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There's a buzzing sound. Marco lifts his head, searching around the room. "My phone," he explains. "My brothers are probably calling to see where we are."
"They need the man of honor to celebrate," I chuckle.
Grinning, he slides away from me. With one hand he does up his pants, the other checking his phone. I slide my panties up and adjust my skirt. We're as decent as we can manage, though our messy hair and flushed faces give our saucy secrets away.
Marco shakes his head with a sigh. "They said they're down the street at a bar called Cavallo Verde. Heratio has a request, though."
"What is it?" I ask warily. He was the only one to vote for Derek. I don't know how he feels about Marco taking over. He refused to change his vote when the moment came.
Pressing his phone to his forehead, Marco laughs lightly. "He says to make sure I bring you, because there's a chancehe'lldrown tonight...in scotch."
I sit there in shocked silence. The laughter that bubbles from me surprises me at first, then it gets louder, my body looser, and Marco joins in. After everything that's happened, it feels so good to just laugh. "What will you tell him?" I ask.
"That he doesn't have to worry." His smile warms his eyes. "From now on, wherever I go, you'll be at my side."
Chapter Seventeen
Cavallo Verde is bigger than the hospital was. The three story building is designed to look like an ancient ruin, complete with columns and mosaics. It’s so well done I think it might actually be a historical relic, gutted and repurposed as a place to sell alcohol, and might crumble down on top of me at a moment's notice.
But when I get closer to the green walls and glass doors, it's obvious it's just made to look older than it is. There's a huge horse head lunging from the wall of the main room, its green mane curled like it's mid-gallop.
The place is buzzing with activity. People are crowded around tables and not a single hand is lacking a drink. Some people, like Heratio, have two.
He's sitting in a large varnished booth. Nathan and Trey are enjoying their beers, talking excitedly about something.
"Hey, there he is!" Heratio calls out when he spots us. He pulls out two chairs for us to sit down in, motioning for us to join them at their table. "Man of the hour! The new big dog himself!"
"Stop it," Marco chides him.
Nathan shoves a dark bottle into Marco's chest. "Let him crow, it's his way of decompressing. This has been a shit week."
"Week?" Trey snorts. "It's been a month of garbage. Ever since Mom dropped the bomb on us about her condition--"
"Trey!"Marco snaps.
I blink because Marco is looking nervously at me. I pick apart Trey's words, Marco's reaction, and I know. "What's going on with your mom?" I ask uneasily.
"Nothing," he grumbles.
"What condition, Marco?"
Trey puts his beer to his lips, draining it. Nathan has the guilty face of a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. Heratio lifts his drink high, his voice higher. "We need a refill over here! Beer__, no wait, shit, we're celebrating. Right? Champagne! And five glasses!"
"Six," Nathan mumbles. His eyes move to something behind me. I want to focus on Marco, who won't look directly at me, but my gut says to turn. When I do I notice Derek is approaching us at full speed.
The mood shifts. Nathan, Trey move to form a wall between Derek and me and Marco. Derek's face tightens as he sees this. "What, you think I'm going to attack them?" he asks.
"Maybe," Nathan admits.
"Have a little faith in me," Derek says. He lifts his eyes to look directly at Marco. "Did you call our lawyer yet?"
"No," Marco replies.
"What about Mom? Does she know the results of the vote?"
"I haven't had a chance yet."
Derek glances at his phone, his thumb fidgeting on the edge. He taps his foot. "It's already noon over there. We need to send proof. I can take care of it."
