throbbed through him, her kiss singing through his veins until his breath tore out of him in gasps. He
pulled away and shakily kissed each of her cheekbones, the tip of her nose. “Do you want to get out of
here?”
The mere touch of her hand as she set it trustingly in his sent another shiver through him, filling
him with relentless excitement as her lips curled in a smile of mischief. “Please, let’s. Do you have a
decoy?”
He shook his head but smiled in mischief as he glanced at the front ballroom doors, where a couple
of VIP press members seemed to be clamoring for a picture, their long lenses on the cameras, aimed
straight in their direction and zooming in. Every eye in the party seemed to be focused on them, and
when Monica realized this, her eyes first widened in concern, and then she pressed to his side and
laughed softly. Their bodies thrummed against each other, vibrating with new life as they linked their
fingers together.
“Maybe we should just give them what they’ve been begging for all these years,” she lightly
suggested.
His chest swelled at those words and the confidence in them, and Daniel’s grip tightened on her
fingers. “All right, if we’re doing this, let’s go all out and give them a field day.”
He scanned the crowd for a head of light blond hair and noticed Chloe was already leaving through
the back door, a big smile on her face as she waved. Seconds later, Daniel and Monica stepped out of
the ballroom, the reporters who had lingered there charging feverishly after them. They headed out the
lobby, where even more paparazzi stood in wait. One of Daniel’s Bugatti cars was parked at the very
entrance driveway of the hotel, and it automatically beeped as Daniel and Monica approached.
Flashes erupted all around them, and for a moment both Daniel and Monica stopped to face them,
his arm around her.
“Mr. Lexington, are you together?”
“Is she The One, Daniel?”
“Ms. Davenport, is there anything going on between you?”
“Daniel, is she The One?”
Neither answered as they allowed a couple of pictures, and Daniel finally opened the door for her,
led her in, locked her in, and then he slid in behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Daniel, it’s going to be difficult for me,” Monica said as soon as he pulled them out of the hotel
driveway.
He checked the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t followed, then made a left. “That’s all
right, we’ll take it one step at a time. I’ll spend some nights in your place, you spend some in mine.
We can leave some clothing. I don’t care where as long as you’re in my arms.” He braked at the stop
light and glanced at her with a grin, taking in her amazed expression, her pink cheeks, the special
warmth in her eyes, that ear-to-ear smile that matched his. “How does that sound?”
“It sounds like heaven.”
His chest overflowing with emotion, Daniel reached over and squeezed her thigh, then shifted gears.
“Where to, princess?”
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”
“You regret it?” He baited her with a smirk. But no. He couldn’t miss the excitement in her voice.
The excitement whirling inside his car. In his heart.
“I’m excited, Lexington. Very excited.”
“Yours or mine, princess?”
She took a quick breath that shook with emotion, then she laughed and sat up on the seat to quickly
grab his head and kiss his temple, his jaw. “Yours. Yours.” She settled down so he didn’t get
distracted from the road, he supposed, and quickly put her hand over his on the gear shift. She lightly
squeezed, and this time, she never let go. “Yours.”
Epilogue
One month later, an excerpt from the Chicago Gazette social section:
It’s Official!
Well, ladies and gentlemen, for all those of you single out there, it’s official. Monica Davenport and
Daniel Lexington are an item. MoDa, as they’re now being called, have been spotted everywhere
around town, in events, snuggling, holding hands, and as you can see in the picture below, publicly
kissing! If we failed to see a fair amount of PDA from Miss Davenport before, it seems there’s now
PDA going aplenty between the good-looking pair. And now there’s speculation on whether or not our
beloved MoDa might be soon tying the knot. Miss Davenport has been wearing something that looks
like a very elegant Asscher cut diamond engagement ring, and she’s been spotted visiting the most
prestigious museums for what we speculate might be the perfect setting for the grand event. Stay
tuned!