A Private Affair - A.C. Arthur Page 0,1

over the stem of the empty glass she held, that she never had enough time to do.

“You won’t regret it,” Riley told him. “RGF is more than its reputation. We pride ourselves on keeping a family-oriented work environment. If you were to officially join us, you wouldn’t be just another designer—you’d be family.”

He chuckled. “You don’t have to continue to sell me on the offer, Riley. I’ve been following RGF’s success for a long time. And I’m honored that the Ice Princess herself came all this way just to speak to me. There’s no way I would turn down this opportunity.”

Riley hated being called the Ice Princess. The tabloids had given her that nickname after the Walter Stone fiasco. And while she wasn’t about to give Perry a tongue-lashing for using the stupid name, she did raise a brow as she stared at him. The act had Perry laughing loudly as if she’d just told a fabulous joke.

“Just kidding, Riley. Come on, let’s dance,” Perry said.

He plucked the glass from her fingers and placed it, with his own, on the next tray to pass them. He was taking her hand before Riley could cordially turn down his offer and in seconds she found herself on the dance floor.

The song wasn’t a slow tune, which meant he really didn’t need to hold her so closely. Yet Riley didn’t pull away. She was certain any one of the media staff that were present would snap a picture on their phone and immediately text it to their editor. The picture of her dancing with Perry would no doubt grace the cover of at least one tabloid first thing tomorrow morning. Any other fashion house looking to snag Perry’s talent would see that RGF had beaten them to the punch. With that thought, Riley moved easily to the rhythm of the music. She smiled and eased out of Perry’s embrace so she could spin around before coming back to join Perry. The move gave anyone aiming for a photo op an unfettered view of her smiling...and wearing an RGold original dress.

Another minute and the song was over. The band would probably continue to play until midnight when the DJ, who was set up in the far corner of the ballroom, would take over. Riley still hoped to be upstairs in bed by that time. Now she decided it was time to conclude this meeting.

“Well, I certainly don’t wish to stop your celebrating,” she said and dropped her hands from his shoulders. “I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me.”

Perry let his hands slip from her waist. “Surely you’re not leaving the party. We still have an hour to go until midnight. There’s champagne to drink and more dancing to be done!”

Riley smiled at the joy in his sea green eyes. “Oh no, I think I’ve had enough partying for one evening,” she told him.

“Nonsense,” a deep voice said from behind her. “You have to make time for just one more dance.”

Riley’s shoulders instantly stiffened at the familiar voice.

“You don’t mind, do you, Perry?” he asked as he shook Perry’s hand.

“Of course not,” Perry replied. “As long as she continues to have a good time. We should all be on the dance floor at midnight. I’ll be talking to you soon, Riley.”

She managed a quiet good-night to Perry, her genuine smile already shifting to the cool, aloof one she’d grown famous for.

This time, the band did begin playing a slower tune, and to her dismay, Chadwick Warren stepped closer and asked, “Shall we dance?”

Riley didn’t like how close he was.

Nor did she like how well he wore that single-button charcoal-gray tuxedo. Chaz, as everybody called him, was too tall, standing beyond even her older brother RJ’s six feet two inches. His face was too chiseled, eyebrows too thick and beard cut too precisely. There were waves in his close-cropped ebony hair, too many of them, and he smelled... Well, the cologne he wore smelled too damn good.

There was no way Riley would ever let on that she was bothered by any of the above. She nodded and took the final step to close the distance between them.

“You look stunning tonight,” he said the moment his arms slipped around her waist, his hands flattening at the small of her back.

For the second time tonight, Riley lifted her arms to let her hands rest on a man’s shoulders. The first time had been for business. This time, she prayed, would not overshadow the work she’d