She was proud of him. She wanted to belong to him.
Maybe this wasn’t so difficult after all. Maybe it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe she could follow her heart and figure out the rest as they went along.
She’d done that once before and it had ended badly, but that didn’t mean it had to end badly all the time. Screw Cinderella and Pygmalion and Eliza Doolittle. Mark was here tonight. He was a little rough around the edges, maybe, but that was part of his appeal. Maybe he could live in her world when he needed to, and she could live in his.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay?” He sounded startled.
“Yeah. We can make that happen.” She leaned in close and touched her mouth to his, sweeping her tongue across his upper lip. He opened to her, his mouth relaxing against hers.
“Huh,” said a voice. “You got the bonus package—image consulting and tongue.”
Pete Sovereign.
Of course.
“Can’t fault your taste,” Pete said to Mark. “She’s hot.”
She could feel the energy gathering in Mark, and she grasped desperately for something she could say to defuse the situation. Something she could say that would keep this from going any further awry.
“Hav?” a voice called.
It was Suellen Marvel from High Note, cresting the stairs to the mezzanine. And behind her, Becca Steele, the marketing director of Noteworthy. She guessed they’d come to see if they could get Mark to talk about the speech.
The appearance of the women was a reprieve, possibly salvation, in fact. They presented the perfect way to rescue the situation and get Pete’s and Mark’s minds off their hatred of each other. Sure, there would still be a lot of work to do to defuse the tension, but at least things hadn’t exploded, as she’d thought for a moment was inevitable. She grasped Mark’s arm firmly, intending to lead him toward Suellen and Becca, and far away from Pete Sovereign.
Pete crossed his arms. He wasn’t trying to hide his cockiness from her now, the way he had that day in her office. The gloves were off. “Did Haven tell you I asked her to come to this thing with me tonight?” he said to Mark. “We had a great coffee date last week, and it seemed like a natural fit.”
Mark’s eyes found hers.
She wordlessly pleaded with him. It’s not what you think. Trust me enough to believe that. But all that came out of her mouth was, “He asked but I said no.”
Mark’s gaze wouldn’t hold hers. It sought Pete again, and he took a step forward. She tugged his arm, but he didn’t budge. “Mark,” she whispered.
Suellen’s eyes followed the action, flicking rapidly from one of them to the other. She had the avid look that reporters got when a situation blew up. Thrill of the chase.
“She did say no,” Pete confirmed. “And now I know why. She was plenty busy, what with having a date to the fund-raiser already, and having you on the side. But no worries,” he said to Haven. “Take your time. And when you’re done with Mark, I’ll take over. That’s the way it works, you know. Mark first, and then when you’re ready for a real musician—”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mark lunge.