She smiled. “You’re Brady’s date for the AMAs. They know their name is going to be dropped on the red carpet every time they show Brady for each nomination. It’s a lot of airtime.”
“I guess I’m used to more sedate political events where I have to pour money from my pocketbook to attend and pay for the dress.”
“Well, one thing I can promise you…this will not be sedate.”
???
Almost two hours after Nash had left me, I was ready to head upstairs to Brady’s suite. I looked one more time at myself in the mirror. The dress was almost too short, but I was determined not to pull at it all night. The three metal chains of varying lengths Alice had given me to wear were so thick they could have held an anchor in place. They weren’t a style I would have picked, but they screamed chic and trendy even if they were so heavy they almost dragged me down. I’d be glad to be rid of them by the end of the night even more than the four-inch silver stilettos.
As the time started to tick away, I texted Nash to make sure he knew I was waiting for him. He texted me back, saying he was heading up with Malone as they discussed a few more things but that Marco and Trevor would escort me up. It was an unexpected act of trust in the two men.
I could barely fit my phone, keycard, and a lipstick in the tiny yellow bag Alice had provided as my one splash of color. There was no room in it for the earbuds I’d need for my meditation app. But for the first time in over a year, the thought of riding in an elevator didn’t send me into a panic. Striding down the hallway with Marco and Trevor, my only thought was of seeing Nash’s face when he saw me in this dress. Of being able to tell him without words exactly how little I cared whether anyone knew about us or not.
As soon as the elevator doors shut, I did a self-check. My heart was racing, but again, thoughts of Nash always had my heart racing. My hands weren’t shaking. My eyes weren’t blurring. I probably would never love elevators, but I wasn’t going to lose it completely in one anymore. It brought a smile to my face that I couldn’t keep back.
Before I knew it, the doors opened, and there was Nash with a worried look on his face that didn’t match the elegantly cut tuxedo he wore. Nash was so handsome it was almost impossible on a normal basis, but dressed in a tuxedo, it was easy to see why someone had put him on a calendar. He was everything I’d ever want staring down at me. Tall, dark, and broody with his dark-green eyes cutting through my body like lasers.
He saw my smile, and relief coursed over him as he realized I hadn’t freaked out in the elevator. On seeing my calm, he dragged his eyes slowly down every part of me, starting with my eyes that had been accented to glow almost neon blue, down to the dress that clung to my curves ending just below my butt. His eyes continued to slide down along my toned legs which had been dosed with a hint of shimmer. When he made it back up to my face, my smile had widened, and I turned around so he could see the small dip in the back of the dress and the way the partial updo made my dark curls cascade over my bare skin.
Before I even had the chance to turn, he was tugging me to him. Marco and Trevor chuckled before heading down the hall without us. When Nash went to kiss me, I put the tiny bag up between our lips. “I really want to kiss you right now, but if I do, Alice will literally stab me before Fiona gets a chance.”
Nash growled, pushing the bag out of the way and placing a kiss on my temple that sent little tingles of joy through me. I sighed, and he backed away with eyes almost black like they looked when we were mid-passion and sin.
“I change my mind. I can’t call you Athena anymore,” he said quietly.
“No?”
“No, I think I need to call you Isis because you will definitely either save me from or lead me to my death.”
I laughed, the heaviness from our talk in the room hours before easing away.
He pulled my hand into his, and we walked into the penthouse that way. Joined. A unified front. Brady and Lee were waiting for us with Tanner and the enormous man I recognized as Agent Malone. They all had flutes of champagne, and Lee offered us each our own. Nash declined any, but I lifted one to my lips. Nash leaned into my ear, whispering, “If the champagne gets to touch those lips, I should have been able to as well.”
All I could do was smile and wink.
“You look gorgeous, Dani,” Lee said, elbowing Brady who looked up from his phone.
“You do. Completely beautiful. Alice did a great job.”
“She’s beautiful regardless of what Alice put on her,” Nash said behind me, and Brady’s face broke into a huge grin.
“Truth. But it’s kind of fun to hear you growl it,” Brady said.
I laughed because Brady was a flirt with everyone, male or female, but Nash hadn’t even seemed to notice. Instead, he was listening to something in his ear.
“They’re ready for you. We’ll go out the side entrance, through the alley, and then up to the front of the red carpet. I’d still prefer we skip the entire pre-show, but I’ve been overruled,” Nash said.
The theater hosting the AMAs was next door to the hotel as part of a major entertainment and convention center complex in the heart of L.A. We wouldn’t need to drive anywhere to get there, although it would probably be strange for us to be emerging from an alley instead of getting out of a limo.
“Look at it this way, you’ll get to experience the red carpet without the hassle of ever having to make a song or a movie,” Brady said to Nash.
Nash didn’t respond. Other than the kiss and sexy look, Nash was in game mode, his SEAL persona surrounding him. The flash of the gun at his waist was only one of the weapons I was sure he was sporting beneath the layers of his tux.
Nash and Tanner were going to accompany us down the press corridor. It would cause more rumors in tomorrow’s media storm, but I was certain it was the only way Nash had approved of my being a part of this whole scenario. He was determined to keep me close.
Our entire group made our way out of the suite, down the hall, and into the elevator. Nash reached for my hand, and I gave him a wide smile to let him know I was truly okay. I even winked at him, and his eyes squinted, looking down at my lips which now tasted like champagne instead of lipstick. If we’d been alone in the elevator, I might have done something completely daring, and as if he could read my mind, Nash’s hand brushed against the hem of my dress in a casual, slow movement that reminded me just how painfully and gorgeously slow his hands could move over my body.
When I looked back up at his face from his hand touching me, it was his turn to give me a grin and a wink. Challenge accepted.
