She Attends A Surprise Engagement Party, Never Realizing The Millionaire Guest Will Soon Love Her
The Stranger in the Spotlight
Tessa Price hadn’t even wanted to attend the party. She stood at the edge of the ballroom, gripping a sweating glass of champagne and silently cursing her best friend for dragging her to a stranger’s engagement party.
Her heels already hurt, the music was too loud, and everyone around her looked like they’d walked out of a luxury magazine spread.
“This is a mistake,” she muttered under her breath.
“You’re being dramatic.”
Her best friend Lacy grinned, adjusting the strap of her red dress.
“Come on, Tess. Free food, open bar, and you need to get out more.”
Tessa exhaled. “I don’t even know the couple.”
“Yes you do. Well, kind of.”
“Remember my cousin Lee? She’s the one getting engaged.”
“You said we were going to a dinner.”
Lacy grinned. “Surprise!”
Just then, the lights dimmed. A spotlight hit the center of the room, where a tall man in a sleek navy suit stepped onto a small platform holding a mic.
His voice was smooth and confident, and every head turned when he spoke.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here tonight.”
“Let’s raise a glass to Lee and Mark, two people I’ve known for years and who have somehow managed to survive four breakups and still end up madly in love.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd, but Tessa didn’t hear it. Her eyes were stuck on the man.
He wasn’t just charming; he was magnetic. He had dark, slightly tousled hair, a sharp jawline, and an ease about him that screamed power. She had no idea who he was, but everyone seemed to know him.
“Who’s that?” she asked Lacy, nodding toward him.
Lacy whispered, “Isaiah Stone. Family friend, owns a bunch of tech companies.”
“Quiet rich.”
“Like private jet rich?” Tessa blinked.
“You mean he’s a millionaire?”
“Easily.”
Of course he was. He looked like he belonged on the cover of Forbes. Tessa stared down at her dress. It was nice, but not designer. Her heels were secondhand and her purse had a broken zipper.
She was so far out of her element. It was laughable.
“Don’t drool,” Lacy teased. “He’s way out of our league.”
Tessa rolled her eyes just as Isaiah stepped off the platform and started weaving through the crowd. He headed right toward her. No, not toward her. That would be impossible.
“Hey,” he said directly, stopping in front of her.
His eyes, a deep, startling gray, locked on hers. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Tessa blinked. “I—no. We haven’t.”
“I’m Isaiah.”
“Tessa. Nice to meet you, Tessa.”
He said it while smiling, as if they were the only two people in the room.
“Do you know the couple?”
“Sort of. My friend’s cousin is the bride-to-be.”
“Ah, so you got roped into this too.”
She laughed, surprised. “Exactly.”
He held her gaze for a second longer than normal.
“Want to get some air? Now, if we don’t escape soon, I’m going to end up in a conga line.”
She hesitated for half a second, then nodded. They slipped out onto the balcony, where the city lights twinkled like stars.
Tessa leaned on the railing, the cool breeze brushing her skin.
“Much better,” he said beside her.
She glanced at him. “So you know Lee and Mark?”
Isaiah chuckled. “Lee and I went to college together. I’ve seen her date every type of man imaginable. Mark’s the first one who didn’t run when she got dramatic.”
“Sounds like love,” Tessa said, smiling.
He looked at her again, slower this time. “You’re different.”
She raised a brow. “Is that a good thing?”
“It is.”
She laughed, caught off guard by how natural it felt to talk to him. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you’re not faking anything. People in there, they wear masks. You don’t.”
She looked down at her hands. “That’s a little intense for someone you just met.”
He leaned in slightly. “I don’t do small talk well.”
She swallowed. “Me neither.”
They stood quietly for a moment, the air between them thickening.
Then he said, “Can I take you to dinner sometime?”
Tessa blinked. “What?”
“I’m asking you out.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “You don’t even know me.”
“I’d like to.”
She stared at him, trying to decipher if this was a game, a line, or a trick. But his eyes were steady and honest.
“Okay,” she said finally. “One dinner.”
He grinned. “One dinner.”
