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gambling hall so the clientele did not come in contact with the diners. And, since Mr. Santiano had only mentioned the diner’s ledgers, she assumed the man would hire someone else to keep the books for the den.
    Despite Nicholas’s concerns, Georgia could not turn her back on the opportunity. Not when no one else, including her father, was willing to give her the chance to prove herself.

Chapter 3
    Where the hell did she get those curves?
    Nicholas’s gaze slowly moved from Georgia’s low-cut bodice to her narrow waist and the full skirt that covered her hips. Though her hem stopped three inches below her knees, he could still admire her shapely calves.
    A few seconds passed before Nicholas noticed the two-inch-high heel on her right foot tapping the wood floor in the foyer of her apartment. He reversed the direction of his gaze, moving to the manicured fingers on her hips up to the frown on her face.
    “What?” he asked as he forced his eyes to meet hers.
    “I said, you asked me that already.”
    “Asked you what?”
    Georgia sighed, yet all he could focus on were the thin strips of material that held her bodice in place. They would reduce the number of eyes he had to blacken for ogling her too hard that evening. At the same time, his body would have appreciated a better view of what was underneath.
    Nicholas realized he would not score any debonair points. Only his loose pants would help him save face…that and not walking into something because he was too busy staring at her.
    “You’ve asked me if I was ready three times since I opened the door.” Her head tilted slightly to the side, and her brow wrinkled. “Are you all right?”
    He was not aware he had asked the question once, much less three times. He needed to pull himself together before she stepped back and slammed the door in his face. In the best scenario, she would call the bar and ask her father to come upstairs to get rid of him. The worst scenario would be if she called the club and asked his father to send someone for him.
    He did not have much to lose when it came to Mr. Collins. He knew the other man disliked him. There was not much he could do to lower the man’s opinion of him. However, if word got out around his family or friends that he had turned into a blithering fool in the presence of a beautiful woman, he’d never be able to live it down.
    “I’m fine.” Nicholas took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Are you ready?”
    “As I told you the first time, yes.” She pointed to the silver-wrapped box on the end of the marble-topped console table.
    Nicholas stepped into the apartment and grabbed the gift. She glanced in the mirror above the table and straightened her soft curls. After a slight nod, she draped a white shawl over her shoulders and grabbed her handbag.
    Her light jasmine scent hit him as she walked past. Following her, he began to second guess his decision to escort her to the party. His father wouldn’t have had a problem sending a car for her. Celeste would have ridden along, and the two women would have gossiped and giggled in the back like two schoolgirls.
    Nicholas admonished himself. What was he thinking? Georgia was not like the women he went out with. Her drawers would stay up, her skirts would stay down, and her legs would stay closed until she had a ring on her finger. He therefore needed to pull it together and concentrate on protecting her from lecherous suitors. If he could appreciate what he saw, he was certain others would, too.
    While he accepted the only relief he would get would be by his own hands, not all of his male relatives were as honorable. There were a few who would not have a problem trying to bed her simply to know what it was like to be with a colored woman. Others would not care about the color of her skin, only that she had the right equipment to relieve the itch in their pants.
    As long as she was with him, she was considered off limits. No one would consider touching another