Interest flared in the writer’s green eyes. “An office romance, then.” He raised his dark eyebrows at her. “So you spent hours in his company and still agreed to go on a date with him. You’re a brave woman.”

Nathan slid his arm around her waist. “Foolhardy might be a better word,” he said. “Not to mention the fact that for the first few days of our acquaintance, I had the flu.”

Chloe was surprised he would admit that, but she played along. “And germs make him cranky.”

“I’ll bet.” Luke joined the conversation, startling Chloe. She looked up to see the three men locked in a staring match.

“Chloe and I are going to take a look at the auction offerings,” Nathan said. “We’ll meet you at the dinner table.”

He guided her away from the group toward another door, stopping a server with a tray of filled champagne flutes to take two of the slender glasses. Several people greeted him, but he just nodded and kept going, his arm like a steel band around Chloe’s waist. As soon as they reached the next room, she slipped out of his grasp and turned to face him. “So what’s going on with you, Luke, and Gavin?”

His expression became unreadable and he took a swallow of champagne. “Just some typical male posturing.”

“About what?”

He looked away for a long moment. “You notice Gavin brought his agent and Luke brought his trainer.”

“So?”

“I’m the only one who brought an actual date.”

“How do you know those aren’t real dates?”

“Because Luke and Gavin don’t look at them the way I look at you. They don’t find a way to touch them at every opportunity like I do you.” Nathan smiled down at her with something in his eyes that made it hard to breathe. “They’re jealous, plain and simple.”

“About me?” Chloe was flabbergasted.

He slipped his arm around her again and brushed his lips against the side of her neck, sending shivers rippling over her skin. “I’m the only one who gets to do this. And this.” He shifted his hand to press it against the thin lace covering the curve of her behind. The splay of his fingers reminded her of what they’d done before they’d dressed to come to the party. Heat bloomed between her legs.

“Stop distracting me,” she grumbled. “Why didn’t they bring real dates?”

“I assume they don’t have any to bring.” His lips curved into a gloating smile. “Forget about them, let’s donate some money to the kids.”

Chloe let him lead her to the first of a series of round tables dotting the room. Auction items were artfully displayed atop forest-green tablecloths. Well-dressed patrons were circling the tables, chatting and occasionally pausing to write on the bid sheets. Nathan threw a cursory glance at the first few offerings before his eyes lit up at the sight of Archer’s autographed football. They’d been given a number when they checked into the party, and he scrawled it on the sheet along with his bid.

Chloe’s eyes widened as she read the description of Luke’s donation and realized it included four fifty-yard-line seats to an Empire game. Then she checked Nathan’s bid and nearly choked. “I don’t care how good those seats are, they’re not worth that much.”

“It’s just a way to give money to the charity, darling,” Nathan said. “I might as well get something that we’ll enjoy in the process.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him even as she savored being called darling, although he was probably doing that in an attempt to overcome her scruples. “You said you’d never seen Luke play, so you wouldn’t enjoy the game.”

“I’ll enjoy watching you enjoy it.” He towed her past three more tables before stopping in front of a display of jewelry laid in the distinctive blue-green boxes that marked them as Tiffany’s. One box held a bangle bracelet in white gold covered with a random mosaic of small sapphires and diamonds that glittered in the spotlight over them. The other contained a pair of earrings—two long, dangling bars of white gold encrusted with the same pattern of sapphires and diamonds. They were stunning in their dazzling simplicity.

“What do you think of those?” he asked.

“They’re beautiful. Both classic and modern,” Chloe said cautiously.

“Like you.”

She looked up to see him smiling at her. “That’s a very nice thing to say. But do not bid on those. They must be worth a small fortune.”

He glanced at the bid sheet. “Not even a tiny fortune.” He picked up the pen and wrote his number, and a bid that was double the one before it.

Chloe gasped. “Nathan, stop! If you win those, I will not accept them.”

He looked taken aback. “It’s just a dona—”

“A donation. I get it, but you can’t give those to me. It’s bad enough that I took this dress and these shoes.” She waved a hand down at her clothes.

He put down his champagne glass and wrapped his hands around her shoulders so he could lock his gaze on hers. “I want to give you things that will make you happy. What’s wrong with that?”

She couldn’t tell him that they wouldn’t be together long enough to go to the football game or for her to wear the jewelry. “What’s wrong is that I can’t give you equally amazing things in return.”

His eyes went dark with an emotion she couldn’t decipher. “Is that really the problem? Because let me tell you what incredible things you’ve given me.” His grip on her shoulders intensified. “You’ve given me Prometheus. I wouldn’t have gone near it without you. I have a new perspective on my friendship with Ben, thanks to you. You’re even forcing me to deal with my father.” Heat flared in his eyes. “You’ve given me the pleasure of your beautiful body.” He rubbed his fingers against the fabric of her dress, making her breasts ache with the desire to have him touch them the same way.