A mere two hours later, I wasn’t as hopeful. Was this night ever going to end? When we arrived at L’étang, Lucas escorted me around the private room and introduced me to everyone as his step-sister. This meant I couldn’t visibly react when several of the women present practically devoured him with their eyes even as they held onto the arms of their own dates. I didn’t object when he got me settled in my seat and then left me there to go talk business with a small group of men huddled in the corner before dinner was served.
The meal was spent with the men discussing business while the women pushed their food around their plates and looked pretty. Except for me. I enjoyed the heck out of my ridiculously expensive steak. After dessert had been served, the men excused themselves for an after-dinner drink at the bar. Lucas gave my hand the briefest of squeezes before joining them. I tried to take comfort in the small gesture and to remind myself that the situation was only temporary, but what I’d really wanted to do was hold tight and make him stay with me. I couldn’t do that and it killed me. What sister would mind if her brother left her side after all?
Oh, just the kind whose step-brother knocked her up, that’s who. I snort giggled into my hand at my own joke, glancing around and hoping I didn’t catch anyone’s attention. It was too much to wish for, though, because a guy was staring at me from across the room. I quickly looked away, my gaze dropping to what was left of my dessert. Not just mine, Lucas’s too since he’d been incredibly sweet and told me to order the chocolate soufflé and he’d gotten the crème brûlée so I didn’t have to choose. He’d barely taken a bite of his dessert before nudging it my way. Although any goodwill he’d earned from the gesture had been used up within the last thirty minutes or so.
Another glance up confirmed that his business colleague was nearing me. Maybe I’d drawn this guy’s attention because I was the only woman eating anything at this shindig. A glance out of the side of my eye told me that wasn’t the right guess. He was striding towards me, the speculative gleam in his eye making me uncomfortable. Did he know about Lucas and me? Was he going to cause trouble for the company? Crap, when was Lucas coming back anyway? I glanced frantically around the room hoping he’d returned from smoking a cigar on the terrace.
“It’s a shame to see a gorgeous woman like you sitting alone.”
Double crap. Still no sign of Lucas. On the plus side, it didn’t look like this guy had come over here for nefarious purposes. He’d come to flirt with Lucas’s step-sister, who was single and most definitely not pregnant with her step-brother’s baby. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and smoothed the skirt of my dress so it covered my thigh since his eyes were locked on the bare skin showing there. On second thought, fixing my dress might not have been my best decision tonight because his gaze moved from my legs to my boobs. They’d always caught guys’ attention since they’d practically appeared overnight in high school. With them being slightly bigger from the pregnancy already, they were even more of a guy magnet. I was also regretting my choice in dress as he claimed Lucas’s chair and stared at my chest.
“You’re Jade, right?”
I cleared my throat, drawing his gaze up to my face. The grin he gave me was unapologetic, and kind of bordering on sleazy. “Yup, that’s me.”
“I’m Charles Montgomery the third.”
He sounded like a pompous ass! One who’d taken hold of my hand and was tracing circles in the palm with one of his fingers.
“I’d like my hand back, please.”
His hold tightened when I tried to tug it away. Better make that an aggressive, arrogant ass.
“And I’d like to keep it,” he murmured. “How about we come to a deal of some kind. I’m sure I can persuade you to my way of thinking.”
“I’m not interested,” I hissed, tugging harder. His hold became painful, making me cringe. “Please,” I whimpered.
“Now that’s a word I’d like to hear you say, but in a more private setting.” My stomach churned as he leaned in closer. The smell of scotch on his breath was overwhelming. "We both know I’ve got exactly what a girl like you wants in a man. A fat wallet and an even fatter—“
He didn’t get the chance to finish his offensive comment. Lucas had returned and jerked him out of his chair by the collar of his shirt. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Montgomery?”
“Nothing that concerns you, St. James. The girl and I were just coming to an understanding.”