The pages of the paperback in my hands were worn with age and the abuse of being stuffed inside my briefcase on a regular basis as I dashed to and from work, the coffee shop, the courthouse, and various other places in a never-ending rush. It was just passed five o'clock on a Tuesday night and I was lying across the midsection of my cappuccino colored couch, reading a romance novel. This was my usual post-work activity. Most evenings I could be found relaxing in bed or on the sectional with a book in my hands and a glass of wine.

Okay. Fine. Sometimes it was chocolate milk. We all have our weaknesses.

This was my favorite way to wind down after a long day.

I turned the partially wrinkled page as the loud click of a sliding deadbolt signaled my fiancé, Derek, unlocking my front door. I listened to the creak of the door opening and the sound of his all-too-familiar shiny black shoes on the freshly waxed wood floors as he made his way down the hallway toward me.

"Hey babe," I heard from the archway behind me.

Derek smiled as he leaned over the couch to kiss me. A simple, sweet peck on the lips, though it sent an exceptionally delicious warmth through my veins.

"Hey," I smiled back, putting my bookmark between the pages and closing my current read. "How was work?"

Derek walked around the couch and plopped down next to me with a thud, followed by a heavy yawn that went hand-in-hand with the dark circles that had been under his eyes a lot lately.

"So you're the reason the couch squeaks," I teased, pointing a finger at him.

"I'm not the only reason," he smirked, referring to our many sex-capades on that particular piece of furniture. "But to answer your question, work was productive. I finally got McCarthy on board as our client."

"That's fantastic!" I grinned, planting a big, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Derek had been trying to convince McCarthy Investments to use the law firm he was a partner at as their new representation. After five frustrating months, his efforts had finally been successful.

"Yeah but we got a new guy that thinks he knows everything and won't work with me. He's kind of a jackass," Derek snorted.

"There's one in every crowd," I shrugged, sipping my wine. "Am I gonna meet this jackass tonight?"

We were going to attend a business dinner party that Derek's boss, AKA his dad, was throwing to celebrate their firm's recent achievements. Hampton, Burns and Hampton was one of the most prominent law firms in the Chicago area and Derek was at least half of the reason they were so successful.

The firm was started by his father and three of his colleagues twenty-two years ago. When Derek graduated from Harvard Law School at the top of his class, he turned down numerous offers from major firms all over the country, having known he had a guaranteed job waiting for him at Hampton. It took less than eight months before his father made him a partner, ignoring every voice that suggested Derek might be too inexperienced.

I don't think I've ever seen Derek so excited about anything, except maybe the day he proposed to me.

"Unfortunately, I'm sure you will," Derek groaned, rolling his eyes. "We need to leave in about thirty minutes."

I looked at the clock. 5:16. I was looking forward to going to the party. It'd been awhile since I'd been to a formal event and I really enjoyed dressing up for these things. Derek, however, hated them. He didn't understand the point in attending events with your coworkers when you saw them every day already. I, of course, disagreed.

"You're not going like that, are you?" I faked annoyance with a short laugh, pointing to what he called his "meeting suit."

Derek liked to separate his clothes by categories. He had suits for meetings, suits for social events, suits for court, and so on. I thought that was kind of goofy, but then again, all my business attire was versatile enough that I could wear the same pantsuit for a meeting that I wore at last week's hearing and it worked just fine. Dresses, however, were a different story.

"No, actually," Derek huffed as though I was on his nerves. He was doing a terrible job of hiding the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I'm gonna wear that one that's like off-black or whatever it's called. Not gray. I don't know."

I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Charcoal?"

"That's the one!" he said enthusiastically, quickly heading upstairs to my bedroom.

Derek and I basically shared a house. He had a fancy downtown apartment and I had this quaint two-bedroom home in the suburbs, but he was almost always at my place.

I certainly didn't mind. I loved having him there to sleep with me most nights, and frankly I just loved being around him all the time.

We were about two months into what we planned on being a ten-month engagement. It was April and we were planning to get married in December. I'd always wanted a fall or winter wedding and December was my favorite month. I thought it would be wonderful to have an anniversary around Christmastime, and Derek didn't seem to have a problem with it. We set the date for the third.

We'd been together for three years, having met during my second year of law school. I'd graduated from Harvard last year.

Ever since I saw a movie with a court scene in it when I was little, I'd always found law so fascinating and I thought it would be so interesting and fun to be an attorney. I liked the idea of cleverly overcoming the challenges of cases.

Of course, it wasn't real fun working my way through school as a paralegal. That was too much paperwork and my coworkers were assholes, but I managed.

Derek had proposed in February over a candlelit dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant. I was beyond elated. He'd been living with me part-time for a year and we'd become very serious.

I was surprised when he proposed though. I'd expected to have the marriage talk at some point before the big question but it never came up. Derek was never much for planning things that weren't in the real near future, whereas I was.

I made my way upstairs to see Derek getting dressed in the bedroom with the door open. Standing in the doorway, I leaned against the doorframe watching him pull his slacks up and button his white shirt. He knew I was staring, though he didn't look up.

I started biting at my bottom lip. If we hadn't been going to this party, I would be taking those clothes off of him in a heated frenzy by now. He looked good. Almost too good, if that was possible.

I strode to the closet to find my attire for the evening: a mid-thigh length dark red satin strapless dress paired with black four inch heels. I stripped down in front of Derek, feeling his gaze fixed on my backside as I tossed my bra to the side and was left only in skimpy red lace panties. I was enjoying teasing Derek with the view, knowing my underwear left basically nothing to the imagination.

I stepped into the dress and slowly dragged the silky material up over my legs, stopping at my waist and suggestively asking him to come zip the back for me.

I held the thin fabric against my chest as Derek took his time pulling the zipper up behind me. His hands lingered on my back and I leaned against his body feeling the heat radiating off of him. He placed a hand on my hip and my legs instinctively parted slightly as I rested the back of my head on his shoulder.

"Why do you do this to me?" Derek groaned in my ear, sliding his hand further down my body.

"Do what?" I smirked playfully.

"Any chance we can just skip this party and stay in tonight?" he asked, hoping I'd say yes so we could go straight to bed.

"Nah," I giggled, shaking my head. "But if you can manage to sit through the whole thing, I just might reward you tonight."

Derek sighed, removing his hand from my thigh and stepped back to sit on the bed.

"You drive a hard bargain," he chuckled with his eyebrows raised.

It took me a few more minutes to finish getting ready. I put in my usual diamond studs and freshened up my makeup, which was always minimal.

Within ten minutes Derek and I were out the door and on our way to the party. It was a fairly chilly evening. The sunset was a blur of pink, orange and purple splashed across the sky and the light breeze was just enough to send shivers down my spine.

The ride to the venue, a hotel ballroom in downtown Chicago, was mostly silent. I stared at the brake lights of vehicles in front of us and watched what was left of the sun fade away into a star-studded darkness.

It took awhile for us to reach the parking garage of the Hilton once we made it off the freeway to the downtown streets. The traffic was so congested with the nightlife just getting going. I rolled my window down to feel the cool air on my face as Derek pulled into the garage entrance, handing the attendant a ten-dollar bill and proceeding to slowly make his way through the seven levels of cramped parking until he found a space to his liking to park his new Honda.

We stepped out of the car, my heels clicking against the pavement as Derek pressed the lock button on his keychain, sounding two chirp-like beeps from the vehicle. He wrapped an arm loosely around my waist and we found our way to the nearest elevator.

The party was being held on the first floor right above the level we parked on, making it a short and simple walk. We entered the ballroom and the smell of champagne was so strong I could almost already feel the headache I was sure to acquire within a couple hours. I recognized a few of Derek's coworkers. Christine, a tall blonde civil defense attorney at Hampton, Burns and Hampton dawned a shiny silver floor-length gown with a wine red sash around her midsection. She smiled and waved to us from across the room.

I noticed a few other people Derek had previously introduced me to at his office. Karen Reynolds was the receptionist, whom I probably got along with the best of his associates. She was in her mid-sixties but looked about forty-five and she had the personality of a comedian. Any time we spoke, I couldn't stop laughing.

I also recognized Harry, a lanky older man who was responsible for the firm's marketing strategies. He was clad in the same business suit he wore to everything. I'm pretty sure I saw him in the grocery store on a Saturday night in that outfit. I wondered if he owned anything else.

I felt somewhat uncomfortable not knowing many people at the event but I figured I'd follow Derek around like a lost puppy all evening and he'd introduce me to everyone.

"Carrie," Derek spoke up for the first time since before we'd left my house, scanning the room for other familiar faces. "Would you like to go sit down?"

With Derek being a partner and the boss's son, we always sat at the so-called executive table for these things.

"Sure," I smiled, looking around for where that table might be.

I followed Derek to where his father was sitting, talking to a business associate.

"Dad," Derek addressed him, shaking his hand and taking a seat to the side of his father.

I sat down beside Derek, awkwardly smiling at anyone whose eyes happened to meet mine while I looked around the ballroom. It occurred to me that this party was going to be horribly boring if Derek didn't plan on socializing. I could go mingle myself but I'd always been more reserved and found it more difficult to go up to people and strike up a conversation, versus having someone else introduce me.

Derek's father and his associate were still in deep conversation and Derek was visibly bored out of his mind. I knew he didn't enjoy these events but he could at least try to have a good time. There were people talking and laughing and drinking all around us and there was a glittery-silver faux tile dance floor that I was itching to be on. Derek didn't appear interested.

"Are you just going to sit here like a bump on a log?" I asked, resting my chin on my fist, my elbow on the white linen-covered table.

"I might." He crossed his arms. "I'm just not feeling this. Why do you always make me attend these things?"

"Because you're the boss's son," I answered in a dull tone. "You're supposed to be at these things."

Truth be told, I didn't always want to go either but I knew Derek's father wouldn't take too kindly to him missing an opportunity to wow associates and potential clients.

"Well I don't see why I can't skip one or two every now and then," he huffed.

"You can. But most of them you should go to. Besides, I like going places with you. Try to have a good time. It's really not that boring."

"Alright," he groaned. "I'll walk around with you on my arm and tell people how gorgeous my fiancé looks."

"Be still, my heart," I giggled, shaking my head and standing up along with him.

We made our way around the ballroom talking to everyone from Karen, the receptionist, to Lindsay, a recently hired file clerk, to pretty much everyone who had an office on Derek's floor. Christine told Derek about a plan she was going to present to his father in the coming weeks on how to better manage the firm's private endeavors. I hadn't a clue what those were. Derek obviously wasn't paying attention to half of the conversation but it was small talk at least and that's better than sitting idly at a table the entire evening.

After chatting with Christine, we decided to head back to our table. Halfway to our destination, Derek groaned and turned to guide me in the opposite direction.

"Don't look," he said, annoyed, as we headed back toward Christine.

"What am I supposed to not be looking at?" I asked, fighting the urge to look all over the place.

I briefly thought how convenient it might be to be able to turn my head completely around like an owl.

"Remember me telling you about that new guy that's a total dick?" Derek's voice was icy, reminding me of our conversation earlier.

"Yeah."

"He's talking to my dad right now," he responded with a groan.

I shook my head in amusement. "So introduce me."

Derek looked at me like I had three heads. "What?"

"Introduce me," I repeated. "I don't see what the big deal is. You just met the guy. He might not be that bad. Maybe you should try getting to know him."

"Maybe I don't want to get to know him."

"Well, right now it sounds like you're the one who won't work with your coworkers," I said, knowing that would irritate him enough to get a reaction.

Derek sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, clearly frustrated with the situation, and then turned back toward our table with me following.

My eyes landed on a tall man in a black blazer and dark denim jeans that accentuated his ass. His back was to me as he animatedly spoke to Derek's father. His hair was a deep brown, almost black that obviously hadn't been cut in awhile. The man turned around as we reached the table and his gaze immediately landed on me.

My breath left my lungs in half a second when I looked into the eyes of the, without-a-doubt, sexiest man I'd ever seen. He had slightly longish hair with bangs covering most of his forehead, chocolate-brown eyes that you could easily get lost in, and a killer smirk that would get any woman's attention. He was taller than Derek. Probably six-two.

I felt like I was in a trance. The room around us was a blur of crystal chandeliers, glasses clinking, laughter, and music. All I could see was this man. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed his eyes brighten with intrigue and the tip of his tongue glide across his bottom lip as he eyed me suggestively.

The tightening of Derek's arm around my waist dragged me back to reality. He gave my side a light squeeze. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

Embarrassment flushed my cheeks and I crossed my fingers that no one noticed. I didn't want to believe that anyone could be more attractive than the man I was going to marry, but there was no denying how gorgeous this man was.

"Dad," Derek spoke up, ignoring the man's presence. "Christine was telling us about a presentation she's working on. Maybe we should go talk to her about it."

I cocked an eyebrow. I thought this was an introduction, not a chance for him to bolt again.

"Derek," his father's tone signaled annoyance. "I'm not interested in that right now and I'm sure Carrie isn't either."

Well, he was right about that.

"Dad, I just think-"

"I know what you think."

Mr. Hampton's tone was hard enough to silence a few nearby conversations and draw wandering eyes in our direction.

"Now, I know you two have some sort of issue going on but I don't see any reason why you can't be men and fix it right now."

I fought the urge to let my gaze travel back to the handsome man in front of us. He was leaning against the chair Derek had sat in when we'd first arrived. He had a boyish grin plastered across his flawless face.

Derek gave in and took his father's advice, or rather, order. "Carrie, this is my coworker."

His words were blunt like he was spitting venom. I raised an eyebrow when Derek didn't tell me the man's name but I went ahead and extended my hand to shake.

"Nick," the man said with a flirty smile.

He confidently leaned forward pressing his lips to the back of my hand, lingering a second too long before releasing his warm grasp on me.

I felt my face heat up again at the realization that this man's lips had just touched my skin. His mouth curved into a devious smirk.

"Nice to meet you." I forced myself to speak, hoping my voice didn't sound as shaky to everyone else as it did to me.

"Likewise," Nick said, keeping his smoldering eyes locked on mine.

I started to wish I had worn a dress that wasn't so revealing. I loved this dress because it showed off my figure and my cleavage perfectly. It made me feel like a model. But under Nick's stare I felt naked, and by the looks of his devilish smile, he probably wished I was.