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Be Sparky. He swallowed nervously. This was going to be much harder than he expected.
She chuckled. Yes, be Sparky.
He moved onto the next subject while she walked next to him in a whisper of soft fabric and the
gentlest of perfumes. What makes Riddoux so dangerous?
He s good. The theme they re looking for is art to represent the melting pot of San Diego. Riddoux is
new to the San Diego scene, but he s had some pieces sell to large-scale businesses downtown. His mosaics
are incredible. You don t know how many times I ve wanted to dive in and get my hands on his tiles.
He stopped walking and frowned at her.
Belinda rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and pulling him along with her. Down boy, the only man
I d wet good leather for is you. She blinked a few times, as if surprised by her own honesty. Abruptly, she
shrugged it off, slapping on a strained smile while letting his hand drop. Besides, I m not his type.
Their progress so far was worth letting her off the hook a little. He s not into blondes?
He s not into breasts. Not that I have much, but it s still more than he wants. See the guy next to
him? That s Brandon LeMarche. They ve been together for years. Kyle gets along with him, too.
Who doesn t Kyle get along with? Lucas grumbled. The daunting task in front of him was getting
bigger and bigger. If only any of this came easy to him. But no, meeting new people made the muscles in
his neck tighten. After saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time, every time, he started
saying as little as possible when he was at these kinds of functions, family weddings, reunions, holiday
events. Funerals were the only relief, sad as they were, because no one wanted to speak, least of all loudly.
Don t think about it, Lucas, Belinda murmured. Her fingers slid through his jacket buttons to rub
little, soothing circles over the inferno in his stomach. Take it one person at a time. Let them do the
talking. It ll be the same with everyone: smile, nod, agree a lot.
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No licking, no peeing, he added grimly, relieved when she nearly choked.
And I promise not to maim anyone. She said it so earnestly he momentarily forgot his own
paranoia.
Someone here is on your violence list?
For the first time, her mouth curved into that wry grimace. Councilwoman Malarkey. I wonder
where she is. She s usually front and center for maximum exposure.
Malarkey can t be her real name.
It s not, but it should be. Yvonne MacInerney. She s the head of the board of trustees. Evil, grasping
bi
Belinda, is that you? A shrill voice asked from behind them. Lucas looked down, seeing Belinda s
closed lids and muttering lips. I didn t recognize you, darling. You look so& lovely.
He whirled, surprised to find not a blood-sucking creature of some kind, but instead a very pretty
woman doing a good job of not looking too close to fifty. A petite woman, Yvonne had styled her hair into
a round, brown ball of some sort. Her dress draped her from one shoulder, leaving the slightly over-tanned
skin of the other bare. Glittering gray eyes looked him from head to toe, taking a little too much time at the
middle for his comfort.
Yes, it s me, Yvonne. So nice of you to notice. Belinda smiled, sickly sweet. Lucas could feel the
steam pouring out of her ears. Look at you. So& brown.
Yvonne s eyes narrowed, but she laughed nonetheless, choosing to pretend the comment was a joke.
Aruba, dear. You should go sometime. The implication that Belinda shouldn t come back home was not
lost on anyone. Oh, Mr. Lonnigan! Don t you look dapper?
People still used the word dapper? Thank you, Ms. MacInerney.
Oh, we really must stop with this formality. Belinda and I are on a first-name basis and we have seen
each other several times now. Call me Yvonne.
He extended his hand. Kyle.
Kyle, she repeated, looking a little too much like she wanted to chew on him. Was this how
lunchmeat felt? She kept shaking his hand until Belinda reached in to reclaim him, sidling up close to his
side.
Oh look, honey, Belinda said tightly. There s Councilman Clark. We have to say hello. Don t you
just love him, Yvonne? It s so rare to find people who have true interest and a genuine eye for art. So many
people just use it to try to make themselves look important. We ll see you.
Lucas made sure to smile at the woman left blinking at them, pink stains on her cheeks that had
nothing to do with her flawless make-up. That probably wasn t wise, Belle, he whispered when they were
far enough away.
Couldn t help it, I hate that woman. And she was looking at you like you were edible.
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All or Nothing
Jealousy? From Belinda?
So sue him for enjoying it. Sure it wasn t the PC thing not that he had too good a grasp on that
particular school of thought but suddenly, smiling at the people he passed wasn t so hard.
Belinda did take him to speak to the councilman, who was pleased to see her. Person after person
complimented her on her makeover , most of them seeming to mean it. She got better at not flinching at
their surprise, but it was always there. As if all they ever saw about her was the way she looked. Not her
talent. Not her dry humor. How had they missed the things that made her unique?
Had she been the one to play arm candy when she was out with Kyle at these events? Lucas wasn t
sure, but he made it a point to redirect conversation each time, somehow always finding a topic these
people cared about before her discomfort showed. Thankfully, Belinda rattled on about architecture and
artistic elements often enough that he was able to make heads or tails of what most of them spoke about or
what everyone was hoping to achieve with their designs.
The Donnas were nervous, as this was the night when the finalists were being named. Riddoux was
friendly, once he d established his dominance with a grip bone-crushing enough to make Lucas raise his
eyebrows.
Don t mind him, Brandon LeMarche interrupted with a grin and a strong French accent to his soft
voice. He looked from Lucas to Belinda twice, then murmured something in French to Riddoux. The big
artist s frown lightened to nonexistence while he animatedly discussed the trials of overheated steel with
Belinda.
So you are the brother Kyle speaks of so often, Brandon said quietly a few minutes later when they
were collecting new drinks at the temporary bar.
Lucas said nothing, pretty sure this was one of those times when silence was by far the smarter option.
I play racquetball with him every now and then and you didn t recognize me. It wasn t so difficult to
tell. Besides, I know my friend.
Oh, Lucas replied when some sort of response was obviously required.
He said you were painfully reserved, but you re doing quite well tonight. And, of course, Belinda
looks radiant.
Yes. Lucas agreed because, really, she did. He finally sipped at his wine.
Please forgive Hale. He has difficulties concerning my friendship with your brother. He s the jealous
type.
And spit it back into the glass.
Brandon patted him on the back, concerned. Are you all right?
I m sorry, he said, trying not to cough. Riddoux thinks Kyle s gay?
The other man s blue eyes twinkled. He swears it.
The laugh inside him wouldn t be held in. Lucas saw Belinda s eyes dart his way, her curious half
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Dee Tenorio
grin as she spoke to Riddoux telegraphing her wonder about what could be so funny. He shook his head at
her.
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