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One

He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen

Desi Maddox knew that sounded excessive,in a room filled with beautiful people in evenat hieous that for long seconds he blinded her to everything around her, even the glitter of geh society that under nornore

But these were far froazebetween them and her knees treht that was a cliché best saved for chick flicks and romance novels But here she was in the middle of a crowded ballroom and all she could do was stand there as her heart raced, her palrew damp and her knees actually trembled with the force of her reaction to a man she’d never seen before and ain

Which was probably a good thing, and knowing she wouldn’t see hiain was exactly what she needed to rehtest of San Diego’s high society Scoping out hother for

More’s the pity

Shaking her head in an effort to clear it, Desi forced herself to glance away froaze Forced herself to check out the rest of the fancy gala, and the fancier people, she was currently stuck in the middle of And the people were fancy, some of the fanciest she’d ever seen Even he—of their own volition, her eyes moved back to Tall, Dark and Much Too Handsome—was fancy, in his five-thousand-dollar tuxedo and the flashing diamonds on his cuff links She couldn’t hope to compare

Not that she wanted to This was so not her scene, and once she’d paid her dues, her boss would recognize that fact and move her somewhere else Somewhere where she could actually make a difference to the world After all, what did itManolos or Louboutins on her dainty, pampered feet?

It mattered too much, she told herself wryly as she looked around the crowded ballroom To a lot of people, it mattered too much Which hy, on her next sweep of the room, she made herself take her time, made herself study—and identify—each face that passed by As she did, she didn’t knohether to be pleased or horrified that she recognized nearly every person there It was her job, after all, and it was nice to know that the hours she’d spent poring over old newspaper articles and photos hadn’t gone to waste

After all, unlike the rest of the people here, her role wasn’t to drink chane and drop a lot of money on the charity auction No, her role, her job, was to stay on guard and pay attention to what everyone else was do

ing so she could write all about it when she got home If she was lucky—if she kept her eyes open and her ned, so really scandalous or important and she’d have the chance to write about that instead of the food, the wine and whatever designer was currently “it” a Southern California’s social elite

And if she wasn’t lucky, well then she still had to pay attention Still needed to record as dating whom and who had made a fashion faux pas and who hadn’t…

And yes, her job as the society-page reporter for the local paper really was as boring as it sounded She tried not to let herself dwell on the fact that she’d spent four years at Columbia’s School of Journalism only to end up here Her father would be so proud of her—that is, if he hadn’t been killed six o while embedded with troops in the Middle East

A waiter passed by with a tray full of chaed one of the half-full glasses Drained it in one long—and hopefully elegant—sip Then blocked her father’s death and disapproval from her mind She needed to focus on the job at hand Currently, that job was reporting on this ridiculous affair

To do her job, though, she needed to blend in with her surroundings Not that she hadthat with her department-store dress and clearance shoes, but she could try At least until her boss saw the light and took her off this godforsaken beat to put her on so, she thought, barely s yet another yawn as she overheard her fifth conversation of the night about liposuction

Wanting to free up her hands, she turned to place her glass on the eh, her eyes once again ed to was only a couple of feet from her instead of halfway across the crowded ballroom