Free Secret Obsession (romantic suspense) (Red Stone Security Series Book 12) by Katie Reus Page B

in a zippered pouch. No keys.
    Maybe the guy had her keys or maybe they were in the guy’s vehicle. He couldn’t be sure if she’d driven herself or come with the man.
    Feeling as if someone was watching him, he looked up, scanned the surrounding area. A woman in a teal one-piece bathing suit had sunglasses on and was turned around in her beach chair, watching.
    Or it looked as if she was watching him. It was impossible to tell with those sunglasses.
    Even so, he’d already pushed his luck too much.
    Standing unhurriedly, he moved away from the umbrella, bag and towels and headed back the way he’d come. Part of him wanted to stay, to watch, but he couldn’t afford to be noticed.
    Especially not after last night. For all he knew the man with her would remember him, would be able to identify him.
    Not gonna happen. He’d been careful, had gotten to where he was in life because he was smart. He wouldn’t start getting sloppy now.
    Not when he was so close to claiming the prize.

Chapter 8

    “This is basically a glorified food and wine festival, isn’t it?” Raegan asked her date, Rhys Martin Maxwell IV. She’d met him in Vegas during her first job with Red Stone—before her first and hopefully last kidnapping. They’d gone on a date and she’d quickly realized she had no attraction to him. He’d been okay with it after she’d told him she didn’t want to go on another date with him.
    But he’d wanted to stay friends so here they were, just friends. And he was always fun company.
    “Yes. If I’m in town, I never miss it.” He laughed lightly, his British accent faint and oh so proper sounding.
    She didn’t blame him, though she wished she was here with Ford—and felt guilty for even thinking that. Looking around the expansive outdoor setup, it was impressive. Twelve celebrity chefs were all manning various stations, cooking and talking to the guests, and gorgeous displays of food, wine and other cocktails were at various tables. Low-key music filtered in from speakers she couldn’t see and there were always servers walking around with trays of drinks even with all the displays available. No one could possibly leave tonight hungry or thirsty.
    Next to an owner/head chef of a local beach restaurant who was there for the celebration, a huge piece of driftwood had been hollowed out down the middle, filled with ice and bottles of blue champagne lining the entire thing. She was just glad the event wasn’t formal. Most of the men were in slacks and button-down shirts and the women in cocktail dresses. Even with the misting fans and hidden coolers placed strategically around the space, it was still Florida in the summer. Getting overdressed would have made this miserable.
    “Are you taking notes?” Rhys murmured, leaning down just a fraction. His cologne was crisp and masculine.
    She turned to look at him, smiling. “Is it that obvious?” She was part of the new event planning department at Red Stone and couldn’t help but be impressed by whoever they’d used for the setup tonight.
    He gave her a half smile and briefly touched her bare shoulder. She’d worn a strapless black cocktail dress and heels. “You’re looking sun-kissed.”
    “I went to the beach today.” She stepped back just a fraction so that his hand dropped. She’d made it clear she just wanted to be friends and his touch wasn’t unfriendly or creepy, but she just…wished it was Ford touching her. The man had gotten under her skin.
    Rhys started to say something when Dominique appeared out of crowd, looking like a tall goddess. She’d left her long blonde hair down and had on a bright yellow dress that should have looked wrong with her hair color, but against her bronze skin and killer curves, she had most men and some women in the near vicinity turning to look at her. Which was pretty much standard for wherever Dominique went.
    She smiled brightly when she spotted them, and to give Rhys credit, he didn’t stare. Too hard. Not that