Chapter One

 “Do I know you?”

I looked up from the event table I was desperately trying to organize. A man wearing a salmon pink polo shirt with khaki shorts that were just a little too short stood in front of me. He reminded me of a plastic Ken doll with his bleached hair that was gelled into submission and what looked like a fashion shoot pose.

“Excuse me?” I asked. There was a massive gala tonight to showcase the items available for auction tomorrow, and this table needed to be set up and fixed. The auction of this multi-million dollar Caribbean estate was very important to me and really, everything needed to be perfect, but I was focusing on this table for the moment.

The man grinned. “Do I know you? Because I'm having a hard time recognizing you with your clothes on.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. There was no way he could be serious.

“That's seriously what you're going with?” I asked after a moment. I was way too busy for crappy pick up lines. “You're at a million dollar event hosted by a billionaire on a private island wearing knock off sunglasses and a fake tan, and that's the pick-up line you're going with?”

The guy took a step back, clearly not expecting that to be my answer. He must be used to girls who would giggle and blush. I was not a giggle and blush kind of girl. At least not today.

“Just trying to start a conversation with a pretty lady.” He put on what I assumed must be his most charming smile. It didn't work on me in the slightest.

I pushed my glasses back up my nose and then pointed to the auction items clearly scattered on the table along with my tablet and paperwork. The gala was in just a few hours and I had more work than I knew what to do with. I definitely didn't have time to deal with Pick-Up-Artists. “Do I look like I want a conversation right now?”

“Um, well...” The man finally stopped staring at my chest and noticed that I was actually busy.

“I'm busy. Go away.” I picked up my tablet, scrolling to the inventory list to double check that this table had all the appropriate items. My brain was already busy remembering where the event planner was setting up the dinner tents, that my boss still had two more appointments today, when the caterer was unpacking and prepping, if the auctioneers were prepared, and remembering to remind security to keep a handle on the journalists covering the event. I wanted journalists, not paparazzi.

The man cleared his throat, not so subtly asking for more attention than I was willing to give. I counted to five before looking up. “What?”

“I'm looking for someone, and you look like you work here,” he said with another “charming” smile.

“Is that another pickup line? Because it's terrible.” I glanced around the room. There were at least four other people who clearly looked like they worked here, but none of them were under the age of fifty or female. No wonder I was the center of his attention.

He had the audacity to roll his eyes at me. I did not have time for this right now.

“I'm looking for a C. Page. I'm supposed to report to him for the auction. I was hoping you might help me find him,” the man replied, trying once again to ooze charm.

“Who are you?” I asked, doing my best to remain pleasant despite the fact my blood was starting to boil. I was C. Page, and most certainly not a “he.”

“My name's Chad Malin,” he replied, holding out his hand. I didn't take it since my own were full of work accessories. He withdrew after a moment, but still wore that sleazy smile. “I'm the head auctioneer at the auction tomorrow. I could get you tickets if you want.”

Something about the name Chad stuck in my memory as someone to avoid, but I was too busy to expend the brain power trying to remember why at the moment.

“I don't need tickets. I'm C. Page, as in Charlotte Page, as in Mr. Sebastian Belrose's- the billionaire who is throwing this little shindig- Personal Assistant C. Page.” I set the tablet down with a thunk. I thought about adding that Bastian was also my brother, but decided against it. Professional was what I needed. “I'm the one you were supposed to report to three hours ago in order to prep for the auction since you decided not to show up yesterday. You were left several messages.”

“Aw, you're too pretty to be in charge,” Chad drawled, smiling widely. For a moment, I wondered what the extradition laws for murder were from the Caribbean. Probably not worth it, but still tempting.

“And you are apparently too dumb to work here,” I replied, letting my anger get the best of me for a moment. “I'll get another auctioneer.”

“Wait,” he said quickly, taking a step forward and panic crossing his features for a moment. “I'm sorry, miss. I'm just stressed about my fiancée. She's going through a really rough time in her life right now, her dad's got this heart thing, and-”

“-And that's why you thought it was a good idea to hit on me?” I finished for him. “Your fiancée?”

Chad's mouth opened and closed like a fish. I wanted to fire him. I really, really wanted to fire him and ban him from the mansion, but the auction was tomorrow and I didn't actually have the time to go find another auctioneer. Being on a Caribbean island, there just weren't a lot of professional auctioneers walking around and I was short on time just to get the necessary things done without adding something new to my plate. As much as I hated it, I couldn't really fire him.

“Mr. Malin, the auction is tomorrow and I expect you to be there and on time. Early even.” I picked up my tablet and indicated to a room down the hall. “They are prepping the materials in the library, which is just down the hallway and to the left. You'll recognize it because of the books and the fact that there are two other auctioneers, including your boss, inside it. I would advise you to go there. Now.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said quickly, turning to walk away. I strongly considered throwing the vase on the table at the back of his head. He shouldn't have riled me so much, but I was already behind and I still needed to get ready for the gala as well as check on a billion other little details. My head was starting to throb with the stress of it all.

“You look about ready to punch someone's lights out,” a deep male voice said from my left side.

I smiled. That voice was from the one person who could make my bad day better just by saying hello. My stomach did the familiar flutter it always did whenever Leo was around. The one where love-sick butterflies danced an Irish jig that made me giddy. My headache went away.

“Hi, Leo,” I said, turning and smiling. Just the sight of him made my day better. It didn't matter that I'd had an unrequited crush on him for the past ten years, his effect on me was still the same. I thought he was the most handsome man I'd ever met and the ten years since I'd met him had only increased that opinion.

He was certainly taller and had added muscle since he was eighteen, but the unruly dark hair and striking blue eyes still stole my heart. But really, it was his smile, the one he was giving me right now, that made me melt. When he grinned at me, I couldn't stop my heart from fluttering and my hormones to spiral out of control. That smile made me feel like the center of the world.

I cocked my chin in the direction of the annoying auctioneer. Instead of going to the library, he was trying his “do I know you?” line on one of the catering assistants prepping appetizer tables.

“What do you know about hiding a body?” I asked Leo, shooting death ray glares at Chad.

Leo laughed, turning his head to look and giving me a view of his profile. I could look at his strong jaw and straight nose for hours. My hand went to my hair and quickly let it out of the tight bun I had it up in. Dark waves spilled out over my shoulders, and I hoped that it looked pretty. It was irrational and I knew I sounded like a high-school girl trying to impress a boy, but I wanted to look my best for Leo.

Not that he'd notice, or care. I could be stretched out wearing nothing but a smile and he'd probably just walk on by. As far as he was concerned, I was practically his sister. It didn't help that my older brother was his best friend. As much attraction as I felt toward him, he made it very clear he wasn't interested in anything more than a friendship. I was just Bastian's kid sister to him, not a woman and certainly not anyone he'd do anything more than give a platonic kiss on the cheek.

“That guy?” he asked, jabbing his thumb toward the auctioneer. “Want me to go beat him up for you?”

I giggled. His simple joke had my heart beating way too fast and I knew a blush was searing across my cheeks. It wasn't fair that he had this reaction on me. I had hoped that my attraction to him would fade, but it never had. If anything, I just liked him more the longer I knew him. I was able to handle being a billionaire's assistant and staring down powerful men, but one look from Leo turned me into a flustered schoolgirl.

“Oh god, it's him,” I whispered as the realization of who Chad Malin was hit me. I closed my eyes and shook my head. No wonder I hated him. “I just figured out who he is.”

“Please tell me he's not your date for tonight.” There was a protective edge to his voice that made my heart rise. But I knew it was just because he looked out for me like a brother. I wasn't Leo's type. Even though he seemed to favor brunettes, the last three women he'd dated gave rocks a run for their money on intelligence. He liked them pretty and dumb.

I could pretend I was pretty, but dumb wasn't in my vocab.

“No, not my date. He's Ava's ex. Her awful, horrible ex.”

“Ava?” Leo thought for a moment, trying to place the name. “The pretty redhead from the other night? Who left right before you barfed all over me?”

The blush that had finally started to fade came back with a vengeance and my heart sank with embarrassment. I wanted to block that memory out of my mind for as long as possible. Me-- unable to hold my liquor and throwing up all over Leo- was not the way I wanted him to think of me.

Ava Fairchild was the auction appraiser, and while she was out here appraising the mansion for auction, the two of us had become friends. I had taken her out for a girl's night at a local bar when Leo showed up.

Ava, being a true friend, had left me alone with Leo. It should have been a dream come true. It should have been fantastic and wonderful, and a chance to flirt and impress Leo in a non-work environment without Bastian there to interrupt. It was basically a date.

Except I was nervous had gulped a very strong drink on an empty stomach.

And then puked all over him.

“I'm still really sorry about that,” I whimpered, hiding my face in my hands. Of all the people to get sick on, I had gotten sick on the man of my dreams.

“You've already sent me three shirts to replace the one.” Leo laughed, putting his hand on my shoulder. I thrilled at his touch, but didn't uncover my face. “It's fine. You just aren't allowed any alcoholic drinks around me until you learn how to hold your liquor.”

I uncovered my eyes. He was smiling at me with warm blue eyes. I grinned weakly. Someday, I was sure I would find the whole story humorous.

“Anyway, I remember her,” Leo continued. “She was very sweet. That's her ex?”

I glared at the man in the salmon shirt. “Yeah. Guy's a real loser. Ava walked in on him cheating and ended everything months ago, but he's telling anyone with two X chromosomes that 'his fiancée' is just going through a rough patch.”

“Wow. He looks really broken up about it,” Leo observed as Chad brushed the catering girl's hair out of her face. Unfortunately, she looked like she was falling for his act. The guy was attractive enough, but his tactic was way too obvious. All he wanted was in her pants.

“Now I really want to punch his lights out,” I said, feeling protective. “If he tells Bastian that he's back with Ava... I might kill him.” I looked up at Leo and grinned hopefully. “You'd help me with the body, right?”

“Always,” he replied without hesitation. Warm, fuzzy feeling drifted through my middle. He frowned slightly. “Why would you care what he tells Bastian about a fake fiancée anyway? People are always making up bullshit reasons to talk to us. It's part of being a billionaire.”

I looked up at him, surprised. I thought he knew about Ava and Bastian, but apparently not. “Have you talked to Bastian in the past couple of days?”

“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “I've been busy finishing up that giant phone app thing that our company is working on. You know, the one that we've been working on non-stop for the past month?”

I rolled my eyes at him. Considering the two of us just spent a week working eighteen-hour days to make the app a reality, there was no way I could forget. “So you haven't noticed the change in him?”

Leo shrugged. “He seemed moodier than usual, but it's Bastian. He's tall, dark and brooding. That's why we all love him.”

“He's in love with her,” I informed Leo.

“The caterer?” he asked.

“No! Ava!” I smacked his arm and he grinned at me. “Bastian is in love with Ava.”

“Oh, good for him.” Leo looked at me like I was slightly crazy. “Why would this guy matter then? He's a nobody. Why believe him?”

“The problem is that Ava isn't here,” I explained. “Apparently, they had a fight and she left. She's at home being an idiot until she realizes that she loves him and comes back.”

“You sound like a romance novel, you know that, right?”

I smacked his arm again, this time harder. He laughed.

“Shut up, I'm serious,” I said. “The two of them are head-over-heels crazy in love, but they're both being too dumb to do anything about it. I'm about ready to send someone to kidnap Ava and bring her here. It's either that, or accidentally have the private helicopter land on her lawn the next time Bastian gets on it.”

“So Bastian's in love, huh?” Leo watched the auctioneer flirt with the caterer for a moment. “That does explain why he cussed me out for stealing his pen this morning. He did seem a little crankier than usual.”

“If Bastian hears Mr. Stupid Hair's fiancée nonsense...” I shook my head. “It would kill Bastian if he thought Ava was with someone else.”

“Mr. Stupid Hair?” Leo repeated, raising his eyebrows.

“He's making me mad and I can't think straight when I'm mad,” I informed him. Instead of smacking his arm again, I tried to push him out of the way as I moved around the table. Except he was rock solid under my palms and didn't even budge. What would those muscles look like naked... under my fingers...

Stop it. He's not yours. I told myself.

“You sure are cute when you're mad,” Leo informed me. I knew he was trying to tease me, but I couldn't help but flush with pleasure at being called cute. Damn him and how he always managed to tie me up in knots. Even when I was irritated with him, even though he would never feel the same way about me, I couldn't help but be charmed by him.

A sharp slap rang out through the main entrance and we both turned to see the caterer storming off while Chad held a hand to his cheek.

“Well, my day just got a little better,” I said.

Leo chuckled. “I'm here to make it even better.”

The warm gooey feeling filled my heart again. He didn't know it, but he had already made my day better just by smiling at me. He always did. “And how are you going to do that?”

“Check your email,” he said with a smug smile.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, but pulled up my email on my tablet. The newest one was from Toby, Leo's personal assistant informing me that the guest list was finalized and the parking situation I had been struggling with was taken care of.

“What is this?” I scrolled through the email, seeing more things on my to-do list crossed off by Toby. “How?”

“Toby wanted to help you out,” Leo informed me with a warm smile. “He knows you've been busy with the auction as well as the app stuff, and yet you still had the time to help him out last week. He actually insisted he help.”

“What?” I looked up in surprise. “Toby hates me. He did all this?” I asked, glancing through the work. He had done a great job and was completely saving me.

Leo had hired Toby to be his personal assistant a little over a year ago, despite my objections. He had a decent resume, but there were so many more qualified candidates. I never understood why Leo was adamant that his long-lost college buddy get the job when I had perfect assistants with all the training needed lined up. Something about Toby rubbed me the wrong way, but Leo had insisted.

Apparently, the extra time I had to spend training Toby was finally paying off. Maybe, someday, we'd even get along.

“Does it help?” Leo asked, raising his eyebrows.

“This is fantastic,” I said, closing the email and feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. “Thank you, Leo. This helps so much.”

Leo held up his hands, deflecting my gratitude. “Don't thank me- thank Toby. It was all him.”

“Still...” I didn't want to thank Toby. I wanted to thank Leo. I had a sneaky suspicion that it was Leo that had suggested it. It would be like Leo to do something wonderful and give the credit elsewhere. He was always doing stuff like that.

I thought about hugging Leo. I could hug him and it wouldn't be all that weird. We were friends after all. But I had the world's biggest crush on him and I was fairly sure that if I hugged him, I might burst into flames of desire.

So I just kept my distance and said a polite, “Thank you.”

“So,” Leo said, clearing his throat. His blue eyes focused on me and I suddenly felt like a high school girl meeting a rock star. He did it to me every time. Despite years to get over him, he still rendered me back into a love-struck teen with just a glance. “I'll see you at the gala tonight?”

I held up my tablet. “Since Toby got me caught up, yes.” I grinned at him. “I have a dress and everything.”

Leo's face lit up in a smile. “Excellent. Be sure to save me a dance. I know how Bastian likes to steal you for the whole night.”

“He does not,” I replied, trying not to roll my eyes. “He just likes to make sure I have a good time.”

Leo took a step forward, and I was suddenly very aware of how close he was and how much I still wanted to hug him. To touch him. “Still, I want my dance tonight.”

“It's yours,” I whispered, breathless. Leo grinned and stepped back toward the main doors. Behind him, two men were moving one of the large cabinets to the auction area and through the open door I could see a taxicab dropping someone off. I frowned. I wasn't expecting anyone tonight to come in a taxicab.

A young woman with beautiful, dark red hair stepped out of the cab. It was my friend, Ava. She stood there, staring up at the big house and looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Her eyes were wide and rimmed with red, whether from crying or lack of sleep, I wasn't sure. Probably both.

Leo put his hand on my shoulder as he moved to look over my shoulder to see what had caught my attention. The simple touch set my body on fire in a way that I should have been used to by now.

“Looks like your friend is here,” Leo said, removing his hand. I could still feel the weight of it on my shoulder and I missed it. I wanted so much more.

“This is going to make Bastian's night.” I turned and grinned at him, thinking now of my friend and my brother. I knew Bastian was locked up in his room, moping over the fact that Ava left. The idea of presenting her, beautiful and looking like a princess, was too good to pass up. It would be the perfect fairy-tale ending. “Don't tell him, though. This is going to be the best surprise ever.”

“Not a word.” Leo mimicked zipping his lips and locking them shut. “You should go rescue her. She looks like she's about to bolt.”

I grinned, handed him my tablet, and ran out the door to greet her.