Hating the bitterness that coated her tongue, she forced a smile.
“Wow.”
David cleared his throat. “Wow, indeed,” he remarked, his voice husky. Curious, Diana glanced over at him to find his gaze pinned to her, the steel gray depths turned molten. “You will put all women to shame tonight,” he murmured, raising his hand to slide his fingers into the fall of her hair over her shoulder.
Heat bloomed in her cheeks. “Your charm is in full force this evening, isn’t it?” she said, laughing nervously.
“I speak the truth, Diana. Always.” There was something in his voice that gave her pause. Had he always been truthful with her? Thinking back…she couldn’t remember a time when he’d lied to her. The man wielded the truth like a brutal weapon, using it to cleave and tear asunder.
“You’re right.”
His lopsided smile made a return. “I always am.”
Offering his arm to her, she took it, leaning into him, trying to ignore the intoxicating scent lifting from him in waves. It didn’t help that the rest of him was just as mouth-watering. The man could fill out a tux as if he were born in it, and his black hair glinting beneath the lights drew all eyes to him. He was power and masculine beauty, in the perfectly imperfect package of human male.
“Let us take a look around before I begin introductions. I want you to myself a little longer,” David urged her as he led her toward the exhibits. She didn’t mind, she wanted to keep him to herself forever.
David was partially right, she was greedy. For him. Not his money. For his attention, his affections. For his love and loyalty.
Keep dreaming, Di.
She didn’t know how long they walked slowly, gazing upon the art, but David stopped her just outside a small crowd of exquisitely dressed men and women.
“Are you ready?” he asked, taking her chin in his hand to make her meet his gaze. His touch was gentle and she trembled into it.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, which she then licked nervously.
Did he just growl?
Dropping his hand, he relinked their arms and led her forward into the den of the wealthy lions and lionesses.
“David Brenner, as I live and breathe! Come on over here and introduce us to your lovely companion!” a loud and rotund man called out.
And so it begins…
Chapter 24
Her feet were killing her, her back was aching, and her stomach was growling. The tiny plates of unidentifiable food just didn’t hit the spot (at least the garlic rolls had been tasty). And how much had David paid for each plate? It didn’t matter…it wasn’t worth it—at least not for the food anyway. The charity they were there supporting was a noble one; raising funds to help lift Nicaraguan orphans from poverty. As a human being, she’d been touched by the organization’s mission. As an expectant mother, she’d been heartbroken by the reports on what those children endured, having lost their parents to hunger or civil war.
Having excused herself from the table to go potty, she entered the empty bathroom and sighed. Good. She couldn’t deal with any more fake smiling and shallow conversation. She’d had enough to last her a lifetime. How did David do it? She shook her head, opening the stall door and entering.
She’d just finished peeing when the sound of the door opening and the recognizable click-clack of heels sounded through the room.
“Holy shit, Barb, did you see David Brenner?” woman number one exclaimed, making Diana stiffen and hold her breath.
Did those women know David?
“Yes, I saw him, though, the last time I saw David, he was gloriously naked and begging me to come back to bed,” the bitch named Barb cooed haughtily.
“He didn’t!” woman number one practically screeched.
Barb cackled like the witch she was. “Oh, he did, but I couldn’t stay. I had a photo shoot that morning. It was Milan, after all.”
“Oh…but if I had a chance at a repeat with David Brenner, I would have taken it. It’s like the golden goose. He only ever sleeps with a woman once.”
Diana almost gasped, giving up her hiding spot in the stall. David only slept with women once? But…he’d slept with her twice, and that first night was more like three times than one.
What did that mean?
“That’s true. Accept when Rinna got her claws into him.”
Could she go nowhere without being reminded about the harpy that ruined David?
“Come on, Sarah. We all know the only reason David kept Rinna around was because he was bored. Once he got tired of the same old face and the boredom, he tossed her out.”
The other woman—Sarah—snorted. “What about all that talk about her getting pregnant and him forcing her to have an abortion?”
Blistering anger plowed through Diana’s veins. How dare those bitches spread such ugly lies about David? Was that actually what all those people out there thought about him?
“I heard she wasn’t pregnant at all, just angling for some money since her meal ticket had been punched.” Both women cackled this time.
“Speaking of meals, or someone who should skip them…who was that porpoise with him tonight? Have you ever seen her before?”
Porpoise? It hit her then, like a sledgehammer to the chest. They were talking about her.
“No, and when would I ever see her? She obviously doesn’t belong here. Did you see the way she ate all the bread at the table? Doesn’t she know that carbs are why her ass is so big and her thighs rub together like that?”
The other woman—Diana had lost track of who was who in the conversation—laughed as though the first woman had said something hilarious.
“I asked Maisie Disher about her, the porpoise, and she said she’d pulled David aside to ask about her. Apparently, we aren’t the only people disgusted by his choice of plus one.”
Barb or Sarah, Diana didn’t care which one, grunted prettily. “What did he tell her?”
The other bitch-witch chuckled.
