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Drew and Connor were officially the worst brothers ever. Instead of distracting their dad, they had invited potential dates for her to the spring ball.
The beautiful decorations, delicious food, and the amazing band did little to assuage her irritation. Worse, she’d worn a dress that she’d been saving for a special occasion to this, and it would be totally wasted on a man not of her choosing.
She was positive Connor had done it because he thought the entire situation was hilarious while Drew contributed to her misery because he thought his pick was better than their dad’s choice—a man none of them had met, yet.
“A word, if you please,” she all but growled at them.
Connor grinned. “Is there something wrong?”
“Not with my suggestion,” Drew said. “The man is brilliant.”
“The man is no more interested in me than I am in being here tonight,” London huffed. “How did you meet him anyway?”
“Employee.”
“You can’t do that with employees. Their personal lives are off limits,” she said. It also invited lawsuits.
“Their personal life is of no interest to me, only their job performance,” Drew countered.
“Then how did you know he’d be interested in meeting me?”
“I only required that the list given to me contained unmarried men... and I didn’t share that he’d be meeting you, only that he was an honored guest.”
Connor burst out laughing. “Your guy has been in a serious relationship with his partner for a decade, but they don’t want to get married. He and Trent would rather travel.”
“How do you know?” Drew asked.
London blinked. “Yeah, how do you know?”
“I asked him.”
London gave her brother a horrified look.
Connor let out a long-suffering sigh. “I didn’t ask him if he were gay. I asked if he were having a good time and he was the one to share it all with me.” He turned to Drew. “Do you even allow people to talk at work?”
“Why would they talk about their personal lives at work?”
London glanced at Drew. “Because that’s how people form relationships.”
“Waste of time, if you ask me,” Drew said.
“No one would ever ask your opinion on that,” Connor said.
“Says the man who ignored company rules to marry Montgomery Industries’ librarian and got her fired.”
Connor shrugged. “At least I didn’t have to buy my wife.”
“Stop it. Both of you,” London said before a fight ensued. “I need your help and what y’all have done is the exact opposite of help.”
“Who did Dad invited?” Drew asked.
“I have no idea.”
Connor scanned the room. “He hasn’t introduced you yet?”
“No. He was suspiciously quiet on the ride over, so that’s how I know he’s up to something that’s really, really out of line.”
“The night’s still young,” Drew said. “Maybe his pick hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Maybe he didn’t invite anyone,” Connor said.
London and Drew both gave Connor a yeah right look.
He held up his hands. “Fine. He invited someone, but he’s playing his cards close to the vest.”
“As the host, wouldn’t you know who?” London pressed. “You have security and a guest list.”
“Why don’t you simply ask him?” Drew suggested.
London started to disagree, but her brother was correct. They should simply ask their dad. “You’re right.”
“Great. Now you’ll never hear the end of it,” Connor said on a groan. “Let’s go.”
She shook her head. “Not us. Me. I’ll ask him.”
“I thought you wanted our help,” Connor said, his brows crashing together.
London nodded at his pick, who was currently on the dance floor, but instead of dancing, he was busy shoving his tongue down his dance partner’s throat. To be fair, judging by the way she grabbed his ass, she was enjoying every minute of it. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Drew fell in step beside her as she walked away in search of their dad. “I thought that having someone here for you already would make Dad reconsider.”
“Are you attempting to apologize to me?”
“Yes.”
She glanced at her brother, smiling. “Apology accepted. Don’t ever do it again.”
“I promise not to interfere.”
London stopped, turning to Drew and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I know we give you a hard time, but I do love you.”
“I love you back.” Drew smiled tightly. She knew he didn’t feel comfortable sharing his feelings. To be vulnerable was a weakness that he didn’t enjoy experiencing—except with his wife, and to some extent his best friend, Blake. “I’d do anything for you, little sister. Just remember that when I’m not so... agreeable as Connor.”
“Don’t compare yourself to Connor. He’s—“
“Charming and fun and people want to be around him.”
“Yes, he is all those things, but that doesn’t make you less.” She couldn’t imagine what her brothers’ relationship would be if they had to compete in the areas of business and women. Most likely, her tight family would have come unraveled. “Underneath that hard shell is a softy of a brother who would do anything, not only for his little sister, but for his family and friends.”
“Thank you for saying that. “ He lifted an imposing brow. “Remind our father that we Montgomerys tend to go our own way when it comes to love.”
“I will.” She gave him a quick hug, then resumed her search, only her dad was nowhere to be found in the enchanted forest themed ballroom. “I can’t believe he’s missing.”
“Who’s missing?”
London turned, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face and nearly swallowed her tongue at the sight of the man standing in front of her. Dressed in a bespoke black tux, the stranger’s blue on blue eyes seemed to penetrate to her soul. His lips were full and sensual, the type that people paid thousands to have surgically enhanced in order to copy. His nose was straight and his cheekbones were sharp, a wonderful contrast to his pouty mouth.
Impossibly wide shoulders, along with a confident stance, made her feel simultaneously protected and on edge. This man clearly knew his place in the world.
“My date,” she said evenly.
“Not much of a date if he ghosted you.”
London’s temper pricked at his assumption. “He didn’t ghost me.”
A dark brow lifted. “If you were my date, I wouldn’t leave you alone for a second.”
She tilted her head to one side, the dark curls of her hair sliding along her shoulder. “Is that supposed to make me pick you over him?”
His sexy lips quirked. “Wasn’t aware that I was presenting you with a choice.”
She’d stepped right into that one, and more to the point, he was complimenting her after presumably insulting her. Lord, this man was confusing. “You inserted yourself into my conversation.”
“The one you were having with yourself.” He nodded a little. “I can see how you might consider my interruption to be rude. My apologies for assuming the worst.”
She bit back a smile at his seemingly genuine remorse. “Unless you were only interrupting to help me.”
“As in help you find your date?” He shook his head. “Wasn’t about to do that.”
“That’s not very chivalrous of you.”
“Maybe not... or I could be doing you a considerable favor.”
“Why would anyone consider a lack of help to be a favor?”
He smiled slowly, then said, “Because it would open you up to more options.”
“I think you meant option, as in you’re the only option for me.”
“Glad to see that we’re on the same page.” He held out his hand as the band started to play again. “Dance with me.”
“Absolutely.” She placed her hand in his much larger one and a delicious thrill traveled through her, all the way to her core, making her gasp.
“Sorry about the cold fingers. I had a drink first.”
His skin was warm and slightly calloused. A working man’s hands. “No, it’s not... your hand is the perfect temperature.”
“Will your date mind that we’re dancing?” he asked, pulling her in close to him. The air fairly vibrated between them.
Technically, her date was her dad and if he was watching them, he’d probably be gleeful. “If he does mind, will you stop dancing with me?”
He smirked. “Not a chance.”
Briefly, she wondered if the opposite were true, and since she wasn’t one for mincing words, she asked, ”And if he didn’t care?”
The stranger dipped his head, his lips nearly touching her ear and making her shiver. “I wouldn’t let go of you until you ordered me to.”
She licked her lips, looking into his sexy blue eyes. “My date doesn’t care.”
“Do you want me to let you go?” He pulled her in closer, until her body was flush with his and she could feel the heat from his body emanating from his tux. He was hard, muscles bulging in all the right places beneath his jacket.
“No.” She breathed in his scent, all masculine... all intoxicating with the barest hint of cologne. “Unless...” Oh gosh. She really hoped she was wrong. “Did my dad send you to dance with me?”
“I don’t think anyone’s dad would ever send me to dance with their daughter.”
“So you have no idea who I am.”
“’Fraid not.”
She gave him a brilliant smile. “Excellent.”
“You’re happy that I don’t know you,” he said, giving her an odd look.
“It means that you’re here with me because you want to be, not because you think you should be.”
“In my case, both are true. I want to be here and I should be here, with you in my arms, while we dance.”
Swoon. Was he real? “And why is that?”
“Just a feeling I had about you,” he murmured.
“What if the feeling wasn’t returned?”
“Then we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
Touché. “What if I were too polite to say no?”
“You’re don’t strike me as the doormat type.”
“Being polite means a person is a doormat?”
“If it’s at the cost of their value system or personal safety, absolutely. There’s nothing inherently polite about the word yes or inherently impolite about the word no. They are simply choices to be made, based on the best information at hand.”
“I had no idea that our conversation while dancing would take this serious of a turn.” She smiled up at him. “I’d ask your thoughts on southern manners versus manipulative niceness, but I’m afraid that you’ll pigeonhole me.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Yankee prejudice would cloud my judgment, huh?”
“You’re a Yankee?” she asked and widened her eyes innocently. “ I had no idea, sir.”
“The lack of drawn out vowels should have been your first clue.”
“But your manners are divine,” she replied in an over exaggerated drawl that would make any North Carolinian cringe. “Kidding! Seriously though, tell me about yourself.”
He paused, studying her face, as if trying to figure out if she were serious or not, or maybe he wasn’t sure what to do with such a direct request. Yeah, she wasn’t the best at flirting, but she did the best she could with what she had.
“Grew up in New Jersey. Single mom raised me. Former military.”
That had to explain the hands and his build. He wasn’t a banker who sat at a desk all day. “Thank you for your service.”
He grew visibly uncomfortable, swallowing hard. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“I won’t bring it up again,” she said.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said and exhaled. “I just don’t like being thanked for doing my job. That’s my problem, not yours.”
“I get it,” She tilted her head to one side, reconsidering her statement. “I mean, I don’t exactly get it because I haven’t been in your shoes, but I can see why you’d feel that way and respect it.” She cleared her throat. “Are you close to your mom?”
“Yes. She’s the strongest person I know. Worked her fingers to the bone to raise me.”
She smiled softly. “I was close to mine, too.”
“Was?”
“She passed when I was thirteen. She lost her battle with breast cancer.”
His vibrant blue eyes grew dim. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you.” She shook her head. “Wow. That went in a direction I didn’t expect.”
“Ask me something else. Anything, but make it a little more fun this time.” He winked at her and then spun her around, before pulling her back in.
“Anything, huh?”
“I’m not easily offended.” He tilted his head to the side. “Actually, I’m rarely offended.”
“I’m thinking. I’m thinking.” She grinned as her question came to mind. “Growing up, were you the bad boy type?”
“ I was. Eventually, I grew out of it. Mostly.” He shrugged even as a mischievous smile slid on his face. “What about you?”
“I’m the youngest and only girl. What do you think?” She winked at him, feeling way more confident than she should with a man she’d never met before.
“That you can be a master manipulator to get your way. In fact, I bet you batted those gorgeous eyes of yours, and they fell all over themselves to do your bidding.”
“More like they put me in a suitcase once and sent me down the stairs in it, shouting that I was a special delivery.”
He considered her words for a moment. “You asked them to do it.”
She grinned. “Guilty. I saw them taking turns and didn’t want to be left out. What about you? Siblings?”
“A couple, but I’m not close to them. We didn’t grow up together.” A shadow passed over his face, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. “I hope that changes.”
Her heart went out to him. “I hope it does, too. Family is everything to me, so if you can reconcile your difference, you’ll be so much better for it.”
The song ended, but her dance partner didn’t relinquish his hold on her. They stood there, swaying to the melody that only existed in their heads.
“Everyone is staring at us,” she whispered.
“Let them.” But his actions contradicted his words when he escorted her off the dance floor.
She didn’t let go of his hand. Instead she smiled and said, “I’d like to get some fresh air. Will you join me?”
“Far be it from me to deny the lady.” He walked with her outside, through a copse of trees with fairy lights twined in their branches.
Fragrant flowers in shades of rose and gold lined the path. Underneath the starry sky, the garden terrace felt enchanted.
“Are you here to be seen or to actually support my—“ she paused, unwilling to reveal her last name. He didn’t seem to know who she was or who she was related to, and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. “one of my favorite charities.”
“I think if you’re going to continue to ask such personal questions that we should exchange names at least,” he said and her heart stuttered. He led her to a bench and indicated she should sit, then joined her.
“Um...”
“First names,” he amended.
“Oh, well, you first.”
“Sawyer.”
“That’s a great name.” She gathered the wispy material of her pink and white skirt in her fists.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asked, brushing a thick strand of hair off of her shoulder.
“A little,” she admitted as her skin prickled with awareness. “But in a good way.”
He scooted closer to her, until his thigh was firmly against hers. “Don’t be nervous. I’m mostly a gentleman.”
She burst out laughing. “Mostly?”
He cupped the side of her face. “I don’t think a gentleman would kiss a woman without knowing her name first, so there’s that.”
She turned into his touch. “Why can’t a gentleman be bold, especially if the woman wants him to kiss her, without the weight of her name between them?”
He didn’t answer her with words. Oh no. He brushed his lips against hers, so gently that she thought she imagined it. Her eyes fluttered shut and her hands reached out to touch him, one landing on his rock hard thigh and the other on his shoulder. While she wanted to touch his chest, she didn’t want him to think that she was pushing him away.
“Another kiss?” he asked
She nodded. “A billion more.”
He kissed her again, taking possession of her mouth while encouraging her to kiss him back. He slid his lips along hers, his tongue tracing the corners until she parted her lips. She fully expected him to deepen the kiss, fully expected he would take control and not learn what she liked.
London couldn’t have been more wrong.
Sawyer was a tease, a pure tease, and drove her mad as he nipped and sucked, and placed rather chaste kisses while she hungered for more. She sat up taller, moving her hands so that she could sink her fingers into his hair. His light brown hair was like thick, heated silk against her skin. He all but made a purring sound as her nails lightly scraped his scalp.
She grew restless as time passed, as he kissed her and stroked her back, finally holding her against him with his hands on her waist.
Another pass of his lips and she simply went for it, and deepened their kiss, tangling her tongue with his until she was breathing his air. He pulled away and looked at her, simply looked at her like he’d never seen another woman before.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. Her lips felt swollen, bee-stung, and her skin slightly raw. It was the best feeling she’d had in a very long time.
“I still don’t know your name.”
“London.... London M—“
“No.” He pressed a finger against her lips. “ Last names would ruin this moment.”
She kissed his fingertip and leaned against him, his arms coming around her. A dreamy sigh floated from her lips. This moment was so perfect. He was perfect. “Nothing could ruin our moment.”
“Get your fucking hands off my little sister, Taggart,” Drew snarled from behind her.
London’s gaze flew to Sawyer’s, her heart lodged in her heart. She swallowed hard. “You’re a Taggart?”