Page 77 of Scheme
“Probably, but I have no intention of doing it. There are reps here from the agency, they can handle all that networking shit.”
He glanced around the room balefully, as though daring any of the random strangers ignoring us to disagree, before leading me over to the bar.
Kit ordered a mocktail for me and beer for him, and where I expected him to ease off the physical contact, he wrapped his whole arm around my waist and held me tighter.
I tipped my head back to look at him, my lips almost brushing his jaw. “Nervous?”
“Not as much with you here.”
“Because I’m your omega shield?” I was aiming for a light, teasing tone, but the words came out embarrassingly breathless.
Kit looked down at me, so close that our noses almost touched. “You’re much more than that, Margot.”
There was a fluttering low in my abdomen that had nothing to do with my heat and everything to do withfeelings.
“You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“I find I can’t stop myself where you’re concerned.” He adjusted his glasses, and the belly flutterings reached crisis point.
“Kit? Is that you?” someone asked, breaking the spell. I sucked down a lungful of oxygen as though I’d just been underwater instead of standing in the middle of a crowded ballroom.
Kit reluctantly looked away, greeting the beta who’d just approached us. His hold around my waist didn’t loosen though, putting paid to any ideas I had about running outside for some fresh air.
“Great to see you, man! When was it we last bumped into each other? Lahore, perhaps?”
“Yes, I think so,” Kit replied, his voice rough. He cleared his throat, pulling me somehow closer. “Cody, this is Margot. Margot, Cody. A fellow photographer.”
“Margot, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cody gave me a brilliant, genuine smile that was so entirely the opposite of how Coleman had reacted to me that it took me a moment to cautiously respond with one of my own. Apparently, not all Kit’s friends were total dicks. “I hope tonight won’t be too boring for you. I can’t even say the food is good—everything is small.”
“Well, Kit’s company is never boring. And if I get a chance to look at that amazing gallery wall over there, I’ll be more than entertained.”
“I can certainly manage that,” Kit promised, his voice a low purr in my ear. Far too intimate for company, really.
There was a small smile playing around Cody’s mouth as he looked at us that had me feeling incredibly self-conscious.
This isn’t real. We’re just friends. I caught feelings for him by mistake. He onlythinkshe has feelings for me.
“Where are you off to after this, Kit? There was something about a hotel chain wanting photos in France, right?”
Kit was quiet for a long moment, and I gave him a gentle squeeze of encouragement. I didn’t want him to feel awkward talking about the future just because I was here.
“I turned that down. Something came up in New York that suited me better. I’m interviewing for it in a couple of weeks.”
New York?We hadn’t really talked about where he was going after he was finished in London. I supposed I’d assumed Kit was going to Paris like he’d mentioned in passing, and I was a little hurt that he hadn’t told me that he planned on going further afield.
Cody gave him a knowing look. “I’m happy for you, man.”
“Let’s not celebrate just yet, I still have to get the job,” Kit said wryly, glancing around. “We’d better figure out where we’re sitting.”
“Yes, that’s a sensible idea,” Cody agreed, already scanning the room. He looked back at us, shooting Kit another bright smile. “It’s good to see you, Kit. Especially good to see youhappy.”
Kit seemed happy?
I tensed, bracing myself for an emotional blow from Kit that never came. A quiet dismissal, a scornful laugh,anything. Something that would put me firmly in my place.
But Kit was perfectly, serenely silent, already guiding me away.
His hand seemed to fit my lower back like a puzzle piece, and I had a sudden realisation that he’d rested his palm there a lot in the time I’d known him. In fact, it was the first thing he’d done when we’d met, way back at that party and Nico and Violet’s. For no discernible reason, he’d put his hand on my back.
