Pushed

Chapter 5

The ballroomof the Grand Sonata Hotel was already abuzz with people mingling when I walked in. Servers in black tuxes wove through the masses with trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres.

I began working my way around the room, greeting the people I knew in the business world, and getting introduced to others. Once I told one acquaintance about my plans for opening a restaurant, word got around. Soon business executives, investors and restaurateurs were approaching me and asking about it, validating my sense that this was a good idea.

Across the room, a woman walked in… the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. It was as if the sun lit upon a diamond in the dirt, allowing it to shine brighter than anything around it.

I completely lost track of the conversation I was in the middle of and found myself pulled toward her by an invisible force. Unable to take my eyes off her, I tried to make my way across the room to talk to her. But every step I took toward her seemed to meet an obstacle—another acquaintance wanting to talk.

When I finally reached the spot where she’d been, she was gone. I scanned the crowd but couldn’t find her. She had disappeared like a mirage in the desert.

An announcement sounded over the speaker that dinner would be served shortly and it was time to find our seats.

I found my table, and lo-and-behold, the beauty I’d been searching for was seated right next to me. A smile crept across my face. There was a God.

I glanced over at her place card. “Aurora, what a beautiful name and perfectly fitting for someone with your radiant beauty. Whether you’re named for the aurora borealis or a Disney princess, they both suit you.” I leaned over and whispered. “Though if I’m not mistaken, Princess Aurora was the sleeping beauty who never got to the ball.”

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye but didn’t look amused. Apparently, more ice queen than Disney princess. Not even a glimmer of a smile cracked her stern composure. It was hard to tell if she was just a serious person, or if she wasn’t happy to be here.

“The name wasn’t what I would have chosen, but I had no say in the matter.” She unfolded her cloth napkin, placed it in her lap, then looked the other direction, clearly giving me the brush-off.

I chuckled. “No, I suppose you didn’t. If you could have chosen your name, what would it be?”

Without even turning back my way, she answered in a cold, clipped voice. “How about Ivana B. Yalone? Or Mena Tinterested.”

Clever. I snorted but ignored her thinly veiled message. This glimpse of humor only made her more attractive. “Oh boy. It’s a good thing you didn’t pick your own name. Those don’t suit you at all. Let me see if I can do better.” Her gaze finally shifted back to me, allowing me to study her, taking in the gentle sweep of her dark hair as a piece tickled her jaw, her exquisite cheekbones, and the sparkle in her eyes. What color were her eyes? It was hard to tell in this light. They seemed to be a light color, shifting between green and gray. No matter their color, they had me enchanted. This woman was a rare find indeed, one I’d definitely enjoy spending more time with this evening.

I snapped my fingers as a stroke of inspiration hit me. “I’ve got it. Your real name is Diane… Diane T’Knowmie. I’d recognize you anywhere.”

This got the corner of her mouth to twitch. She wanted to laugh. A win. I reached my hand out to her. “No matter what your name is. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jasper.”

She hesitated and then shook my hand. A surge of energy shot up my arm at her touch. My attention snapped to her face. Did she feel it, too? Her expression never changed, as if forged in stone. It must just be me.

“Ah, a colorful rock.” She said with a flicker of mischief in her eyes, but still didn’t crack a smile. “Or a mutated court jester.”

“Ha! Can’t say I haven’t heard anything like that before. Even though I didn’t have a say in choosing my name either, I can’t say it doesn’t suit me, or that I would want to change it.” I leaned over as if telling her a secret. “I used to collect rocks, picking them up everywhere I went. But not because they were pretty.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I liked having ammunition readily available. Got pretty good at discreetly throwing rocks at my brothers’ and sisters’ backs, in a way that they wouldn’t know it was me. Don’t tell.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

Being this close to her, I caught a whiff of her scent. An interesting combination of vanilla and spices. I wanted to breathe her in but controlled myself and leaned back. Not wanting to be a creeper on first impression.

“So what brings you here tonight, Aurora?”

She motioned to the ballroom full of people. “Feeding the world. Isn’t that why we’re all here?”

“Of course. You’re right.” I’m usually much smoother than this, but for some reason, this woman had me completely off my game.

I opened my mouth to say something else, but she abruptly turned to start a conversation with the couple on the other side of her.

Way to go Jas. You had a chance and blew it.

The night wasn’t over yet. I just needed to amp up my charm. She may not make it easy, but there’s nothing I like more than a challenge. The enchanting Aurora would beg me for a date before this gala was over.

The wait staff started bringing out plates for the first course to each table. People still milled about, networking, eating hors d’oeuvres and drinking champagne.

I heard a familiar cackle that caused the hair on my neck to stand on alert.

Please don’t come this way. Please don’t notice me. Turn around and find a spot on the other side of the room.

Apparently, I wasn’t on the good side of the powers that be, after all. Because I’d barely whispered my silent prayer when the woman I most wanted to avoid locked onto me like a missile coming in hot.

Knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape without being followed, I did the only thing I could think of. I leaned into Aurora and whispered. “Can I ask you for a huge favor? This is an emergency.”

She gave me a slight nod.

“I apologize in advance, but please play along.” Hoping that was enough to keep her from slapping me in front of everyone, I pulled her in for a kiss. It was supposed to be a little kiss, platonic, like actors in a play. Just enough to show psycho Suzette that I was with someone. But the moment our lips touched, that surge of energy I felt when I touched her hand multiplied a thousand-fold, and I couldn’t pull away.

The heat of this kiss was off the charts. It could melt the polar ice cap in an instant, proving to me this was no ice queen. This was a woman I wanted more of. One kiss, especially one as potent as this, would never be enough.

When we finally broke apart, I reached up and pushed a piece of hair away from her face. Fire flickered in her green eyes. Yes, I could finally see what color they were, and they were stunning. “Thank you. I’ll explain later,” I whispered.

“Darn right, you will,” she muttered under her breath.

“Well, well. Jasper Rhodes. I see you found a lovely piece of arm candy for tonight.” My entire body shuddered at the shrill voice. Psycho Suzette, as I referred to her, stood at our table with a hand on her hip and her cleavage on full display. Any attractiveness she possessed with her blonde, perfectly styled hair and all the plastic surgery money could buy was offset by the feral look in her eyes that made me want to hide under the table with my thumb in my mouth. And that was even before she began stalking me.

“Oh, Aurora’s more than arm candy. I’m a lucky man.”

“Don’t tell me you’re finally settling down. I don’t believe it.”

I picked up Aurora’s hand, raised it to my mouth, and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles while my eyes held hers. “Just waiting for my princess to pick a date.” I winked at Aurora. She was seething beneath her icy exterior. I might have pushed it a bit too far.

Suzette sucked in a breath and brought her hand to her chest. “I never thought I’d see the day when Romeo Rhodes traded in his little black book for a wedding planner.” She moved in closer and ran a finger down my arm. With a seductive tone, she purred in my ear. “Well, when you’re ready for an upgrade, you know where to find me.” Then she sauntered away to a table across the room.

I let out a relieved exhale and turned to Aurora. “Thank you so much for playing along. I owe you one.”

“And I’ll make you pay. You can count on it.”

Servers arrived at our table with plates of soup and salad. The food was incredible, but I barely noticed. My attention was consumed by the woman next to me. She tried to ignore me, but I caught her looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but then quickly returned her focus back to her meal.

She was at least intrigued by me, if not interested. There was hope. My siblings would tease me mercilessly for saying so recently that I didn’t want romance, but I didn’t care. A man could change his mind. Should change his mind when confronting destiny. I could live with their harassment. But, strange as it was after this one magical moment, I wasn’t sure I could live without kissing her again.

That kiss had definitely not been platonic or fake. Not even the best actor could fake that kind of heat.

There was something between us. Something more powerful than anything I’d ever experienced. I had a feeling this connection was special, and not to be ignored. By the end of the evening, I intended to make sure she realized it, too. And melt away more of her ice while I was at it.

Who knew my next big adventure would have piercing green eyes and stilettos?