Ep 2

“Who?”

“Dante Russo.”

All thoughts of swag bags and sound checks flew out of my head.

I jerked my gaze to Shannon’s, taking in her bright eyes and flushed

cheeks.

“Dante Russo?” My heart thudded for no apparent reason. “But he

didn’t RSVP yes.”

“Well, the rules of RSVPs don’t apply to him.” She practically vibrated

with excitement. “I can’t believe he showed up. People will be talking about

this for weeks.”

The earlier whispers suddenly made sense.

Dante Russo, the enigmatic CEO of the luxury goods conglomerate the

Russo Group, rarely attended public events that weren’t hosted by himself,

one of his close friends, or one of his important business associates. The

Frederick Wildlife Trust didn’t fall under any of those categories.

He was also one of the wealthiest and, therefore, most watched men in

New York.

Shannon was right. People would be buzzing about his attendance for

weeks, if not months.

“Good,” I said, trying to rein in my sudden runaway heartbeat. “Maybe

it’ll bring more awareness to the piping plover issue.”

She rolled her eyes. “Vivian, no one cares”—she stopped, looked

around, and lowered her voice— “no one actually cares about the piping

plovers. I mean, I’m sad they’re endangered, but let’s be honest. The people

are here for the scene only.”

Once again, she was right. Still, no matter their reason for attending, the

guests were raising money for a good cause, and the events kept my

business running.

“The real topic of the night,” Shannon said, “is how good Dante looks.

I’ve never seen a man fill out a tuxedo so well.”

“You have a boyfriend, Shan.”

“So? We’re allowed to appreciate other people’s beauty.”

“Yes, well, I think you’ve appreciated enough. We’re here to work, not

ogle the guests.” I gently pushed her toward the dessert table. “Can you

bring out more Viennese tartlets? We’re running low.”

“Buzzkill,” she grumbled, but she did as I said.

I tried to refocus on the sound setup, but I couldn’t resist scanning the

room for the surprise guest of the night. My gaze skimmed past the DJ and

the 3D piping plover display and rested on the crowd by the entrance.

It was so thick I couldn’t see beyond the outer edges, but I’d bet my

entire bank account Dante was the center of their attention.

My suspicions were confirmed when the crowd shifted briefly to reveal

a glimpse of dark hair and broad shoulders.

A rush of awareness ran the length of my spine.

Dante and I belonged to tangential social circles, but we’d never

officially met. From what I’d heard of his reputation, I was happy keeping it

that way.

Still, his presence was magnetic, and I felt the pull of it all the way

across the room.An insistent buzz against my hip washed away the tingles coating my

skin and drew my attention away from Dante’s fan club. My stomach sank

when I fished my personal cell out of my purse and saw who was calling.

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