Chapter 21

The Kay Corp party was turning out to be every bit the crush of people Nicholas had expected it might be. Most of them were introduced to him by his father and there were a lot of men who wanted to renew their acquaintance with Frank Connelly and some just wanted to start one with him. The women were making no secret of the fact that they found his dark and brooding looks attractive. Not that Nicholas had any complaints about that last part. He had enjoyed a healthy sex life during his years in the army and after, and he sincerely hoped to continue doing so now.

Nevertheless, even surrounded by beautiful women as he was, all seemingly vying for his attention, Nicholas still noticed the woman in the figure-hugging red gown, standing across the room…Caroline Anderson.

She stood out from the rest of the ‘beautiful people’ present in as much as she was making no effort to respond to the flattering conversation of most of the men who approached her

but instead seemed to