Free Never Dare a Tycoon by Elizabeth Lennox

Sal’s irritation and lost herself in the dance.
     
After a few minutes, she said softly, “I’m sorry I hated the dress you chose for me.”
     
“Are you?”
     
Antonia nodded but he refused to look down at her so she spoke her agreement. “Yes, I am,”
     
“Are you sorry that I hate it, or are you sorry that you chose something completely inappropriate?” he asked, not looking at her.
    Antonia laughed, sensing his anger was dissipating slightly. Her dress was completely appropriate, just not for Sal’s baby sister. “You got me there. I’m only sorry I didn’t like the pink tulip,” she said.
That got his attention. “You said that at dinner but I still don’t understand what you are referring to?” he asked, finally looking down at her.
     
“The giant tulip you chose for me. The one with about fifty yards of fabric.”
     
“It was beautiful and appropriate,” he said and looked away again.
    Antonia laughed again. “Sal, look around you. My dress is not any more revealing than many other women’s here tonight. You just hate the fact that I’m an adult. It terrifies you.”
    Sal took a moment to look around and indeed, there were several women who were wearing variations on Antonia’s dress. But he refused to budge. “It’s not appropriate for you.”
Antonia laughed again. “Sal, you’ll never change, will you?” she said, and hugged him.
    Heading back to their table, Antonia and Sal were stopped by one of Thomas’s vice presidents. “Would you like to dance?” the middle aged man asked Antonia.
    Antonia smiled into the man’s eyes. “I’d love to,” she said before Sal could decline for her. She slipped her arm out from Sal’s and allowed herself to be escorted back onto the dance floor.
    For the next hour, she danced one dance after another, smiling up into the various faces of her partners. All of them were charming in their own way, some were married, but the majority of them were single professionals, almost all of them employees of ATI.
They all flirted with her, regardless of their marital status. But Antonia brushed off their advances and continued to enjoy the dancing.
     
That’s how Brett first saw her.
    Brett entered the ballroom and scanned the occupants. He was looking for one woman in particular. And when he spotted her, his frustration over the last two weeks became a white-hot anger.
    There she was. She was in a sexy black dress that showed her legs with every step she took, and she was in the arms of a man that looked as if he was still in college. With as much restraint as possible, Brett walked up to Sal instead of storming onto the dance floor and ripping her out of the man’s arms. Antonia’s brother was standing at the edge of the ballroom, looking like the wrath of God.
Brett took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, wishing he had something stronger.
     
“She looks lovely,” Brett said as calmly as possible to Sal.
    Sal looked at the man next to him, registering that he was angry about something, but couldn’t fathom what it might be about. “Yes, she does,” Sal agreed reluctantly and turned his attention back to watching his sister – or more accurately, the man she was dancing with.
“Nice dress,” Brett said, noting that another man stepped up to take the previous one’s place as soon as the music changed.
     
“Some think so,” Sal said.
     
“Where’d she get it?” Brett asked. Sal gritted his teeth. “I guess I bought it for her,” he said.
     
“Why?” Brett challenged.
     
Sal turned to the man standing next to him. “Why are you so interested?” he said, somewhat belligerently.
    “I’m not,” Brett lied and tried to look around the room. But his eyes were drawn back to Antonia, wanting to punch the man who was currently dancing with her
– too closely in his mind.
    Sal took a new look at the man and realized that he was jealous - furiously jealous that his sister was dancing with other men, vying for her attention.