Page 68 of Secret Vendettay

“Why?”

“I’m hosting an event. We could go into the city, I suppose, but my uncle will be furious if I don’t make an appearance.”

“What kind of event?”

“A gala. For charity.”

I left out what charity. No need to give her another reason to say no.

Option two.

“Come with me,” I said. “To the gala.”

“I’m…not sure about that.”

“What’s wrong?” I teased. “Worried if you see me in a tux, you won’t be able to keep your hands off me?”

She stopped in front of her window. “Arrogant much?”

I chuckled.

“I don’t have anything to wear to something like that.”

“All you have to do is show up. I’ll arrange everything else,” I said. “And, Luna?”

She waited.

“For the record, you don’t need a dress to look beautiful. You’re stunning, no matter what you wear. I’d venture to guess even more stunning wearing nothing at all.”

I heard the soft breath before her shaking voice said, “See, this is why it’s not a good idea for me to come over.”

“I don’t want you out of my sight, so either I can come there or you can come here.”

She paced faster in front of the window.

“No,” she finally said. “Coming here’s a bad idea.”

I couldn’t decide what I loved more: how worried she seemed to be at the two of us being alone together or the fleeting desire in her voice that tempted her to take that plunge.

“Then it’s settled. Be here by six.”

“I…I’m not sure if—”

“Luna?” I interrupted. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

The smart thing to do, if I had any hope of not falling head over heels for Luna Payne, was to keep a reasonable distance from her. I had money to hire more security, so logically, I didn’t need to have her in my eyesight to keep her safe.

But I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from her when she was in danger. Having her here would ease my anxiety about her safety, but it created another problem: I no longer trusted myself to behave.

In fact, if I saw her in a gown, I wasn’t sure how I would keep my hands to myself.

CHAPTER23

Luna

Iquestioned my sanity for agreeing to this.

Not because Hunter had hired a beauty team to come to me in the “safe” confines of his mansion. Having the finest hairstylists, makeup artists, and others was like being Cinderella for a night.