Fast & Loose by Elizabeth Bevarly (best classic books to read txt) 📗

under her hair and curling it over the nape of her neck. Of course she was warm after that.

“I’m fine,” she said. But her voice was shallow, even to her own ears, and even she didn’t think she sounded okay.

“Let’s walk,” he told her, slipping an arm around her waist.

“It’s okay, I’m—”

“It’s crowded in here,” he interrupted her. “We could both use some fresh air.”

Without awaiting an answer, he wove the fingers of his free hand with hers and tugged her gently through the crowd, until they were back in the hotel lobby. There were considerably fewer people here, and that coupled with the sumptuous decor of gilded baroque ceilings, dark walnut paneling, and jewel-toned Oriental rugs made Lulu feel a little calmer. The quieter atmosphere also went a long way toward soothing her, since the music drifting in from the ballroom was just loud enough for her to hear. Cole guided her to a grouping of sofas and chairs obscured by some potted palms and sat her on a loveseat, then folded himself down alongside her.

When he started to extend a hand toward her forehead again, Lulu dropped her gaze to prevent him from making contact. His hand hung in midair for a few seconds, then slowly fell to his lap. “Sorry,” he muttered. “But you still look a little flushed.”

“I’m fine,” she told him. “Just not a big fan of crowds is all.”

He nodded as if in sympathy, but it was more likely because he just wanted to make her feel better. A guy like him thrived in crowds. Cole Early was just one of those people who was born to the spotlight. He’d probably emerged from the womb squalling, “Hey, everybody! Look at me! I’m gonna be a force to be reckoned with!” Every time she’d seen him on TV, he’d been completely confident, utterly comfortable, thoroughly in his element. As she’d watched him interact with other people tonight, many of them complete strangers, he’d acted as if he’d known them all forever and was delighted to see them again.

Lulu couldn’t imagine being able to do that. Even when she was in her element—which was considerably more elemental than Cole’s—she had trouble with the whole extrovert thing. It was doubtless something that had contributed to her pursuit of art. Certainly she loved what she did for a living and had known since she was an adolescent what career she wanted to pursue. But had she been forced to go out into the world and interact with others on a daily basis to complete her artwork, she wouldn’t be nearly as good at it. She might not have even sought to make a living at it and would have instead made it her avocation. She would have chosen a career doing something that enabled her to remain anonymous and in the background.

Cole dipped his head toward her beer. “Have another sip. It’ll calm your nerves.”

She did as he instructed, not because she thought it would make her feel any less anxious, but because she didn’t want to just sit there looking like an idiot while she collected her wits. Then she realized she’d already collected her wits. Thanks to being away from the crowd—and thanks to Cole sitting next to her and being nice to her—she felt better than she had since her arrival at the gala.

He grinned suddenly, the off-kilter one that knocked Lulu so off-kilter. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

The remark surprised her. “But you said it was important that you made an appearance at this thing.”

“And I’ve made an appearance at this thing,” he told her. “Now I can go.”

“But—”

His grin softened, but somehow the smaller one made her feel even more off-kilter than the off-kilter one did. “It’s okay, Lulu. Really. You’re not comfortable here, and I’ve made all the requisite small talk I need to make. There were only a couple of people here I really needed to talk to, and I found them both right away. C’mon. Let’s go do something fun.”

Although she had no idea why she was balking at his offer of escape, she heard herself say, “You’re not paying me to have fun.”

He laughed at that. “Then consider yourself off the clock.”

Sixteen

BREE LEANED BACK AGAINST HER FRONT DOOR AFTER Lulu and Cole left, staring at her empty apartment and thinking it somehow seemed even emptier than usual. But even more than that, she was thinking that Cole Early was Lulu’s for the taking, if she wanted him. But Bree could tell her friend didn’t even realize she had him eating out of the palm of her hand. God knew how that had happened, but Bree had seen that look on a man’s face often enough to know what it meant. It was, after all, exactly the sort of look she’d always wanted to win for herself. A look that went beyond the superficial recognition of physical beauty to the realization that there was something massively special underneath it.

Of course, Bree already knew there was something massively special under Lulu’s physical beauty. She’d known that since they were kids, and she knew it better than Lulu, who, for some reason, had never recognized her own potential for anything other than her art. But how Cole Early had discovered it after spending just one evening with her was pretty amazing, considering how Lulu took such pains to make sure no one ever got too close.

Ah, well. That just showed what a smart, observant guy he was, for one thing. And what good taste he had, for another.

Cole Early was going to fall in love with Lulu, Bree marveled. Hell, the way he’d looked tonight, she would have said he was already in love with her. But that was impossible. The guy barely knew her. Then again, Bree would bet good money that was going to change tonight.

She sighed. Lulu, who had never gone looking for a