He snorted, then realized what he had been doing. She was there as his shield, nothing more. After mentally telling himself to get a grip, he moved into the space beside her that Nathan had vacated. He took her hand and rested it on his arm. She fit so well against his side he might as well have heard them snapping together into place.
But before he moved her deeper into the party, he gave in to leaning down and whispering, “You do look beautiful.”
“See, I don’t know if I should be insulted.” She pouted. “You left me with Nathan feeling like maybe the outfit I picked out wasn’t good enough.”
Since the mischief hadn’t left her eyes, he suspected she was still teasing him. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the previous outfit. Very much.” He noticed her skin pebble and ran with the urge to get his own shots in. “But I wanted to save all the lecherous men here from the heart attacks your previous dress would have given them.”
In an unexpected move, she pivoted onto her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Then you’re forgiven.”
For a stunned moment, he didn’t know what to do. Clearly she was already in character, right? She was playing the role of his girlfriend. He let the idea settle before using what little brainpower he had left to start moving.
“So this is what a garden party looks like,” she said. Her gaze wandered over the sea of light suits and pastel dresses.
Grateful for the topic change, he nodded. “It’s just an excuse for people to stand around and talk while the kids play. The men discuss business. . . .”
“While the women gossip,” she finished for him. “I can feel their eyes on me. Is that even possible?”
“It’s only because you’re the shiny new addition to their ranks. They’re probably wondering where you came from.” He tugged her closer when she had moved away slightly. “And they’re assessing if you’re competition.”
“I’m with you. Of course I’m competition.”
The tightening of her hold on his arm did things to him. Things he never thought about with the others he had taken to parties like this. Afraid of what he might find if he dug deeper, he scrambled for something safer to talk about.
“I expected Nathan to put you in heels.” He dropped his gaze to her yellow flats.
“Oh, believe me,” she said, her voice taking on a breathless quality. “He did. But I’ve never worn heels before, and I kept tripping. He figured since we would be walking on grass, heels would be my worst enemy. I thanked him over and over again for showing mercy.”
“You’ve never worn heels?” When she shook her head, he followed up his question with “Not even to prom?”
The shrug made an appearance. Light glanced over the top of her exposed shoulder, revealing a shimmer. Nathan must have rubbed some sort of lotion with glitter on her. He had seen the same on Natasha when she wore something that showed a hint of skin. He liked it on Natasha then, but he never knew he would like it this much on Didi. It added an extra sparkle to her that sent a hint of pride spreading through him. Since the Parker princess was absent, he might just be walking around with the most beautiful girl at the party.
“Never been.”
Her words sent him back to the present. He eased them into the shade of a tree and leaned against the trunk. Then, by placing his hands on either side of her waist, he positioned her so she was standing facing him. “I find it hard to believe that you’ve never been to prom. It’s a high school tradition.”
“No one ever asked me.”
Something in his chest twisted at her admission. “You didn’t go alone?” The hurt that replaced the mischief in her eyes made him instantly regret his question. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I wouldn’t have gone alone either.” Seeing that he was only digging his grave deeper with each sentence that left his lips, he said, “I love the dress.”
Her mood instantly lightened. “Natasha is apparently a size smaller than I am, so Nathan put me in shapewear. Who even owns shapewear?” She huffed, then punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Don’t laugh at me. It’s not funny!”
Stifling the rest of his chuckles with a fist, he said, “I think that’s what Natasha calls ‘suffering for fashion.’ ”
“Yeah, well, no wonder the women at the club only ate leaves. If this keeps up I’ll have to live on air and nothing else.” She pointed at the buffet table and whined, “Did you see the desserts they have out there?”
“One bite probably won’t kill you.”
She rubbed her belly. “Don’t tempt me.”
Taking her hand, he brought the back to his lips and asked, “Remind me again why you agreed to this?”