Page 33 of Consumed By You

He hands me mine and raises his. “To tonight.”

I take a sip, hoping this will calm down my nerves for at least a little bit.

“You look beautiful tonight, Darcy.”

My chest flutters when I turn to look at him and he’s smiling warmly at me.

“So do you.” I make myself look away, trying harder than I should to forget the occurrences of last night.

It’s not long before we’re pulling up to what can only be described as the event of the century.

Benjamin helps me from the car and we look around, realizing the party is already a smash hit. There are hundreds of celebrities and supermodels. I resist looking up to see if Benjamin is staring at them. Businessmen galore are piling into the banquet room. As we walk up the carpeted steps, photographers snap photos of everyone while reporters shout out mindless questions. I almost pass out on the spot when Benjamin grabs me by the waist and pulls me over to one of them. I can see they are from a news station.

No. I can’t do this. My face can’t be on the news. “Benjamin, no.”

It’s as if he doesn’t hear my plea. The poor girl is practically drooling, eyes locked on Benjamin.

“Mr. Scott! What a lovely evening.”

He grins, and flashes are going off nonstop in our direction. I keep my gaze downcast to try to avoid them, peering up only when I have to.

She goes on and on about Scott Industries and the impact this fundraiser is going to have on agricultural life in the United States. He answers every question perfectly, never skipping a beat.

“And who’s this?” a nosey reporter asks next to us, pointing at me.

“This is my assistant, Darcy Fontaine. She organized this event.”

Dammit.

I give a small, uncomfortable smile to the reporter. “I had a lot of help.”

“Have a nice night,” Benjamin says politely and pulls me through the huge glass double doors. Maybe they’ll only focus on Benjamin’s portion of the interview. We make our way into the main party, seeing all the hard work from this past week come to life. I need to take a picture of this and send it to Doris. She’ll be so thrilled.

Mini white and crimson lanterns zigzag across the glass roof while every table showcases large bouquets of red roses on white tablecloths. It came together perfectly.

The room is so packed we can barely get in. A talented man is playing piano and crooning Frank Sinatra, and I’m in heaven.

“You look happy,” Benjamin says in my ear, and I’m unable to hide how true that statement is right now.

“It looks nice, right?”

“It looks fantastic, Darcy.”

I’m pleased with his answer. Yes, itdoeslook fantastic.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asks conversationally, and I nod. As he walks to the bar, I can’t help but think he’s acting as if I were his date.

“Darcy!”

Alexander is striding up to me, looking particularly dashing. He surprises me when he walks right into me, pulling my body to his in a tight embrace. “You look fucking magnificent.”

“Thank you! So do you.” I size him up, checking out his Armani suit.

“Everything looks fantastic. Did you do it all by yourself?”

“Doris settled the location.”

“You did the rest?”