinking near the bars and congregating around food displayed on long white-clothed tables. ACongratulations, Whitt!banner was strung up across the top of the stage. A balloon arch was against one wall with aWClogo backdrop for pictures. All of this must have been courtesy of Nora, who was the vineyard event planner. I didn’t know how she had the time since she was planning celebrity weddings now as well.

“I tried to get out of it,” Whitt admitted. “Jordan told me we weren’t having a promotion party.”

“And yet…”

“Yeah, you try saying no to Morgan.”

Morgan Wright was a fierce and wildly independent go-getter. That was how she’d made CEO of her family company before she turned thirty. She was a force. I didn’t blame him one bit.

“Fair.”

“It’s not so bad,” Whitt said. He held his glass up. “Free drinks.”

I quirked my lips. “If you think you’re selling this, you’ve failed.”

“Yeah.” He took a long sip of his wine. “I’m incredibly competitive, but only with myself. I want to succeed to meet my own wickedly high expectations. I don’t need the acknowledgment from anyone else to know I’ve hit my goals. It sounds strange to other people, but…”

“It doesn’t sound strange,” I told him. “It sounds like you.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Then, he took my hand in his and placed a kiss on it. “I’ll admit that having you here in that dress sure makes this all worth it.”

I flushed at the compliment. Much better than when he’d been jealous about Max. “If you keep talking like that, I might actually let you take the thing off.”

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