But as good as he looked in the tux, he looked even better naked.
No, can’t think about that now. You’ll embarrass yourself by drooling.
And she was about to meet his parents.
As they entered the GoldenStar, Annabelle considered how perfect the name was for Jared’s father’s hotel. The flagship of the Golden chain of luxury hotels, the Old City Philadelphia hotel had an expansive lobby and a grand staircase leading up to the second-floor ballroom that sparkled and glittered with candles and crystal.
The ball already seemed to be in full swing when they entered. A quartet played dinner music in the far corner while the stage was set for the youth orchestra to play after dinner.
And all around the room, easels displayed the works to be auctioned later. Jared had told her all the money raised went back into Arts and Artists to fund the programs.
Some pieces had obviously been done by children, but there were others that were stunningly good.
“Jared, would it be okay if we looked around a little before we met your parents?”
Not that she didn’t want to meet them but she just had to get a closer look at one of the paintings on the opposite side of the room. The bold colors and design had caught her eye from the moment she’d walked in.
Jared’s soft snort of laughter drew her attention away from the painting.
“I’ll be lucky to have a minute with you to myself tonight.”
She frowned up at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, my mom and nana are going to want to monopolize you. Come on, let me do the introductions quickly so you can scope out the paintings.”
Warmth suffused her but she pushed it away. Why should it matter what his family thought of her? It wasn’t like they were getting married. They were business partners, though, and she wanted to make the right impression.
She looked down to make sure her dress covered all the right places.
“You look beautiful, Belle,” Jared said, no trace of exasperation or amusement in his tone. “Are you really that nervous?”
No. But she didn’t know what she was feeling right now. “I don’t typically attend charity events for a thousand dollars a plate. Give me rare Staffordshire and I can sell the plate for a thousand. But this…”
“Honey, looking like that, you could sell a load of reproductions to the Smithsonian, and they’d never know. I’m going to talk to Kate about having her own boutique in the hotel. She’s got phenomenal talent.”
Annabelle couldn’t agree more. “Yes, she does. But I think you might have a hard sell getting her to take you up on the offer. I don’t think her fiancé even knows she does this kind of work.”
“Then I guess it’ll be up to you to convince her.”
Jared couldn’t tear his gaze away from Belle. She was absolutely stunning, looking like a lick of flame in the scarlet sheath. He’d be beating away other men all night.
Already, he wished they could skip this part and head back to Haven. He didn’t want to share her attention.
But he knew he couldn’t do that. His mom lived for tonight. He needed to be here for her. And Annabelle was eyeing the paintings on display with a collector’s eye.
No, he’d have to suck it up and stick this out for a few hours.
No matter how much he wanted Belle. The past week away from her, he’d needed a cold shower every night.
And had absolutely no desire to fill his bed with anyone but her.
The thought should have rocked him to his bachelor’s soul. But then he’d never met anyone like Belle before.
And she had found the pin…
He smiled at the thought, though he didn’t believe Nana’s story about the pin pairing off soul mates. How could he? It was a legend created by an artist to sell his jewelry.
As he steered her toward the front of the room, where he knew his mom would be holding court, he barely noticed the glittering crowd moving around them. Most of the usual Main Line suspects were here, in addition to anyone who was anyone in the city.
Many of them stared back at him. He saw contemplation on the women’s faces, some of them women he’d been involved with. But he knew they weren’t looking at him. They were sizing up Annabelle. So were the men, but for different reasons. His hand tightened on her shoulder until she shot him a concerned look, which he soothed with a smile.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. He sent a quick glance around the room and found Tyler sitting at a table with his grandmother. Better the devil he knew.
“Come meet my grandmother, Belle.”
Tension pounded in Annabelle’s temples, threatening to burst into a full-blown headache.
Tonight had been more stressful than she’d expected.
Not that anyone had been mean to her. On the contrary, everyone had been wonderful and Jared had stuck to her side like glue for the past two hours.
Until a second ago when he’d gotten up to dance with his mother.
“Time to do my duty,” he sighed. “I’ll be right back, Belle.”
Then he’d slid a glance at Tyler.
“Would you like a drink, Annabelle?” Tyler asked, leaning forward slightly to speak over the din of the large crowd. “I need something a little more fortifying than champagne.”
Annabelle liked Tyler, who was so different from Jared. Quiet and intense, Tyler looked into you with his dark brown eyes, almost as if he could see what you were thinking. He’d been polite and kind all evening, saying just enough to keep up with the conversation.
But that intensity had flared when he’d asked about Kate. She’d been ready to bring up the subject herself when he’d asked how she was doing. But other than his question, she couldn’t tell how he felt.
“How about a glass of orange juice, with a lot of ice, please. I think I’ve already had a few too many glasses of champagne.”
And she didn’t want to fall asleep too early tonight.
Tyler nodded and moved away, leaving her alone with Beatrice Golden. Somehow she’d dodged that particular bullet all night. But when Beatrice turned to her with a knowing smile, Annabelle knew her time was up.
“So, dear. Alone at last.” The tiny-featured, frail-looking woman patted one thin hand on the seat next to hers. A royal summons, if Annabelle had ever seen one.
She couldn’t very well say no, so she smiled and shifted over two seats to sit next to Beatrice.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jared on the dance floor with his mother, Helena, who’d been overcome with emotion when she’d been honored earlier by the charity’s board of directors. From what little Annabelle had seen of her tonight, she seemed like a nice woman.
Glen Golden also seemed pleasant. She hadn’t been able to figure out why Jared didn’t want her anywhere near his dad.
“How are you enjoying the party?” Beatrice asked.
“Jared’s mother has done a wonderful job,” she answered truthfully.
Everything had gone off without a hitch. Though personally, she’d rather be at one of Jared’s parties at Haven. Here, she felt like she needed to watch her posture and smile all the time, as if she were on display.
“Yes, Helena loves this kind of thing.” Beatrice sighed. “Me, I’d rather be over at Haven, sitting at the bar, having a gin and tonic.”
Annabelle’s tension headache lightened a little at Beatrice’s forlorn tone.
“Now, tell me, young lady, how did you come to find my pin?”
Ah, the pin. She’d been wondering when Beatrice would get around to asking about it. Annabelle curved her lips in what she hoped was a convincing smile even as her temples throbbed as if someone had tightened a vise on them. “Actually, my grandfather did, about thirty years ago at a flea market. I don’t really know that much about how he found it. All I know is that he found it in a box of costume jewelry. He didn’t know it was there until he emptied the box and realized the stones were authentic. I’m so sorry I can’t tell you anything more. I understand it was stolen?”