Iris

The day was a whirl of events. Back-to-back conferences, a break for lunch, and another speaker. The latter droned on ten minutes past his allotted time, forcing the host to intervene before everyone fell asleep in their chairs. It was a miracle I wasn't one of the sleeping individuals since I hadn't slept at all last night, or maybe it wasn't so much a miracle as it was my extreme awareness of the man sitting beside me.

Somehow, I'd met him this morning without melting into a puddle of shame. I even gave myself a mental pat on the back when I channeled Ivy and told him to get cleaned up for the conference, giving him an obvious once over, but my victory was only temporary. When he touched my shoulder and whispered in my ear, I had to take a moment to remember how my legs worked and stumbled to the restaurant like a newborn foal.

"What's next?" Garrett asked.

"Oh." I opened the itinerary on my phone. "A mixer at the hotel bar, and then an hour break before pitches begin. You're third."

"Good."

He straightened his tie. The little move sent a thrill through me. Garrett was always handsome, but seeing him here today, confident and in his element, turned me on in ways I didn't know were possible. It was almost enough to make me forget our awkward encounter last night. Almost. I wasn't sure anything could ever fully erase that mortification. It had settled into my bones and made me cringe every time my thoughts strayed close to the memory.

We walked to the hotel bar together. I hoped anyone who noticed the tension between us chalked it up to professional boundaries. After Garrett returned from our room, all evidence of exhaustion and frustration were wiped away, and he had been polite to the point of formal.

"Oh, Garrett!"

Oh god. That voice was familiar. It was the same woman from last night, and the moment my eyes landed on her, I wanted to run back to the hotel room and hide in it until the end of the conference. She was precisely how I had imagined her. Tall. Slender. Golden skin and hair. Enviable breasts and eyes so blue I suddenly understood how someone could drown in eyes. Exactly the kind of woman Garrett James would be interested in sleeping with.

"Lexi," he said in greeting, bending down to kiss her cheek. He stepped back and put a hand on the middle of my back to push me forward. "Ivy. Meet Lexi."

"Hello," I said, sticking out my hand begrudgingly. "It's nice to meet you."

She appraised me through thick lashes while running the tip of her finger around the edge of her martini glass. "My, my, my. I see now."

"Lexi, don't."

"Don't what?" I asked, startled by the harsh way Garrett spoke to her. Definitely not how I expected him to speak to a lover.

"Lexi has a knack for causing drama," he explained. Raising a finger in the air to catch the bartender's attention, he raised a brow and continued. "So I wouldn't take anything she says too seriously."

"Oh, I'm wounded." Her rosebud lips formed a perfect pout, and a second later, they flattened into a thin, distasteful line. "Why did he come back?"

Garrett and I turned to see who she was talking about, and I prayed it wasn't someone Ivy was supposed to recognize, because no one looked familiar. Garrett recognized whoever it was, though, judging by the harsh intake of breath.

"That bastard." He leaned down, his lips skimming my ear and sending a thrill through me as he whispered, "Howard Green. That's the asshole who somehow stole our original presentation."

"It's not the first time he's pulled a stunt like that, either," Lexi fumed. Her blood-red nails pressed into her palms. "The only reason Simon hasn't kicked him from the program is because no one can't prove he's stealing them. There's no trail that leads back to him."

Garrett took his whiskey and handed me a glass of chilled white wine. It was the same thing I'd ordered at the restaurant the night we ate together, and I was touched he remembered. Then, reminded myself it meant nothing. He was the type of guy who remembered little details; otherwise, he wouldn't be so successful.

"Well, he messed with the wrong person this time."

Lexi's frown melted away, and she chuckled, leaning forward to pinch Garrett's cheek. "Go get em, tiger. Now, excuse me. There's a woman I've had my eye on since I got here yesterday, and I have every intention of sharing her bed tonight. You'll have the room all to yourself."

She hopped off her barstool and slipped into the crowd, pulling the attention of every person she passed. I swung my eyes toward Garrett, shock piercing through me. He stared back, something intense and intoxicating burning behind his green gaze.

"Go on," he pressed, the ice in his glass clinking together as he swirled his drink.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ask me."

"Ask you what?"

He stepped in front of me and into me, forcing me back until the bar pressed into my spine. Our bodies didn't touch, but I swore I could feel him against me. Or maybe it was just the way he looked at me, the intensity becoming almost physical.

"Ask me if I slept with Lexi last night? Or if I slept alone."

"That's none of my business."

He set his drink down with a thud and put his hands on the edge of the bar on either side of me, caging me in. "No one was in my bed last night, Ivy."

It was a statement, but somehow I heard an invitation buried in between the words. And god, how I wanted to accept.

"Garrett—" A figure entered the hotel room and walked up to Howard. My elbows slammed into the bar as my knees gave out, and if Garrett hadn't been close enough to catch me, I might have hit the floor.

"Ivy, are you okay?" I swallowed. His fingers pressed into my skin as he eased me into a chair. "Ivy?"

I shook my head and turned his chin toward Howard. "It's Paul. He's the one who gave Howard our pitch."