Exposed (Ethan Frost 3)

“Ethan! What are you doing here?”

I lean in, give him a quick one-armed hug. “I should be asking you the same thing. The last I heard you were doing a three-month stint in Haiti.”

He shrugs, the excitement on his face dying almost as quickly as it came. “Yeah, well, I had to cut the trip short. Thanks for your donation, by the way.”

“Always, man. It’s a good cause.” I pull Chloe in closer. “This is my fiancée, Chloe Girard. Chloe, this is Sebastian Caine. We’ve been friends since college and are currently on the boards of a couple charitable foundations together.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Chloe reaches out to shake Sebastian’s hand, her smile soft and eyes wide. She keeps glancing back and forth between us and all the questions she’s dying to ask are practically written on her face. Not that I blame her. Circumstances have made it so that I know all about her past while she knows very little about mine. Running into my college roommate—a guy who knew me before I was Ethan Frost, famous tech genius—has to intrigue her.

“It’s great to meet you, too,” Sebastian tells her. “Any fiancée of Ethan’s is a friend of mine.” He turns to me with a mock scowl. “How come this is the first I’m hearing about your engagement?”

“It just happened. This is kind of a celebration trip, actually.” Beside me, Chloe stiffens, casts me a surprised look. I shrug subtly. Sebastian’s my closest friend and of course I want him to know about the wedding. Just not yet. Not when it’s still so brand new I’m afraid one stray thought will jinx it. Not when we’re standing in the middle of the lobby of the most exclusive hotel in Vegas, just waiting to be overheard. And not when I have so many other things I want to discuss with him.

?

?And you’re staying in my hotel?”

I laugh at that. “I’m pretty sure you’d kick my ass if I stayed somewhere else.”

“Damn straight. Your trip is on me, obviously.”

“That’s not necessary—”

“Of course it is. It’s not every day one of my best friends gets engaged.” He turns to smile at Chloe, who is looking more than a little overwhelmed by Sebastian’s effusive generosity. But that’s just how he is—he grew up rich, but he’s one of the coolest, most down-to-earth guys I know. He’s also a huge philanthropist—one who actually goes into the field and gets his hands dirty building houses and hospitals, as opposed to just giving money to the cause. Of course, he does plenty of that, too. Which is just one of the reasons it surprises me so much that he gave up his job as CFO of a major charity to come back here and run this hotel.

“Congratulations, by the way. To both of you,” Sebastian continues. “I hope you’ll join me for dinner one night while you’re here, so we can celebrate?”

Chloe nods slowly, but she sounds sincere when she says, “I’d like that.”

“Good.” He smiles at her. “Tell Ethan to pick a day and we’ll make it happen.”

“Tomorrow night,” I say immediately. “We’ve got tickets to your Cirque show tonight. Chloe’s never been to one.” It’s not a lie. I did get tickets for the ten o’clock performance, after the wedding.

“It’s a good show,” Sebastian tells her. “I think you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“All right, then. I’ll leave you guys to get settled in.” He claps me on the back. “Give me a call if you want to get a drink after the show tonight. Otherwise, I’ll plan on seeing you tomorrow—”

I grab the opportunity he’s presented me with. “Actually, Chloe just set up a couple hours at the spa for a facial and pedicure. Do you have some time to talk this afternoon?”

For a second, it looks like he’s going to turn me down. He’s a busy guy and probably has a shit-ton to do. Which is why I let him see in my eyes just a little of the urgency I’m feeling.

He nods. “Sure. Just text me whenever you’re ready.”

“Good. I’ll see you in a bit, then.”

“Absolutely.” Sebastian takes hold of Chloe’s hand, raises it to his lips like the charming bastard that he is. “It was lovely to meet you, Chloe. Back in school we always knew Ethan had good taste, but he’s obviously surpassed himself this time.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she answers with an amused eye roll.

“No, it won’t,” I tell him, pulling her even more tightly into my side. “Watch out for this one, Chlo. He’s trouble.”

“Once again, Ethan, I’m pretty sure you’ve gotten the two of us confused.”

He winks at Chloe, then claps me on the back a second time before striding quickly away.

“I like your friend,” she says as we finally make our way to the elevators.