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Chapter One
“Ms Pennington! Look this way, please”
Flash
“Ms Pennington Mr Falcon Over here”
Flash
“How about a kiss for the camera?”
Sly handsome man who stood at her side with his arton hissed between her teeth, “Kiss me for these clowns’ benefit and you’ll end up with bloody lips”
“Darling,” he ht-blue eyes, “you kno it turns s in my ear”
A growl rued somehow to keep her forced smile in place For Chloe, she reminded herself This was all for Chloe
Another bright flash nearly blinded her and then, to her immense relief, she and Bryan reached the limo where a driver waited beside an open door The paparazzi had already turned their frenetic attentions to the next proed from the theater
“Good,” Bryan lance over his shoulder, “they’ve spotted the Gates Now Bill can deal with them for a while”
Gathering her long skirt in both hands, Grace ducked into the liratitude when the driver closed the door, and she and Bryan were alone in the welcome silence of the vehicle’s luxurious interior Her fake s cheeks rest
“I hated that pretentious event And I think I hate you,” she added, glowering at her escort
He laughed, showing a flash of white teeth “You’ve made that clear since the day we met But you do love your sister”
She sighed, unable to argue with that Only her love for her twin could have brought her to this glittering charity event, or involved her in the ridiculous charade she and Bryan Falcon had been orchestrating for the past teeks
She pushed a hand through her spray-stiffened hair, dislodging a crystal-encrusted clip that had been holding a sweep of brown hair fro below her chin in a se at the low top of her strapless black gown, she nudged off the tortuous high heels she had suffered all evening The heavy diamond
earrings that had been pinching her earlobes were the next to go; she stuffed the and tossed it aside
Still immaculate in his crisp tuxedo, his black hair neatly swept back froraced several photo spreads of the country’s ible bachelors, Bryan watched her shed the sophisticated façade she had grudgingly donned several hours earlier “Need help unzipping?”
Since she wore nothing beneath the gown but a few scraps of lace, she ly of jeans, T-shirts and orn sneakers—none of which she had on hand at the moment, unfortunately
“Would you like so toward the built-in bar “Wine?”
“Got a diet cola in there?”
“I’ll check”
Arefused a glass Popping the top, she poured caffeine-laced, artificially sweetened liquid down her throat Through the glass partition ahead of her, she could see the back of the driver’s head as he navigated the crowded streets away from the theater
After watching her unwind for a moment, Bryan asked, “Did you really hate the opera that ood cause”