Ian’s hand slid to her bare shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he murmured, “Actually, darling, I’m afraid Alicia’s already figured it out for herself. Stay with me now, all right? The little witch wouldn’t dare say anything nasty in my presence.”

But Tessa couldn’t prevent the cold fingers of dread that crept up her spine as she glanced up to meet the murderous glare of her former co-worker. Alicia’s normally pretty face was scrunched up into an angry, ugly expression, and if looks could kill, Tessa would have suffered a mortal wound by now.

As he’d been doing all evening thus far, Ian didn’t go to Alicia and her date, but let them come to him. Tessa noted that Alicia had paled significantly, and was still staring at her with a shell-shocked expression.

Ian quite deliberately chose to act as if there wasn’t the slightest thing unusual about Tessa being here this evening, and on his arm nonetheless. “Good evening, Alicia. A pleasure to see you as always. And of course, I’m sure you’re delighted to see Tessa again.”

Alicia’s mouth opened, but she seemed to have great difficulty in speaking as she stared at Tessa in disbelief, taking in her gown, her hair, the sapphires.

Tessa, desperate to fill the increasingly awkward silence, extended her hand to Alicia. “It’s good to see you, Alicia. How have you been?”

Alicia stared at Tessa’s outstretched hand like it was a coiled snake. “How - why are you here?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper, barely audible.

Ian swiftly interceded. “I would have thought that the answer to that was quite obvious, Alicia. Tessa is here with me this evening as my guest.”

Alicia was almost shaking with suppressed rage. “You’re dating her?” she hissed. Her fists clenched as though she’d love nothing better than to pull Tessa’s hair out of its intricately arranged twist.

Ian smiled, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant expression. “Tessa and I are together, yes. In fact, she’s moved in with me.” Not waiting to see how Alicia reacted to that bombshell, Ian extended his hand to her date. “Hello, I believe we may have met at our office Christmas party. Ian Gregson, Alicia’s employer. Have you met Tessa before this evening?”

While Alicia’s date Ross exchanged pleasantries with Ian, Tessa dared to glance up at Alicia and almost recoiled from the icy cold rage stamped on the other woman’s face. Tessa was very well aware of how long Alicia had plotted and schemed to one day attract Ian’s attention and date him herself. Tessa also knew that Alicia had never liked her, had overheard the scathing comments and thinly veiled insults she’d made about her. She shuddered to imagine what horrible, nasty thoughts must be going through Alicia’s mind right about now.

Fortunately, Ian was very well aware of the animosity being directed Tessa’s way, and suavely steered her away to greet another couple. As they walked in the opposite direction of Alicia and Ross, Tessa released a long sigh of relief.

Ian rubbed the back of her neck in his usual soothing manner. “All right there, love?”

She grimaced. “Glad to have that over with, that’s for sure. But can you check my back for claw marks? And I’ve got a terrible chill all of a sudden, must be that case of frostbite I just caught.”

He snickered and caressed the bare skin of her shoulder blades. “She was green with jealously, love. Not only are you ten times more beautiful than she is, but her own date couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Maybe I should have security check her bag for any sharp objects.”

Tessa shook her head. “You know, I should have expected something like this to happen. I’ve had a weird feeling all day. And of course it just happens to be a Wednesday.”

“Darling, I’ve told you a dozen times. That’s just a coincidence. I refuse to believe that bad things haven’t happened on other days of the week. Or that good things haven’t happened occasionally on Wednesdays.”

“Not very many,” she replied somewhat grudgingly. “And I still say it’s some sort of weird curse.”

Tessa’s good humor was restored a couple of minutes later when they met up with Ian’s good friend Matthew Bennett and his wife Lindsey. Tessa had never met Lindsey before, but knew Matthew from the gym and liked him a lot. He was kind and friendly, and she found it hard to believe he was actually a billionaire, for he seemed like one of the most genuine, down to earth people she’d ever met. Not as classically handsome as Ian, Matthew was nonetheless a very attractive man - a little shorter and leaner than Ian, his light brown hair cut in a short, slightly spiky style. And though he wore his tuxedo well, he didn’t seem like the sort of man who liked wearing formal attire or even a suit. He also didn’t seem especially thrilled about attending this ball tonight, unlike his wife who appeared to be having a wonderful time.

Lindsey was laughing, tossing back glass after glass of champagne, and also flirting somewhat outrageously with Ian - a situation that was embarrassing Matthew, pissing off Tessa, and making Ian extremely uncomfortable. Lindsey was a pretty woman, and looked amazing for being forty, the same age as her husband. Petite, with glossy dark brown hair and green eyes, she was definitely making sure every male in the room noticed her rather obvious assets showcased by the slinky, low-cut black gown she wore. Tessa was certainly no expert on the subject, but she was almost positive the older woman’s gravity defying breasts couldn’t possibly be real.

Fortunately, Ian had long ago mastered the art of fending off unwanted female attention, and very diplomatically extricated himself and Tessa from what could have become a very awkward situation.

“Poor Matthew,” murmured Tessa in a hushed tone as Ian walked them in the opposite direction of the married couple. “He looked mortified at the way Lindsey kept flirting with you. And it’s a very good thing you got us out of there when you did, because if she tried shoving those fake tits of hers into your face one more time I was going to take her down.”

Ian started to laugh almost uncontrollably, until he became aware of all the curious glances directed his way. Trying to muffle his laughter, but not doing a very good job of it, he pulled Tessa into his arms and turned his face against her hair.

“My little tigress,” he murmured, his body still shaking with mirth. “And here I thought I was the only one of us with violent tendencies when it comes to someone poaching on my territory. I’m very glad to know I can count on you in the future to, ah, defend my virtue.”