Every muscle in Shannon’s body tensed. How much of what she was hearing was truth or fabrication?

“Thank you for the warning, Beverly. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Shannon indicated the door.

“I’m watching you.”

“Is that meant as a threat?”

Beverly lifted one corner of her lips. “If it was a threat, my dear, you’d know it.”

And with that, the woman left.

Victor relinquished the keys to his car to the pimple-nosed kid driving the valet at the high-rise condominium complex in downtown Los Angeles.

Through the glass doors, he was told to tell the doorman he was a guest of the Barnums, not that Victor knew Reed and Lori, but those were the names that Liam told Victor to drop.

James, the doorman, escorted him to the elevators and used a special key to buzz Victor to the requested floor.

His palms were sweaty; his heart was more active than normal. Shannon was only a few feet away.

He hesitated at the door, brushed his hands against his jacket, and knocked. He glanced at his watch: 6:53. He was early.

So why was there so much noise behind the door?

He knocked again.

The door swung open to a tall blonde wearing a pencil skirt and blouse. She paused and then broke into a grin. “You must be Victor!”

He offered a single nod. “I am.”

Her grin grew. “I’m Lori. Come in.” She ushered him through the door.

Inside, several people he didn’t know mingled. “Thank you for having me.”

“My pleasure. Let me introduce you to . . .”

Victor grazed the room with his eyes and found her.

She wore white. A jumpsuit. Her back was to him as she stood beside a baby grand piano and looked out over the city. The back of the outfit dipped low, giving everyone a glimpse of her slender waistline, hips, and Tulum tan. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and her long, sleek neck had him sucking in a breath.

Since when did necks turn him on?

She was laughing at something someone next to her was saying when her animated features slowly turned his way.

Her playful grin faded and surprise took over.

Voices in the room faded with her smile. They didn’t really, but Victor tuned out whatever Lori was saying and just stared.

Good Lord, she was stunning. Poised and elegant.

She said something briefly to whomever it was she was talking to and started walking his way.

“. . . my husband, Reed.”

Victor heard part of what Lori said as the man at her side reached out to shake Victor’s hand.

“I’m sorry . . . what was your name again?”

“Reed,” he said, a slight laugh on his lips.

Victor gripped the man’s palm. “Right.”

Shannon stepped up beside them, the scent of her perfume made sweeter by the woman wearing it. “Victor. What a surprise.”

He turned to her, wanted to kiss her hello, and settled with leaning in and placing his lips on the side of her face. “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered in her ear.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered in his.

“Victor! You came.” Avery swept in, dressed in hot pink with a skirt that didn’t reach her knees. It matched her blonde hair and bubbly personality.

Shannon stepped back. “I see.”

He greeted Avery much the same way he did Shannon. “You look much better than the last time we saw each other.”

“Don’t remind me.” She turned to the man standing next to her. He had to be twice her size, bulky, but not from too many burgers, probably hard work or maybe a few too many hours at the gym. Hard to tell with the dress coat he wore. “This is my husband, Liam.”

They shook hands. “You’re the one who called me.” Victor made sure he said it loud enough for Shannon to catch.

“I am. So glad you could make it.”

Avery flashed her teeth with a cheeky grin. “Look who’s here, Shannon.”

“I can see that. You should have told me you invited him.”

Avery squished her smile. “Oh, hell, no. It’s much more fun this way.”

Those who stood close enough to hear her words started to laugh.

Shannon turned to him. “Then you should have told me.”

Victor shrugged. “It’s only day fifty-six, and you gave me direct instructions to avoid calling you. I’m doing my best to stay within the parameters of our agreement.”

Shannon narrowed her smiling eyes.

“You’re counting the days?” Avery asked, laughing.

Victor pointed at Shannon. “She started it.”

“Oh, God, that’s rich.”

Reed caught his attention. “What are you drinking, Victor?”

He cleaned up really well.

And what was he wearing? Every time Victor was close by, the scent of the man lingered in her brain like a fog over the shoreline. She couldn’t get enough.

Avery pulled Victor away from Shannon and walked him over to Trina and Wade for introductions.

Lori fell back. “You didn’t tell me how good-looking he was.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Are you really counting the days?”

“He just had a huge breakup. We agreed on three months to give him time to process.” But apparently those three months were going to include phone calls, texting, and cocktail parties. And visits from his ex future mother-in-law. She’d forgotten about that until that moment.

Was Victor speaking with Corrie?

She supposed that was normal, but how much talking, and what was being said?

He was there, so that spoke for something . . . right? Or Victor could be a complete player like her ex-husband and keep his cards close to his chest.

The doorbell rang, and Lori left her side to answer it.

Voices had her turning around.

Shannon greeted the couple with kisses and hugs. “I didn’t realize you were coming.”

Sam and Blake Harrison had become her friends when Shannon signed the contract to marry Paul. Petite with red, curly long hair and a low, raspy voice that men loved, Sam hugged her hard. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

Shannon questioned her with a look, then words. “You knew Victor was coming.”

Sam didn’t pretend to deny it. “Where is he?”

“You know everyone else in the room, so I doubt I have to point him out.”

Sam did the once-over, found him, and said, “Very cute.”

Shannon rolled her eyes and hugged Sam’s husband. “Hello, Blake.”

“Hey, Shannon. It’s been a long time.” He kissed her cheek. “And I didn’t know about any man. I was told to get dressed and drive.”

“This is all a bit premature. We’re not even dating.”

“Yet,” Lori said. “Fifty-six days, according to Victor.”

Sam tossed all that hair back with a laugh. “I like the man already.” She grabbed Shannon’s arm and pulled her toward Victor. “Introduce me.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“. . . she hopped up from my lap and then proceeded to blame me.”

Like clockwork, Shannon jumped in to clarify and embellish the story of their meeting the second he finished his sentence.

“I’ve known you all of a month, and that is the second time I’ve heard you tell that story. Each time it gets a little worse.” Shannon glanced at her gathering of friends, some sitting, some standing, all of them glued to what she had to say. “He stretched out and I couldn’t get to my seat.”

“You could have just woken him up,” Reed suggested.

“I would have stepped over, too,” Trina said.

Victor watched Shannon’s expressions as her friends weighed in on the conversation.

“Before Liam, I would have purposely fallen in your lap.” Avery’s confession had everyone laughing.

“When I asked Shannon her name, she addressed herself as annoyed. So every time I saw her in the next couple of days, I thought of her as Miss Annoyed.”

“I can beat that. I called you Mr. Phone and Mr. Clueless.”

Wade patted Victor on the back, lifted his drink toward his wife, Trina. “Don’t feel so bad, Victor. Trina flat-out turned me away the first time we met. She took one look at me and was like, ‘Oh, no, Cowboy. This is not gonna happen.’”

“I did not say that.”

“No, you said, ‘Wade Thomas who?’”

Trina turned to Victor. “I didn’t listen to country music. I didn’t know who he was.”

Wade and Trina were undoubtedly the most famous couple in the room. Multiplatinum country western singer Wade Thomas was one of the biggest in the industry. And Trina . . . well, she owned an exceptionally large part of an oil company inherited from her late husband’s estate.

“Sam turned me down,” Blake chimed in.

“True story. But I wised up,” Sam told the room. “Who doesn’t want to be royalty?”

While everyone laughed, Victor shook his head.

Lori helped out his confusion. “Blake is an actual titled British duke.”

“What?”

“I’m not responsible for my parents,” Blake told him. “But the title does come with a few perks, so I’ve kept it.”

“I thought you said you were in shipping,” Victor said.