Chapter 16

For the umpteenth time, she told herself it was foolish to be nervous. This was Damon, for God's sake, who'd practically seen her bare, who’d seen her most intimate place. Sure, things did seem to be moving a lot faster than she expected but who was she to complain? Damon made her happy. You're just being silly, she scolded herself as she smoothed her hand down her dress. It was a royal blue cocktail mermaid dress that spread out around her feet on the ground. She'd taken one look at the dress and instantly loved it, falling on deaf ears to Damon when he'd told her to explore other options.

He hadn't seen her in it because she'd refused to try it on, but she didn't doubt for a second that he was going to be blown away when he saw her. At least Anne was.

“Oh sweetheart,” she cooed dreamily, coming to stand in front of Lena. “You look so beautiful. That dress was made for you. Leah would be proud of you.”

At the mention of her mother's name, Lena let out a small smile. “She would,” she agreed. “And damn, you look beautiful in that dress too. I just know you're gonna turn heads tonight.”

Anne waved a hand in dismissal, laughing softly. “Oh please, I'm too old for that. Besides, the only head I'm interested in turning is my husband's.”

Laughing, Lena scooped her in for a hug. “I love you, Anne, so much. Thanks for everything.”

“I love you more, darling. Now go, don't make me cry. Damon gets cranky when he's forced to wait.” She smiled, but Lena saw her flick at the stray tear that fell down her cheek.

Giving her one last look, she swung around, grabbing her small pouch which she'd shoved her phone and lipstick into. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It's only Damon, she reminded herself.

That's the entire point.

She found him sitting on a couch, which looked way too small for him in her opinion. He was that large. Dressed in a three-piece black Armani suit, he was breathtaking. A debonair. He eluded authority, demanded respect. Lena didn't think she'd ever met someone whose mere presence seemed to intoxicate her.

“Sorry I'm late,” she spoke up, running a hand down her hair. “Beauty takes time.”

Damon's eyes snapped up to her. It was overwhelming, the look in his eyes. He looked every bit the male hunk he was. Mouthwatering too.

Damon was dumbfounded. If he thought she looked gorgeous in her work outfit, then this was just something out of the ordinary. She was...beautiful didn't even begin to describe her. She looked like a goddess, the blue dress framing her body perfectly, accentuating her curves beautifully. “Damn Lena, next time you want to blow me away, give me a heads up.” He got up, walking towards her. “You are exquisite.”

Lena felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze. “You don't look too bad yourself.”

“Hey, do you think I'll get lipstick on if I kissed you?” he asked softly, trailing a hand down her cheek, his other hand wrapping around her waist.

“Mm hmm.” She nodded with a small chuckle. “But you can try.”

“Oh, I intend to.” He leaned forward to kiss her. Just a small kiss. There was something weird about him walking around with lipstick on him. “Let's go.”

“Okay. Anne? We're off. I'll meet you there,” she called behind her, trailing after Damon as he led her to the door.

“Nervous?” he asked when they were seated in his car, as he turned on the engine.

“No.” She shook her head. “Just excited. I really want to meet Gerald. From what I've heard, he's a ball of fire.”

“The hell he is,” Damon grumbled, pulling out of the driveway. “Just don't drop your panties. He has that effect on women.”

****

Damn.

It seemed a bit farfetched when Damon said it, because she couldn't really see her panties dropping for anyone else but him, but damn.

Just damn.

Gerald was jaw dropping. Lena didn't think such a creature was supposed to walk the earth. He was toxic to the female species everywhere.

“You're drooling, love.” His accent was English. Sexy as hell too. “I'm sure you've already heard of me, I'm too important to not be talked about. I'm Gerald Walsh. And you must be Lena, If I'm correct?”

Conceited too, just like his friend.

“Lena Donovan,” she said, savoring the feeling of his smooth hand in hers. Damn. With all these hot guys around, girls really didn't stand a chance. “And yes, I have heard of you.”

“You ought to. This utter fool here is totally obsessed with me.” He smirked, jerking his thumb in Damon's direction, who had a blank look on his face.

“I had this awesome dream where you just shut the fuck up for once. It was amazing. Felt like I was in Oz or some shit,” Damon replied with a relatively bored look on his face, his eyes roaming the large hall.

Gerald had gone all in. It was impressive, he had to say. The entire hall was formal. For him, it was just another reason for rich, stuck-up folks could assemble and show off who had more money. Half of them couldn't have cared less about the charities. But he didn't mind. It was a win-win. Gerald was practically his brother and he was here to show moral support. This was his public event after his dad passed away some months before, leaving the entire Walsh legacy in Gerald's hands. It had to be a success.

“Oh, shut up, you adore me,” Gerald cooed and it was the pout on his face that made Lena burst out laughing.

“Whatever, man.” Damon rolled his eyes at him.

Lena took the time to assess him. His hair was thick mane of dark brown, bordering on black and it had been combed back to frame his face. The slight stubble on his face looked only a day old, but Lena thought it suited him well. His lips were thin, his nose pointed and looking down at her were dark green eyes. The dark blue suit he wore framed his broad shoulders perfectly, his bow tie resting comfortably around his neck, and his tall frame towered over her. Lena noticed he was roughly the same height as Damon. They could've passed as brothers.

Her eyes drifted down to his fingers. There was just something unique about one's fingers, she thought. They told a lot about a person's personality. Gerald's were long and slim, while Damon's were big and bold. She figured they were two very different people with different personalities, but they had some things in common. And from what she'd seen and heard, she could tell one of them was loyalty.

“I'm very pleased to meet you, Lena. Everyone has been talking my ears off about how delightful you are. Welcome to the family.”

Lena felt her heart do some Olympic-deserving tumbles. That meant more to her than either of them would ever imagine. “Thank you.” She gave him a sincere smile.

With the way Damon was staring at her, Gerald secretly wondered how long it would take his best friend to realize he was already in love with her.

“Well, sweetheart,” he purred at Damon, then smiled as Lena laughed at the glare Damon fixed him. “I have to get going. Catch you later. Don't miss me too much.”

He strode off, and Damon couldn't help but chuckle at how surrounded he was by idiots.

“He's delightful,” Lena commented as she grabbed a flute from the tray a waiter offered her.

“He's a handful, you mean,” He shook his head no to the waiter. Sweeping her forward, he led them to a table with the name Specter on it, and wasn't surprised to see EJ there. It was the little girl by his side that made his brows shoot up.

“Uncle Damon.” Ella frowned up at him. “Uncle EJ is being a pain in the butt.”

Lena chuckled softly, taking the seat next to the little girl. Looking closely, she couldn't have been more than six. “Hi, Ella. What has he done this time?”

Damon snorted as he waited for her explanation.

“Hi yourself. He's making fun of me because I told him about Michael.” she pouted.

EJ laughed, sipping from his flute. Damon's gaze snapped to him at the sound and then back to Ella. “Who the hell is Michael?”

Lena glared at him at the curse word, making him roll his eyes.

“Her boyfriend,” EJ piped up. “My little chipmunk has a boyfriend. The world is at its end.” He gasped dramatically, earning an eye roll from Ella.

“That's exactly what I'm talking about. He's not my boyfriend,” she whined in a squeaky voice. “I can't have a boyfriend. Mom says I'm too young for that. I just think he's cute.”

Lena smiled. “She's kinda right.”

EJ huffed. “What does your mom know?”

Damon fixed him a glare, “EJ, leave the little girl alone. Go pick on someone your own size. Loner.”

“That's rich coming from you, fucking asshole,” EJ retorted.

“Oh, my goodness,” Lena gasped. “Language please.”

Ella rolled her eyes for what seemed to be a long time. “It's nothing I haven't heard before, Lee-nha.”

Lena found it funny how she drew her name but refrained from commenting.

Ella thought the woman sitting beside her was very pretty. From the cozy way she'd seen her and her uncle together, she figured they were probably boyfriend and girlfriend. What she wasn't sure of was how it made her feel. It was a weird giddy feeling.

“Are you boyfriend and girlfriend with my uncle?” she asked cheekily.

Damon's brows shot up at the question, deliberately silent as he watched Lena struggle for an answer.

Lena didn't bother to wonder where she'd gotten her streak of bluntness. “Uh.. Kind of.”

“Kind of?” Ella echoed.

“Well, we're kind of in a relationship.”

“What kind?” she asked again.

“The sexual kind,” EJ muttered, taking his gaze somewhere else.

“The kind that grown men and women engage in.” Lena was finding it difficult to keep up with her questions without being too direct.

“Okay, that's enough,” Damon ordered. “Ella, you're spending way too much time with EJ.”

The girl frowned, “Well, he's the only one willing to spend time with me.”

That hit home. And she was right. He'd been too preoccupied with Lena, work and a bunch of other irrelevant things that he realized he really shouldn't have ignored his niece over. The frown on her face was enough to make the guilt in his eyes visible and for the first time since she came into this world, he realized how shitty of an uncle he was.

“All my friends say I'm too old for my age,” Ella continued, her white satin short dress looking a little too interesting to tear her gaze away. “They don't hang out with me anymore.”