I pinned the smile to my face. It was a mask I wore to keep the outside world from seeing my innermost emotions.

My face ached but I kept my muscles taut, refusing to allow them to slacken into a frown. One face morphed into another as people mingled around the room, but I kept my eyes wide and bright, my look attentive.

A strong hand wrapped around my forearm. The familiar smell of cologne revealed who it was and I felt the nervous knot in my stomach tighten.

"Are you behaving?"

I turned and met familiar guarded eyes. I could generally read people but not with this man.

"Of course, Daniel," I said, forcing myself to smile lightly. It came out a little breathless but I held his cold gaze. He was unreadable as he scanned my features with the coldness I was used to.

In the seven months we had been together I still hadn't figured out how to read his moods. Rarely was there an outward sign of what was going on inside his head. Often there was only a moment of warning before an angry outburst.

The straight line of his mouth softened. I hoped it meant he believed me. If he didn't, I would know all about it later.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek. I felt the initial flutter of nervousness ease. It would be okay.

Daniel was strikingly handsome, dressed in the best clothes money could buy and with his brown hair cut neatly. He screamed money, from the Rolex on his wrist to his commanding presence. He was a powerful man.

Another couple joined us and Daniel pulled me closer. After the initial introductions the conversation turned to politics and business. Daniel's lips thinned as he listened intently. I sipped the champagne slowly, not wanting to let it go to my head. Alcohol on an empty stomach was asking for trouble. I had to stop myself from twirling the glass lightly in my hand. It would reveal how bored I was.

I needed to keep my head clear to ensure I didn't make a mistake. Daniel didn't like it when I did something that he termed a mistake. Some days it was talking when he wanted silence, some days it was an outfit that offended him, but most of the time there was no forewarning for the punishment he dealt out.

I took another sip and I felt the heat of Daniel's gaze take in the action.

Slow down, I admonished myself. Daniel rarely missed much. That's why it was so important to exercise control over every look, movement and word.

Keeping my weight down was all part of striving to be the best I could be at a career that was solely based on how attractive I looked. I had been scouted by a modeling agency over a year ago. Apparently I had the "in" look and had been signed immediately. I couldn't begrudge a profession that had helped me get myself off the streets. It had given me hope that I could make something of myself.

I couldn't see in myself the beauty outsiders saw. Being who I was hadn't made my parents love me enough to keep me safe.

That was when the lies about my identity and age had become a necessity. I had stripped myself of any memory that tied me to Shannon Graves. Almost overnight I had become Riley Evans. I had wanted to firmly shut the door to my past and never reopen it.

Knowing the direction of my thinking would lead to dark and unhappy thoughts, I forced myself to concentrate on the present. Shannon Graves had no place in my future.

My future was modeling. I'd always thought it was easy but it hadn't taken long to realize how difficult it really was. I was naturally thin but, to adhere to the specific measurements, I still had to watch what I ate.

Don't complain, I told myself.

I widened my smile slightly as the group laughed at something. I had no idea what they were talking about. It took too much energy to concentrate on what they were saying. It was easier to just pretend I was listening by copying the actions of the people surrounding me.

There was no room for complaint, though. This was the life I had always wanted. I had worked hard to get it and I refused to give it up. I would make it work.

It had taken a determination that wouldn't allow the beginnings of my life to dictate my future. I had pulled myself out of the gutter and I refused to look back.

Inevitably my thoughts would turn back to the older brother who had abandoned me. I was used to people letting me down. It was why I kept people at a distance and now the only person I depended on was myself. The last time I had trusted someone it had cost me dearly. I suppressed the accompanying hurt of the little girl in me who had been abandoned and left to fend for herself.

I would never make that mistake again.

Daniel's hand brushed against my hip, reminding me that he was still beside me. I had met him six months after being signed to a prestigious modeling agency. He had a type and I was it. He was tall, handsome and confident. He'd dated a few other models before me. Word was he liked beautiful women but he didn't do permanent. It wasn't like I was expecting anything long-term from him. I liked the nice things he bought me and the nice restaurants he took me to.

A lot of people took these things for granted but I wouldn't. I was living a dream life and I was going to enjoy every moment before it ended. I finished my champagne and handed my empty glass to a waiter who passed by.

Then, across the room, a set of familiar green eyes caught my attention. The small action threw me into turmoil. I'd only briefly met him, but meeting someone like Connor Price wasn't something any woman forgot. His presence was so overpowering it stamped itself in your memory. I expected him to look away but his stare held mine. I should have looked away and pretended I didn't remember him but I had been taken by surprise.

It was a monetary chink in my cool exterior.

He was dressed in formal attire for the fundraiser. The lines of the black tux encased his tall, trim build and I wondered how he looked beneath. For a moment any thought I had previously held escaped me and I was left staring at him. Before I could remind myself to look away, the person beside me stiffened.

"Do you know Connor?" Daniel whispered by my ear while his hand wrapped lightly around my wrist.

I pulled my gaze away from Connor to look up at Daniel, assuring him with my softening gaze. I'd made a mistake. It was time to try and smooth it over before it had a chance to take hold and shake my perfect life.

"Not really." I tried to sound bored to cover up my racing heart. He frowned slightly. It was then I knew I should have lied.

I'd broken the fragile eggshells I had been carefully walking on and there would be repercussions. I could see the underlying anger darkening in his eyes as he continued to study me.

"How do you know him?" he asked, his eyes piercing mine.

I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "He interviewed me for a modeling position for an adverting campaign for his company."

It had only been two days ago but I could still feel the way my stomach had sunk when he had confronted me about my past.

"Why would a CEO interview a model for a job?" Daniel asked, sounding doubtful.

I could have told the truth, about the interview being a diversion to dig deeper into a past that I wasn't going to look back to. I had told Connor I had no family. It hadn't been a lie. The day I had been ripped from my family had been the day I had realized that there was no one in the world I could trust.

When anyone asked, I told them I was an orphan. It was easier than fielding questions about my childhood.

If I never spoke about my past or remembered it, I could erase it and the people connected with it. That meant that Connor had no place in my present life. He was a piece that reminded me of everything I was trying to forget.

I didn't want to remember anything that had happened before I'd started my new life as Riley Evans.

"I don't know," I answered. His hold on me tightened.

Our eyes held. There would be consequences. He scanned me closely like he was looking for any outward sign that I was being deceitful.

"I'll be back in a moment," I said. "I need to go freshen up."

After several moments he released me. "We'll talk later."

I nodded before I quietly slipped away.