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“She’s my girlfriend.”

It’s not until those three words pass my lips that I realize this is the first time I’ve properly introduced her to anyone as my girlfriend. We’ve been exclusive for almost a month now, but because of the nature of our relationship and our busy schedules, we’ve kept mostly to ourselves.

I must not be the only one having that thought because I feel Verity perk up beside me. She glances up at me with a smile that rivals the one she gave Garrett earlier, and it washes away any jealousy that was rising within me.

“Nice. It seems like everyone is cuffing up at the moment.”

“Yeah?”

“You remember Dale Allen? He just got engaged. And Steven from my team has a new boyfriend.”

Verity gasps. “Steven from the show?”

“Yes. The episodes haven’t aired yet”

He wiggles his brows, and the two of them share a conspiratorial grin that has me wanting to roll my eyes.

“Is it the guy Angela introduced him to? Are they here?”

“Yeah, want me to introduce you?”

“If you don’t mind. He’s my second fave to watch after Leslie.”

“I’ll try not to take offense to that.”

Garrett turns and heads back to the group he had been chatting with before we came over. There are around eight to ten people who have broken off into smaller conversations, including at least two of Powers’ colleagues from Vanguard Realtors whom I would like to avoid, if possible. Vanguard is one of the largest realty groups in the city, with over fifteen thousand agents, each with their own agenda—I have no doubt their goal tonight is Clifton.

“Steven, I want you to meet my new friend, Verity, and her boyfriend, Cullen.”

I recognize the man from watching the show with Verity over the last few weeks. His relaxed demeanor is exactly as he presents himself on TV, greeting us with a genuine smile as he diverts his attention from his current conversation.

“Hi.” He takes an extra second to run his gaze over Verity. “Well, aren’t you just stunning. That dress is like liquid on your skin.”

“Thank you, Cullen got it for me.”

He gives me a look of approval. “A straight man with taste, how rare.”

“I can’t take all the credit. She did pick it out herself.”

“That makes more sense.” His gaze narrows slightly. “You seem familiar.”

Garrett slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Cullen here is part of RARE Realty.”

Steven snaps his fingers. “Ah, you must be the infamous Ross. You were out in Miami, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I worked down there for a few years, but I’m back on the home turf now.”

He nods before turning back to Verity. “And what about you, gorgeous? Are you in real estate?”

“Oh, no.” She waves her hand dismissively. “I’m a graphic designer specializing in branding and product design.”

“Really?” He shares a quick look with Garrett, some unspoken message passing between them. “Tell me more.”

Verity bubbles with joy at the attention of the reality star, and while it sucks not to have her undivided attention, I’m happy to see her enjoying herself. She’s been stressed these last few weeks dealing with Frankie and other work drama. And whenever we’ve gone out, she’s always been a little on edge due to paranoia after the incident with her co-worker.

We’ve mostly stuck to places near her apartment or made the trek out to Brooklyn so she doesn’t worry as much. The ease with which she is interacting with everyone tonight is a refreshing reprieve. All I really care about is her comfort.

Verity chats with Steven and Garrett about her job at Delute, showing them the same images she’d shown me the first time we met, of her work on the HP Energy campaign, but also the pictures from the Kelton event and a couple other projects she’s worked on. Steven’s boyfriend joins, having returned from the bar with glasses of champagne for himself and Steven, and is almost immediately taken by Verity.