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we both watched Oliver make his way over toward us with a slight frown on his face.
    “Never,” I muttered before he reached us.
     

Chapter Three
    “I was just asking Jade how you two knew each other,” Alicia stated as Oliver handed her a fresh glass of wine.
    “Jade is an acquaintance of mine.” His tone was indifferent. He didn’t even look in my direction as he spoke. Was that really all I was to him now?
    “Really? It looked like you were more than that outside,” she giggled into her wine glass.  She was enjoying this, I could tell.
    “I have no idea what you mean,” he muttered.
    “If you’ll excuse me,” I sighed, standing up. I wasn’t going to sit here for Alicia’s amusement.
    “Don’t leave on my account… What was your name again?” she asked with an almost sickening smugness.
    “Jade,” I snapped, starting to move. “It was nice to see you again, Oliver,” I whispered, not meeting his eyes. He moved closer toward me, which meant I had to brush past him to leave. I held in a groan when I felt his hand on my bare back as I walked past.  How could one simple touch ignite so much inside me?
    I quickly joined the closest group of people I could find. A few of them were interior designers that I would be working with here in New York, which made it easy to fit right in. I tried to focus on my conversation with them, but my eyes kept wandering the room, trying to find Oliver.
    “Have you been in this business long?” a tall, dark, and extremely tanned man asked me.
    “About five years,” I muttered as Oliver came into view again. It looked as if he was heading toward me.
    “What area do you specialize in?”
    “Artwork, mainly.”
    “Miss Gibbs helped me purchase a couple pieces of artwork a few months ago,” Oliver called from behind me. The whole group began to fall over themselves simply because Oliver Kirkham joined in our conversation. “She did, however, leave the design on my office unfinished.”
    “You never actually agreed to any of the designs, Mr. Kirkham,” I countered, quirking my eyebrow at him. He tried to hide the amusement in his eyes. What? Now he was talking to me. Why?  
    He stood close to me while the group began to quiz him about his life. Alicia was nowhere to be seen. Had he asked her to leave?  
    “Are you talking to me now?” I whispered when we were finally alone a little later.
    “Yes.” His tone was still guarded.
    “Does this mean you’re going to give me a chance to explain?”
    “I’m thinking about it,” he sighed, looking into the crowd.
    “You’ve hardly let me out of your sight all evening.”
    “That’s because I keep thinking you’re a dream. Jade, I’ve been looking for you for the last six months.”
    “Looking for me?” I frowned, playing my cover.
    “Don’t be mad,” he winced. “I put a tracker on your bank account.”
    “You did what ?!” I fumed. Any normal woman wouldn’t be happy with that confession. For me, however, it showed he still cared.
    “I’m sorry, but I needed to know you were safe. Jade, you disappeared into thin air. Can you really blame me?”
    “That is my personal life, Oliver! You had no right to interfere! Have you been tracking me this whole time?” We were in the far corner of the room, but I was drawing attention to us because of my outburst.
    “Are you really giving me a hard time about this?” he snarled back with cold eyes. “I thought you might have been kidnaped. My job makes anyone I care about a target. I had to be sure you were okay. You did far worse, Jade, and you know it!”
    “You’re judging me before you even know the whole story.”
    “I opened my world up to you, and you threw it in my face. I have a right to be pissed about it!” He was becoming more enraged as we spoke. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me? My business even suffered while I was trying to find you.”
    “I didn’t mean…”
    “Why did you leave me, Jade? I need to know.” I