“Ready?” Maxx asks as I spin around in a swirl of skirts. He hasn’t seen me since the crew of beauty experts descended on the scene. His green eyes go wide, his face flushing, lips parting slightly as he takes me in. “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit is right,” I choke out as I stare at him, dressed in a white dinner jacket with a black bowtie and black slacks. He looks like James Bond in Goldfinger, the suit tailored perfectly to his muscular form. His hair is gently tousled, his black dress shoes shiny, and the smile that stretches across his face … well, the whole scene gives me heart palpitations.
“You look—” we both start.
“Handsome,” I blurt.
“Perfect,” he breathes.
“Late,” a voice says from behind Maxx, drawing my attention over to Raúl. He’s checking his phone and adjusting pink giraffe print glasses. Before I let myself forget, I snatch the skeleton key off the bathroom counter and slip it into Maxx’s pocket—just in case. If anything were going to happen with Parrish, it would be tonight. “We need to get moving. We were supposed to leave seven minutes ago.”
I frown at him, but Maxx doesn’t allow me to sink into a mood, reaching out to take my hand and pulling me toward him. He presses a kiss to my knuckles that has me flushing all over.
“Do not mess her makeup up,” Raúl warns when it looks like X might actually try to kiss me. X’s face flashes with undisguised annoyance, but he says nothing, taking my arm in his and leading me out of my room and down the stairs.
If this were, like, prom or something, I’d be all aflutter.
As things stand, the best I can do is appreciate how pretty Maxx is. That’s what grounds me.
Tess is waiting at the bottom of the stairs with Paul, and both of their eyes go wide when they see us.
“We’re late apparently,” I tell her as we pause in the foyer and Raúl flashes me another annoyed look. He has a far less pleasant disposition than Justin’s other minion—Mr. Volli, that is. He’s probably just as evil; I don’t doubt that for a second, even if I do enjoy his glasses changes.
“I see,” Tess remarks, exchanging a look with Paul. “Well, I hope the two of you have a wonderful time tonight.” Her nostrils flare with all the unspoken things she wants to say but manages to keep to herself.
“I’m sure we will,” X assures her when I find myself tongue-tied all over again. He very quickly escorts me away from the uncomfortable situation and into the back of the limo. I half-expected Justin to be waiting inside for us, but he isn’t there.
“Your father will see you at the party,” Raúl assures me, slamming the limo door before climbing in beside the driver. Maxx and I exchange another look, but it very clearly isn’t a safe place to talk, so we keep our comments to ourselves.
Mostly, we check each other out unashamedly.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen such a handsome man in all my life. I mean, he was beautiful before, but he looks so elegant tonight—and so much older.
“We both look twenty-five,” I murmur, and he chuckles.
“Pretty much. But in a good way.”
Maxx sits back against the seat, crossing one leg over the other and resting his ankle against his knee as he folds his hands together over his belly.
I just stare at him.
“You’re sitting like that on purpose,” I tell him, and he grins.
“I might be. Do you like it?”
I refuse to answer that with words, but I’m sure my smile says it all for me. I glance out the window as we pull out of the driveway and make a left turn. Chasm’s house is all of three seconds away from the Vanguard’s—Medina is five square miles of land mass with a population of just over three thousand. In essence, it’s the ultra-wealthy bubble that floats beside Seattle.
We could’ve walked there, if you set aside the mass of reporters and the fancy clothes.
My heart is in my throat as the limo joins a queue of others, waiting for a chance to glide through the open gate outside the sprawling McKenna manor. Our driver pauses beside the front steps and Raúl opens the door for us.
Maxx takes my hand as we climb out and ascend the front steps. There’s a doorman checking names off a list, but he waves us straight through without so much as a glance.
Fortunately, Chasm is waiting just inside the doors for us.
My heart stops when I see him.
He’s in a tux, just like Maxx, but his is black-on-black-on-black. Even the tie—which is a bit crooked—is black. The very first thing that I do is pause in front of him to fix it. His hands come up quick, snatching my wrists in a firm grip as his golden eyes blaze.
