“I beg your pardon”—I leaned into Thorin’s ear so I could speak without drawing attention—“but your ordering for me exceeds my tolerance threshold for chauvinistic behavior.” I did not stomp off in a childish fit. Not in those heels. Instead, I wobbled after the waiter, intending to catch him and change my order. But someone intercepted me first.

“Hello, darling. Aren’t you a breath of fresh air?” A man who I guessed was only barely younger than my father stepped in front of me and took my hand. “J.D. Shruck,” he said. “And you are?”

I blanked my face, hiding my annoyance. “Solina Mundy.”

With his carefully styled hair, bleached teeth, and the unnaturally healthy glow only achieved in a tanning bed, J.D. Shruck reminded me of a Ken doll’s older brother, but a little slimier, a little greasier. Must be from Vegas.

“You came in with that big fella over there, didn’t you?” He motioned to Thorin, who was talking to a redhead in a gorgeous silk sheath dress.

“Yes. I’m… with him.” I didn’t know how else to categorize our relationship.

Shruck raised his eyebrows. “You don’t sound so sure. Lucky for me.”

I frowned. What does this guy want?

“I’ve been watching you ever since you came in the door, honey. You got that kind of presence.”

“News to me,” I said, and I meant it. I could have run for president of the National Wallflower Society and won by a landslide. I arched a brow, indicating my new acquaintance should get on with his point.

“You ever do any stage work? Dancing, perhaps?”

My lack of finesse on my heels should have made the answer obvious, but I was pretty sure J.D. wasn’t looking at my feet. And I was pretty sure “dancing” didn’t mean ballet. I opened my mouth to tell him he had the wrong girl, but someone else beat me to it.

“She’s not your type,” said an unfamiliar woman as she stepped up beside J.D. “Look at her. She’s entirely too sweet and innocent.”

J.D. sniggered. “Nothing at all like you, Donna.”

Donna rolled her eyes then winked at me. She wore a strapless dress, and her curves wobbled every time she shifted her weight. Judging by the smirk on his face, J.D. approved.

“Honey,” she said to me, “don’t waste your time on this little slime ball. He’s only charming when he’s prospecting for new girls to line his pockets.”

If that was charming, I’d hate to see him on a bad day. J.D. and Donna sniggered at each other and dismissed me, tipping their heads close to gossip about other guests. I wasn’t sure what kinds of girls Donna had meant, but I could make a couple of guesses that involved poles and insufficient clothing. I sidestepped away from them and edged toward the bar.

The waiter passed me a glass of bubbly water trying to disguise itself as something more amusing by wearing a slice of lime on its rim. “Toss a shot of Southern Comfort and a little lime juice in there, will you?” I said.

The waiter’s eyebrow flickered up and he chuckled, but he took my glass to the bartender, who tipped in a generous shot of bourbon. I stuffed a ten-dollar bill in the bar’s tip jar. “Bring me another in ten minutes,” I said and grimaced. The heels were killing me.

I strolled around the room, studying the other guests as discreetly as possible, hoping all the while that no one noticed me. Helen had found Thorin again. She stroked her fingers down the length of his tie and whispered in his ear. An unexpected bubble of jealousy floated up from somewhere inside me. I pushed the feeling down and looked away. What did I care about their flirting?

Long, crimson curtains hung from the ceiling to the floor between windows peering onto a private patio. A movement in the drapery’s shadows caught my notice. Tucked away beside one of the elegant fabric panels stood the man who had escorted Helen Locke into the building. He had pinned his gaze on Helen and Thorin, and he wore a look of malcontent. I eased my way closer to him, intending to introduce myself, but he sensed my approach and turned to face me. He shed his frown and put a cool smile in its place. “She’s temperamental, that one,” he said, motioning to Helen. “Fickle and unfaithful, but when she turns her attention on you, you feel like there isn’t anyone else in the world she’d rather be with.”

“I didn’t get that impression when she talked to me,” I said.

The man, older, silver sparkling at the temples of his black hair, nodded at me. “That’s because you are competition.”

“Do you think she’s making Thorin feel that way right now?” I glanced at the subject of my question. Thorin wore a bemused expression as Helen whispered into his ear.

My new acquaintance chuckled, flashing straight white teeth. His green eyes sparkled. “I suspect Aleksander Thorin has grown rather immune to the wiles of Helen Locke.”

“Hmm,” I replied and sipped my drink.

My companion held out his hand to me. “Nate McNary,” he said.

I took his hand, but instead of a shake, he lifted my knuckles to his lips and kissed them. “Um, Solina Mundy,” I said.

“Lovely to meet you, Miss Mundy.”

I refrained from groaning aloud. “Just Solina, please.”

Nate McNary nodded. “Solina. An apt name. I wonder if your father knew you would be the personification of the sun when he gave it to you.”

I paused at his comment, pinpricks of apprehension falling across my skin. “You’re a charmer, Mr. McNary. Is that why Helen keeps you around?”

His face split into a wide grin. “Beautiful and smart. That’s a killer combination. And, please, call me Nate.”

“I’m glad someone thinks so,” I said, thinking the men in my life were altogether underwhelmed by my mental acumen. So long as I continued to trust my own intelligence, what those men thought of me mattered little.

Nate leaned in closer and spoke into my ear. “Be careful, Solina. Helen has something in mind, and I am afraid she will do most anything to accomplish her goals.”

My breath caught. “What does she have in mind?”

Nate shook his head. “She hasn’t yet deigned to share the details with me. But you don’t want to cross swords with her. I’m giving you fair warning.”

“Swords? I’ve done nothing to her.”

Nate tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I shivered, held entranced by the green glow of his gaze. “You exist,” he said, barely loud enough for me to hear. “And for her, that is enough.”

A waiter announced dinner and called us to take our seats. I looked away from Nate to find Thorin approaching. A cold glare hardened his face, and a muscle worked in his jaw.

“Uh-oh,” Nate said. He nodded in Thorin’s direction. “Looks like a good time for me to take my leave.”

“Chicken.”

Nate chuckled. “Are you calling me names or placing your order for dinner? It was a pleasure to meet you, Solina.” Nate bowed his head and strode away.

I blinked, slow to recover from his quick dismissal, and then started after him, brimming with questions about Helen Locke and about what he meant when he said I existed and for her that was enough. Enough for what? Thorin reached me before I could catch Nate. His fingers latched onto my elbow, and he tugged me toward the dining room. “So much for silent and obscure,” Thorin said. “Is there a man in this room you haven’t talked to?”

“Lots of them,” I said, stumbling in my heels. “Maybe I should have worn a shorter skirt.”

“You shouldn’t have left my side.”

“You didn’t seem to mind when Helen Locke was rubbing herself all over you.” I regretted the words the moment I said them.

Thorin stopped, his interest clearly piqued. “Jealous?”

“No, just not a fan of double standards. Have you learned anything useful yet? I hope I didn’t wear these freaking toe breakers for nothing.”

Thorin led me to our table and pulled out a chair for me. I eased into it, swallowing a sigh of relief, and kicked off my shoes. Thorin leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Be patient, Sunshine. Secrets don’t give themselves up without a little effort.”