The Billionaire's Best Friend(7)

He may not even care if he sees me. After all, he could have contacted her at any time during the past fifteen years, but he hadn’t. Why would he bother with her now?

“I know you love to dance.” Kevin stood. His slight tug on her hand forced her to concentrate on the here and now rather than what if.

“I do.” She straightened her shoulders and stood.



The conversation between his parents faded into the background as Major Nathaniel Callahan once again scanned the crowd in search of the only person in the sea of familiar faces he needed to see. Leaving this room tonight without at least talking to Lauren wasn’t an option for him. Unfortunately, so far she’d proved elusive, and with the evening half over it was time to be a bit more proactive in his search, which meant getting off his ass and mingling. Standing, he surveyed the crowded dance floor. Couples of every age moved to the slow ballad that poured from the speakers. Walking the perimeter, he avoided the dance floor. He had not stepped on one since his senior prom. He probably wouldn’t have ventured onto it that night either if Lauren hadn’t insisted. Dancing was one of things she’d always loved to do and one of the few things they’d disagreed on.

As he rounded the edge of the dance floor, his eyes zeroed in on a man and woman. Instantly, his feet slowed and his eyes studied every inch of the couple. He didn’t recognize the man and dismissed him from his thoughts. The overhead lights reflected off the woman’s ash-blonde hair, and excitement surged through him. While he couldn’t see her face, every fiber of his body knew Lauren stood just feet away.

With his target in sight, Nate crossed the dance floor and reached the couple just as the song ended and a fast Top 40 dance hit came on. Something between anger and nausea rolled through him as the couple broke apart and the man whispered something in Lauren’s ear. Then she turned and her eyes locked with his. Unable to look away, Nate held her gaze as a whole gamut of emotions swept through him. For the past year, everything he had done was in preparation for this moment. He’d tried to envision how their first meeting would go. Many scenarios had played through his head. Everything from passionate embraces to doors being slammed in his face. None, though, had included the utter fear on her face or the expensively dressed man with his arm around Lauren’s shoulders. When she didn’t make a move, Nate stepped toward her. In response, her date pulled her closer to his side.

“Lauren, I’ve been looking for you all night.”

Lauren swallowed, her owl-sized eyes staring back at him as if he were a ghost.

“Nate . . . I didn’t . . . what are you doing here?” she asked in that low, sultry voice he laid awake nights thinking about.

“Your mom invited me.” No way in hell was he revealing anything in front of her date. “Evidently she knew about the party tonight.” Not that he was surprised by that. Virginia McDonald always seemed to know everything that was going on in town.

Lauren nodded, her eyes never leaving his face. “I know. Kelly let it slip. You know her. But I think she convinced everyone else that she didn’t know about the party when she walked in.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Lauren?” Her date spoke to Lauren, but his eyes never left Nate’s face.

Nate met his glare and waited for the other man to look away first. Something that didn’t take him long to do.

Color spread across Lauren’s face, turning her cheeks pink, and she looked over at her companion as if just remembering he stood there. “Sorry. Kevin, this is Nathaniel Callahan. We lived next door to each other until he joined the Marines.” She paused and pressed her lips together. “Nate this is Kevin Walsh.”

Her introduction told him little. She hadn’t said her boyfriend, and there was no ring indicating this was a fiancé. He’d checked that already. Yet the way the man stood with his arm around her shoulders told him something existed between them.

“Nice to meet you.” Nate stuck his hand out. When the other man didn’t immediately respond, Nate’s dislike of him increased.

“You, too.” Kevin finally extended his free hand, but all the while he kept his arm around Lauren’s shoulders.

You could tell a lot by someone’s hands. For instance, Kevin’s hands were soft. There were no calluses or old scars. Evidently he didn’t work with his hands. His nails were even and he wore a large signet ring on his finger.

Clenching his jaw, Nate fought the urge to remove the arm from Lauren’s shoulders. Right now all he could do was keep her talking. “Is Callie here tonight?” He hadn’t seen her yet either, but it only made sense that she would be here. The two girls had been very close in high school. Thanks to the media, he’d seen pictures from Callie’s wedding on the Internet and knew Lauren had been Callie’s maid of honor, so he assumed they were still like sisters.