“Well?” Avery demanded.

“He’s so good-looking,” she whispered, unable to tear her gaze from the picture, those blue eyes startling and seemingly focused on her.

Avery laughed. “Someone is going to have a very good weekend.”

“Hey, sugar, are you home?” Grey Kingston’s distinct voice sounded from the other room.

“In the bedroom!” Avery called out. “Okay, my evening’s about to start.” She looked at Sienna. “And you need to get dressed for your date!”

Feeling herself blush, Sienna shook her head. “It’s not a date! It’s a school event,” she said as much to remind her sister as to cement the fact in her own mind.

“With a private escort.” Avery glanced over her shoulder as Grey’s familiar face popped onto the screen.

“Hi, Sienna.”

“Hey, Grey. We were just hanging up.”

He grinned. “Always good to see you. But I wouldn’t mind some time with my wife.” He kissed Avery’s cheek, and knowing what probably came next, Sienna called out, “Bye!” and disconnected the call.

She stared at her clothing, hoping her dress was appropriate for tonight’s event. She hadn’t chosen something stifling and conservative because that wasn’t who she was and the invitation had said semiformal. But she hadn’t picked something overly revealing, either. She wanted to come off suitable for the occasion.

With that thought in mind, she headed for the bathroom to wash up and dress for the evening, unable to get the image of her host for the night from her mind.

Chapter Two

Without bragging, Ethan knew he was a hot commodity at this event. Business owners and CEOs wanted to talk to him, either about his ventures or his investments. It was another reason he hadn’t wanted to come. Handing off the babysitting duty every year was a no-brainer, and for a while, it had been amusing to send Sebastian. Ethan supposed this was Karma paying him back, forcing him to spend the night making small talk with people he had no patience for and watching over a young woman he had nothing in common with.

Nevertheless, he did his duty. He mingled, speaking to men he’d known for years, introducing himself to their protégés, most of them wide-eyed, nervous potential students dressed in semiformal wear, too conservative even for him. Three-piece suits and handkerchiefs weren’t his thing. He’d grown less stuffy over the last year, the things that mattered to him not as important. Not since they’d been thrown back in his face, the time and effort he’d put into making his marriage work not worth anything in the end.

Which was also the reason he’d had to do some serious ducking of women CEOs who’d heard of his widowed status and assumed now that a year had gone by since his wife’s untimely death, they could attempt to make a pass at him. He wasn’t interested. Instead he focused on trying to find the young woman he was supposed to meet up with.

Always prepared, Ethan looked for the blonde beauty with porcelain skin he’d seen during his scoping of Sienna Dare’s social media pages. Yes, he’d checked her out. No, he didn’t regret it. Any school or potential employer would do the same. Just because she was a business associate’s sister didn’t mean he’d slack off in his due diligence.