Trust by Design (Colorado Trust 2)

Bullshit he didn’t care. No way he’d have come all the way here when he could’ve easily called her tomorrow.

Question was, why did he care?

She held the rim of her champagne flute against her lips. The cool glass was the opposite of his warm mouth. Her heart skipped a beat at the memory of that second kiss in his bedroom, his hand on her thigh, and the solid weight of him pressing her into the mattress—

Do not go there!

First he accused her of working with Jackson to steal from him, now he was going out of his way to get her to come work for him. Why?

All of a sudden, that damn maddening adrenaline rush of realization hit hard. He was going to use her to find out everything he could about her ex. It was the only thing that made sense.

Well you know what? She was sick and damn tired of being used. First by Jackson. Now this guy. Screw them both.

She turned back to the painting he’d told her to buy and tilted her glass to drain the last of the champagne. Serena had an amazing gift, and Gina knew the perfect spot to hang the artwork in Dean’s house. She’d buy it for him, but only because it would benefit her friend and he was going to pay double for her trouble.

Then she’d drop it off in the morning and tell him exactly where he could stick his job. There were plenty of other clients. They may have been scarce over the past couple months, but now she was extra motivated to secure their business.

“Was that who I think it was?”

Gina turned to see Britt, Serena, and Jayne standing behind her. The talented woman of the hour handed over a second glass of bubbly. She deposited her empty on the tray of a passing waiter and accepted the next one from her friend.

“That was Mr. Dean Daley.”

Britt’s green eyes widened. “Wait—the guy from the club is the potential client you had an appointment with tonight?”

“They are one and the same.”

“You said you didn’t see him after you left.”

“I didn’t, until I found myself at his house earlier. Luck of the draw, I guess.”

“Odds like that, you should buy yourself a lottery ticket,” Jayne quipped.

She smiled past the resentment still coursing through her veins.

“I have no clue what is going on here,” Serena complained. “Someone want to catch me up?”

Britt volunteered and proceeded to entertain not only the girls, but their husbands, who chose that moment to join them. Gina sipped her champagne, kept her smile pasted on, and remained quiet. A twinge of envy wiggled its way in as she took stock of each couple. Britt and Joel had just had their first baby a couple months ago, Jayne and Casey were perfectly happy without children so far, and Serena and Emilio had a beautiful family of four.

She was the odd one out. The last single one of the bunch. Then again, with men like Jackson and Dean Daley, who could blame her?

A glance about the room caught Vanessa Baxter’s gaze. The woman smiled and discreetly toasted her before returning her attention to the distinguished gentleman at her side. She considered heading over to talk to her, but decided to minimize even indirect contact. Compared to the son, the mother seemed nice. Any more marks in the positive column for the man could be dangerous.

Any more? Why is there even one?

Unfortunately, she knew why there was one. Um, make that two. Fortunately, good looking and splendid kisser

didn’t convince her rational mind he was nice.

“Did you get the job?”

Serena’s question drew her attention back to the group.

“He wants a painting,” she replied to avoid a direct answer. “This one, in fact. I’ll take care of the purchase and deliver it myself.”

Excitement brightened her friend’s eyes. “That’s great!”

“It is.” She gestured with her drink to a second landscape while keeping her gaze away from the speculation in Britt’s eyes. “And you know what? He has such a huge house, I’m thinking he might need to start his own private collection of Perez artwork.”