Page 44 of The Texan's Secrets

“My sis—” He cleared his throat. “My tailor did all this.”

“It’s not a rental?”

He pulled a face. “Please. If I must go black tie, it’s at least going to fit properly.”

“Indeed, it does.” She smoothed his lapel.

He opened the car door and paused to gaze at her. Then he gently brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to muss you up.”

“Be gentle,” she suggested, wanting a kiss herself.

He brushed his lips briefly and tenderly against hers. “To second dates,” he whispered.

“To second dates,” she whispered back.

Six

As they walked into the grandeur of the Texas Cattleman’s Club ballroom, surrounded by wafting music and the din of lively chatter, Nico expected Emilia to attract attention. She was stunningly gorgeous in her dramatic gown. He loved her day-to-day sexy librarian look, but the contacts showed off her beautiful eyes, and he was already having fantasies about her strappy, high-heeled shoes.

In every way, he was elated to be her date. And he wouldn’t have traded the evening for anything. Still, he couldn’t shake the worry that while people were staring at her they might too easily recognize him.

“Will you look at all that.” She slowed her steps, gazing at the arched beams of the high ceiling. Decorative lights had been strung along the beams and up the pillars, giving a soft glow to the polished walls and reflecting off the rich wood floor.

There was a bar in every corner and a colorful hors d’oeuvres buffet offset to one side of the big room. The bandstand at the far end held a chamber ensemble playing background music for the beautifully dressed people who were chatting in pairs and groups. He knew everyone who was anyone in Royal had accepted Misha’s invitation, and happiness bloomed inside him for his sister and her success.

A waitress came their way carrying a tray of craft cocktails. He knew they’d been designed specially for the occasion by the Silver Saddle tapas bar. She offered them amber-and-gold-layered drinks in tall, footed goblets with crushed ice and a thin lime round.

“Want to try one?” he asked Emilia.

“I’m game if you are,” she answered cheerfully.

He took two of the drinks and thanked the waitress.

“Might take the edge off,” Emilia said as she put the drink to her lips.

“Are you nervous?” He was, but for reasons he couldn’t explain to her. He took a quick glance around to see if anyone seemed to recognize him.

It didn’t seem like it. He blew out a breath of relief. So far, so good.

“This isn’t exactly my comfort zone.” She took an experimental sip, then turned her lips in and smacked them. “Yum. That’s really good.”

He tried the drink himself. It was very good, not too sweet, with an undertone of citrus against what he was guessing was tequila and maybe an herbal liqueur. “You might want to take it slowly,” he advised.

“Feels like it’s got a kick,” she agreed but took another sip.

The band played a flourish, attracting everyone’s attention as Misha took the stage.

His sister looked both elegant and professional in a gold, drop-sleeved gown with just enough sequins to glitter as she walked confidently to the microphone.

Applause came up, and she beamed at the audience.

“Welcome,” she said heartily, looking impressively poised and comfortable on the stage. It was a side of her that Nico didn’t often see, and his chest expanded with pride.

“Welcome to k!smet, investors and future investors. And a special warm welcome to our ten matched couples from the Surprise Me! event. Thank you for taking a chance on our fun and innovative function. Your participation helped make this launch both thrilling and successful. I’ll be tracking down and talking to each and every one of you during the course of the evening for a private chat.” She looked to the side of the stage. “As will our media host, Kaitlin Gander, and the video crew. I hope hashtag k!smetlaunchparty will be trending tonight, so keep those social media posts going out and amplify your friends!”

The crowd sent up a cheer, clearly enthusiastic about sharing their experience far and wide.

Nico wasn’t enthusiastic at all. He took a wary look around for cell phone cameras that might be trained his way. He was having second thoughts about risking his identity here, along with the sinking feeling that the night could easily end badly.

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