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“Hell, no.” It’s hard, but I manage not to gag and shake my head. “He’s not my type. At. All.”
“But I need you there, prima. Please.” My cousin puckers her lips, and I want to flick them. I feel bad for her, I do, but other people’s happiness can’t always come at my expense. If he loves her as she claims, then he needs to stop being a dog and man up. Be with her. “Just one more time. I’ll never ask again.”
“That’s a lie, and you know it.” At my words, she has the decency to grimace. “But I’ll cover for you instead. I’ll stay at your apartment while you two go out. That’s the most I’ll do, and only because I know this is hard on you.”
“Oh my GOD!” Laura throws her arms around me. “You are the best and I owe you.”
“Then please stop putting me in this predicament. If you get caught—”
“I won’t. I’m talking to him tonight.”
At this point, I have to come to grips with the fact Laura’s so blinded by her emotions that she simply doesn’t care.
“Don’t threaten me.”
“Or what, Solimar?”
I don’t answer him. Can’t.
My lips part, and a stuttered breath escapes because I feel him. That inexplicable fluttering in my stomach and the throb between my thighs. Every single inch of me becomes hyperaware, discreetly scanning the room, but I can’t find him.
Alejandro is here, but where?
So close. So consuming.
He’s the kind of man who owns the room, and I’m not the only one noticing that something is different. Signio pulls his hand from my arm as if I’ve burned him, pretending to wipe a sweaty palm while around us a few people laugh, but they too sense the change.
Eyes are shifting. My father’s brow is creased.
I need to get out of here.
My chest rises and falls rapidly, and I close my eyes for a second. “I’m going outside for some air.”
“Not by yourself, you’re not.”
“You sure about that?”
“Your father—”
“Would either of you care for an hors d’oeuvres?” a male voice asks, and I open my eyes, coming face to face with the same man again. He’s smiling, while Signio’s face is pale and his head shakes minutely. “I have mini arepas stuffed with ham and cheese. Simple and delicious.”
“One of my favorites.”
“He knows.” The man doesn’t need to emphasize just who he’s talking about. All three standing here know. “He’s also not happy with you, Signio.”
“Geronimo, he can’t be—”
“Walk her outside and disappear, Cortez. That’s an order.”
My smile widens as genuine relief consumes me. “Would you like to join me outside for some fresh air, Signio?”
His eyes harden, but his grin matches my own. He knows I spoke louder than usual on purpose. “Of course. Let me just tell your father—”
“No need.” Dad’s voice breaks our stare off, not that he notices just who the waiter is. He’s not one to talk with those he deems beneath him, too busy being surrounded by important men: his security team, some members of the senate, and the vice president. They all look tense. He seems pissed. “Why don’t you two get out of here and have some fun. Maybe have a late dinner?”
He wants us out of here. What’s going on?
“Are you sure, Matias?” Signio’s avoiding the look the waiter—that dad ignores—gives him. It’s menacing and it makes me shrink back a bit, something Alejandro’s employee sees and shakes his head at. The action is so minute that no one notices.
