might be fulfilling his secret desires too?
‘I want to approach this very carefully,’ she said.
‘He won’t be what she’s expecting.’ Rielle warned. ‘And she’ll blame you, Sienna, for knowing and not telling her.’
‘She’d hate us more if she knew we had this chance and didn’t take it for her,’ Nina said. It wouldn’t be like the young Erin had dreamed in her pink bedroom with boy-band posters on the wall. Colton King was all man now, but just because she was sweet, it didn’t mean that Erin couldn’t handle that.
Nina made the call. ‘We do this.’
It was time to pair the lamb with the lion.
The hallway to Luxxor’s offices seemed long and extra narrow. Erin’s knees were unsteady as she made her way to the meeting Nina had scheduled. They’d talked and agreed to try a new direction for her. This time it was going to be different, she could feel it.
The idea excited her, yet also pushed her out of her comfort zone. She knew the type of man she’d described to Nina, but she’d never dated anyone like that. She hadn’t even spent much time in the company of someone like that – not in the past few years, anyway. Jason didn’t count. He felt too much like a big brother.
Yet this. She felt as if she was moving up a league. When Nina had called, she’d asked three times if Erin was sure.
She smoothed her dress over her hips. She was sure, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious.
She took a moment to dart into the ladies’ room to check how she looked in the mirror. The little black dress was simple but deceiving. It skimmed her body closely, emphasising her figure. She was petite, but she had curves. Not flamboyant ones, but she wasn’t a stick. She debated the hem once again. The dress was short, but not too short. She hoped. She’d tried to make herself look taller. Her black heels helped with that, although she couldn’t pull off the stilettos that Nina wore.
Erin fluffed her hair. She’d had it up and then down, half-up in a barrette and then back down again. It hung in loose waves around her shoulders and down her back.
She did a quick check of her makeup, but the brightness in her eyes and the pinkness in her cheeks hadn’t been painted on.
‘It will be fine,’ she told herself in the mirror.
No, she wanted better than fine. She wanted out-of-this-world. She wanted unbelievable. She wanted lightning and thunder and magic.
Switch it up. Get in the mix. Turn it upside down.
Blowing out a quick puff of air, she finished the trek to Luxxor’s offices and entered through the heavy oak door.
Despite the late hour, Rielle was waiting with a smile on her face. ‘Hello, Erin. Welcome.’
‘What are you doing here so late?’
‘Oh, just finishing up a few things.’
Erin was glad she’d checked Sienna’s schedule. She wouldn’t have wanted to run into her roommate. Not tonight. They hadn’t yet talked about the fact that she was using Luxxor’s services, but she knew that Sienna was aware. They’d both skittered around the subject, neither really wanting to talk about it. Fortunately, her roommate and Jason were out at a function this evening.
‘Let me walk you to Nina’s offices,’ Rielle said. ‘She’ll introduce you.’
Erin’s eyebrows rose. ‘He’s here already?’
The office manager nodded.
Erin’s stomach flipped. ‘What’s he like? Is he nice? No, I didn’t ask for nice. Is he interesting? Handsome? No, that’s not important. Does he have…presence?’
Rielle touched her shoulder soothingly. ‘All that’s up to you to decide – but I definitely feel he has “presence”.’
Erin squeezed her pocketbook until the knobs on the coin purse bit into her palm. She tried to calm her racing heart, but this hallway was much too short for that.
When Rielle gave a soft knock, there was no more time. ‘Good luck,’ the woman whispered.
Erin nodded, unable to voice her thanks. Trying to be composed and worldly, she walked into the room. Two people were waiting: Nina, looking like everything Erin didn’t feel, and a solid, dark-haired man whose back was turned to her.
Erin stopped on a dime. He had presence all right. She could feel it all the way from across the room. The knot in her belly drifted lower, where it began to collect heat. Before she even saw his face, she knew he was sexy.
‘Hello,’ she said softly, happy when her voice didn’t waver.
The man stiffened. Slowly, he turned away from their hostess to look at her. Erin’s breath went short when his dark gaze connected with hers.
And then she couldn’t breathe at all.
Her stomach dropped, and dread filled her. Oh, no. No, this couldn’t be happening. This was some sick joke. Her family had found out what she was doing and had sent him in. She was so busted.
‘Come in, Erin,’ Nina said in her husky voice. ‘Erin Foster, this is Colton King.’
Erin knew. The man had been her teenage dream. Her fantasy – and the crush had lasted well past adolescence.
‘Erin?’ he said sharply.
Her knees wobbled and she caught the back of a chair. He was going to give her away. He’d tell Dustin, who’d tell their parents. If he hadn’t already –
She swallowed hard. ‘Colt,’ she managed to get out.
His attention swung from her to Nina and then back again. ‘What is this?’ he asked. ‘What’s going on?’
Erin focused on the carpeting. If she was lucky, maybe a big hole would open and swallow her up. It was the only way she could see to get out of this mess. She should have given Nina a list of men she couldn’t see. No-goes. This one would have been smack dab atop the list.
‘This is the woman I spoke to you about,’ Nina said patiently.
‘Jesus,’ he muttered underneath his breath.
That made Erin’s gaze lift. So maybe he hadn’t known? If she begged, would he put this in the vault and promise never to talk about it? Ever?
She didn’t think so. His jaw had gone tight, and a muscle at his temple was flittering. He had a tan as if he’d recently been some place warm, but underneath it she saw a definite pallor.
This was not good.
‘As I explained, we’re reevaluating the process we use to pair people. When we keyed in the new parameters, you two were a match for each other’s wants and preferences.’ Nina reached up to toy with an earring. ‘A perfect match, in fact.’
What? Erin’s heart raced so hard it hurt. Her ribcage was just too tight to contain it. If he wasn’t here to yell at her, then…‘You’re my date?’
The squeak in her voice made her cringe. It made her sound young and unsophisticated, but it couldn’t be helped. She looked at him, wide-eyed. Wanting filled her until she felt she might burst.
Colton’s mouth set in a flat line as he glared at Nina, but when he turned to look at her…his expression softened. He looked almost defeated. ‘What are you doing here, Erin?’
What was he doing here? ‘Getting matched up?’
The look he turned on the Luxxor executive was lethal.
Nina held