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inside.”

Chapter 4
    R ana was considered the most outgoing member of her family. Her youngest sister was naturally shy and preferred cooking to interacting. Her middle sister grew impatient when people didn’t make as much sense as numbers.
    Not Rana. She could converse with a stump, and probably make it smile. So it was a shame that the only word she could manage at that moment was, “What?”
    His lips parted, and his black eyes narrowed in intense concentration on her face, skimming over her lips, cheekbones, eyes. He took his time answering her, but finally spoke. “You came inside.”
    He was…British. He was beautiful and jacked and talented and had the sexiest goddamn accent she’d ever heard in her life. Um, excuse me, sir. Who the hell allowed you?
    Wait. Oh. Oh God.
    Mortification raced through her as she processed the import of those simple words. He knew. Knew she had followed him. From his house. The house she lived next door to, which meant that she could never escape this humiliation, ever.
    What was the worst that could happen? This, right here.
    At least she had alcohol. She brought the glass to her lips and sucked down a hefty drink, wishing the champagne was a harder liquor.
    Because I’m sure he’ll be less alarmed if his stalker is drunk.
    His eyes slid over her body, down her legs, and up again to her face. Even through her embarrassment, fire licked along her skin everywhere his gaze touched.
    There were upsides to being so brown a blush was invisible. A trickle of sweat ran down the back of her neck, but at least she could rest easy in knowing she didn’t look utterly discombobulated. “You know who…” She trailed off faintly, not eager to complete the sentence.
    He shoved his hand into his pants pocket, the fine black of his jacket straining over his biceps. “I know who you are. You live next door to me.”
    While the silence stretched between them, her mind raced, thinking of ways to make her escape. She could dive through a window, but the glass would probably cut her up. She’d just had a dermabrasion session last week.
    Alternatively, she could walk sedately past him, go home, steal a dead woman’s identity, and flee the country. However, she’d miss her family an awful lot.
    Mentally, she slapped herself. You have game. Use it. It was there. Buried deep beneath self-doubt and anxiety and a need to please others, but she had it.
    Yes, this was embarrassing, but she could brazen this out, and then maybe she’d laugh about it tomorrow with her sisters. One more crazy stunt to add to her lifetime of crazy stunts. Gosh, that Rana sure is wacky, isn’t she? Especially when it comes to boys.
    She tossed her head, cocking it. “Why, yes, I suppose we do live in the same neighborhood. What a coincidence we both ended up at the same place tonight.” She lifted her shoulder. “It’s not that big of a city, of course, but so weird.”
    Something flickered in his eyes. His face looked like it had been carved in granite. The scar bisecting his lip extended over his cheek, lending his already harsh masculinity a more violent edge. “A coincidence.”
    “Hmm.”
    “You tailed me here.” His voice was rough, like a thousand pieces of glass, breaking over the clipped words.
    She managed a breathy laugh, though what she really wanted to do was whimper. “Tailed you? I wouldn’t know how to tail someone.”
    “I believe that,” he murmured.
    She lifted her chin at the dig. Like, okay, it was a dig at her stalking capabilities, but she was still mildly insulted. “I was at La Luna,” she said coolly, referring to the nightclub down the street. “When I noticed something going on in here, and I thought I should come check it out.”
    His lashes shielded his thoughts. “Is that right.”
    “Yes.” She licked her lips, trying to stem the urge to babble nervously. “I’m so glad I did. This show is wonderful.” She wasn’t supposed to know he was the artist. And it was