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Courting Jealousy
    This had been a bad idea.
    Noelle looked into the large room filled with oceanic displays, fancily dressed people, and milling waiters. The Aquamarine Alliance had taken over an entire chamber of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for their fundraiser. With the blue lightning, food stations, and swarms of people, it should have been difficult to find anybody. Yet there he was. Her ex-boyfriend, Barry, was standing straight ahead by the devil ray display.
    Appropriate , she thought, for the devil .
    She’d known he’d be here. She’d even come up with a plan on how to handle the situation. Now that she was here, though, she didn’t know if she could go through with it. Adrenaline filled her, triggering solely her flight response. Instinctively, she stepped back – only to walk right into the man who was accompanying her.
    “Careful,” he said.
    Heat flared in her cheeks when he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up against him.
    Oh, damn. He felt as good as he looked – all tall, warm, and muscled.
    Nervously, she stepped aside. “Maybe it would be best if we just leave.”
    “Which one is he?” her date asked.
    He knew the plan. He was an integral part of it.
    She grimaced. “Tan suit at twelve o’clock.”
    He rubbed her waist up and down as he looked in that direction. His brow furrowed, and a muscle in his square jaw flexed. She waited for his attention to focus on the busty blonde at Barry’s side, but the woman barely rated a glance.
    His gaze returned, and it was all Noelle could do to hold it. She’d asked for handsome. She hadn’t expected weak-in-the-knees gorgeous.
    “We’re not leaving,” he said firmly. “The only question is whether we go for ‘green with envy’ or ‘cross-eyed with jealousy’?”
    The corners of her mouth twitched. “His eyes are green.”
    Her date blinked in surprise, but then let out a chuckle that emanated from deep in his chest. He brushed the tip of his finger across her cheek. Electricity sizzled, and it was all Noelle could do not to lick her lips.
    “The green-eyed special it is,” he murmured.
    Oh, dear.
    Before she could catch her breath or prepare herself, he was leading her across the room with their bodies pressed side to side.
    “Wait,” she hissed.
    “No time like the present.”
    “But, but…” Yes, she wanted to make Barry jealous. She wanted him to see she’d moved on, too. She’d just hoped to do it from afar. With mystique.
    Apparently, her escort had a more brazen plan in mind.
    And why not? It was what she’d hired him to do. Her escort was truly that – an escort.
    Her pulse started beating overtime. Bad plan. Bad, bad plan.
    They stopped near the entrance to the aquarium. The living coral reef and saltwater fish were bright and colorful. The blue lighting for the event made it feel like they were right there in the water with its inhabitants.
    Maybe that’s why it was so hard for Noelle to breathe.
    Her escort leaned in to whisper in her ear. “If this is going to work, you’ll need to relax.”
    “I know,” she said quietly. Easier said than done.
    “Smile at me. You could even try saying my name, if you remember it.”
    “Dane.” She remembered everything from the moment she’d first called Luxxor Limited. She remembered sneaking the company’s business card out of her father, Congressman Hatcher’s, desk. She remembered talking with Nina Lockwood, the company president, and explaining her situation. Most of all, though, she remembered Dane walking into the room, looking like a good girl’s secret dream.
    Oh, this would be so much easier if he wasn’t so mouth-wateringly hot.
    A beautiful waitress with white-blonde hair stopped to offer a platter of appetizers. The mini quiches looked delicious, but Noelle’s stomach was knotted with nerves. She politely declined.
    “Is he watching?” she asked. With Barry behind her now, she couldn’t see him anymore.
    “Oh, yeah.” Dane