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She rolls her eyes, not taking me seriously. “Thanks for that. Are we ready for the night?”

“We’re about to find out.”

I open the door for her, and she slides into the limo, blinking against the darkness. From the looks of Diane and Jack, we’ve interrupted a make-out session. She’s sitting back against the seat, wiping her lips and Jack leans forward, trying to look casual. There’s a hint of color around his mouth, giving him away.

“I leave you two alone for a few minutes,” I say, laughing as I shake my head.

“This must be Dani,” Jack says. The perfect tactic to deflect attention.

“Yes,” I say, pointing to Dani. “Dani, this is Jack and his date, Diane. Jack and Diane, this is Dani.”

Dani is smiling wide now. “You two sound like you’re straight out of an eighties song.”

It takes a moment, but her words sink in and I laugh. “That’s so true.” I pull out my phone and look up the song by John Mellencamp, playing it for the other two to recognize.

“I’ve never heard that song,” Diane says, looking confused.

I share a quick glance with Dani, surprised we can communicate a bit through a shared glance. We settle into the seat and in a quick motion, I reach over and sweep her hand into mine. Might as well “practice” now.

“So what is the event we’re attending?” Dani asks, her face so close to me that my gaze lingers on her lips, wishing for a moment alone from our audience. Instead, I take a second to answer her question.

“It’s a charity event put on by the local board of health. Most of the proceeds go toward the Children’s Hospital.”

She shifts closer, her entire left side flush against my right. “That’s really cool,” she says. “One of my sisters broke her arm when she was about five. They sent her to the Children’s Hospital to get the cast. It’s good to know that a fun party can help the kids.”

Jack snorts. “I don’t know if you want to call it fun just yet.”

I glance over to see Dani’s curious expression and say, “His mother is the party planner for most of the upper echelon parties. Jack has been to too many of these to care.”

Dani turns to focus on Jack and I’m curious what she’ll say about that. “So why keep attending?”

“Inheritance. My lovely little lifestyle would go poof.” He makes a motion to emphasize his words and while in some ways it’s true, the way he’s acting is off. Exaggerated and annoyed.

I’ll have to ask him about it later, figure out how serious his parents are about cutting him off.

Once we make it to the venue, I help Dani out of the car but give Jack a quick frown, trying to tell him to chill and just enjoy the night. He will eventually, but it’s the first three hours that are the hardest for him. With his mother inspecting everything at all times, he’s happiest when leaving.

As long as I’ve got Dani by my side, I might make it out of this shark tank alive.

CHAPTER16

Dani

To describe my reaction to this place as amazed would be an understatement. Hundreds oflights and bulbs hang around the room making it feel like we could be on a beach in Miami instead of an indoor event in Boston.

“Are these events all this fancy?” I whisper, enjoying the close proximity to Miles. He smells divine and it’s hard to hear each other over the talking of so many people. And other reasons. I’m pretty sure my nerve endings where our bodies touched in the limo are fried.

Miles nods back and forth. “A lot of them. There are some featuring a theme. I’ve come to this one in a costume before.”

That conjures up several options, almost like Miles is a paper doll and I’m rearranging outfits to get the right look. “What costume did you choose?”

“A doctor. My ex got it for me.”

I raise an eyebrow, shaking my head. “You didn’t even try to come up with something? Miles, it’s okay to express yourself in personal things from time to time.”

He stares at me, his expression way more serious than I’d meant it to be. “True. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

We make our way through several groups of people, Miles nodding and saying hello to many. Once we find a spot near the refreshments, I take a breath and give myself a mental pep talk.