Page 37 of Benjamin and the Thief

“But that would defeat the purpose of me getting to know Catalina,” Isabelle said with a smirk. Then she looked at Catalina. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Of course, that would be nice.”

As Isabelle and Catalina headed for the crowd, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew who was standing next to him now.

“Bro, have you not learned from my mistakes?” Damian asked. “Never bring a human girl home before getting rid of the bottled blood in your fridge.”

Benjamin chuckled. “If I remember correctly, from what you told me, Naomi finding the bottled blood turned out rather well.”

Damian grinned. “Because I was able to turn the situation around after she accidentally spilled it on herself.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now? You licking the blood off her boobs?”

He shifted his stance, and Benjamin didn’t need to be a genius to guess what the thought of blood on Naomi’s breasts conjured up in his twin.

Damian cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I’d better find Naomi.”

“You horny bastard.”

“Hey, it’s all legal. We’re married.”

Benjamin rolled his eyes. “Happy birthday, bro. Enjoy your present from Naomi.”

“I already have.” He winked. “Twice. I hope you’ll get to enjoy your present from Catalina too.”

“I already would be if it weren’t for this party and you guys cramping my style.”

Laughing, Damian rejoined the guests, and Benjamin let his gaze roam to look for Catalina.

17

With Isabelle by her side, Catalina made small talk with Benjamin’s friends, while in the back of her mind she kept wondering whether she’d done something wrong. Benjamin had looked annoyed when she’d opened the refrigerator to look for something to drink. Should she have asked him for permission first? Perhaps he felt that maybe her manners weren’t what he’d expected. It was true, she wasn’t refined or sophisticated. Not like his friends seemed to be. They were well-spoken and educated.

Was he comparing her to them and realized that he could do better? When he’d pointed out Buffy to him, the young black woman with the perfect body and the easy smile, his gaze had lingered on her. Had he been intimate with her before? Or if not, was he interested in her? Why else would he have hosted a brunch for her birthday at his flat? That was unusual for a guy, particularly one who seemed to have nothing edible in his fridge.

Something didn’t add up. A nagging feeling rose in her. Her sixth sense was too overactive. In fact, ever since the night of the Preston party, she’d felt more odd sensations creeping into her mind than in the entire month before. Was it because her life was changing so rapidly ever since Benjamin had entered her life? And her life was changing in a big way: he’d introduced her as his girlfriend. He wouldn’t do that if he was only interested in sex. She was just paranoid—maybe because she hadn’t had many good things happen to her in the past. As always, she was instinctively waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“You alright?” Isabelle asked.

“Yes, sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m just trying to remember everybody’s name. I’ve already forgotten half of the ones you introduced me to.”

“Nobody expects you to remember their names,” she said with a smile. “They’re just curious about you. This is the first time Benjamin is introducing his girlfriend to all of us.”

Catalina felt her heart beat into her throat, delighted by the words, before she realized that they didn’t mean anything. “But he didn’t do that because he wanted to. He didn’t even know that you all were waiting here for him. I’m sure he wouldn’t have if…”

Next to her, somebody chuckled. She turned her head to see the young man who’d been part of the Prestons’ security team look at her.

“Don’t believe for a minute that Benjamin got steamrolled by us to introduce you as his girlfriend,” he said. “If he didn’t mean it, he would have just said that you’re an acquaintance or not given you a label at all.”

“Ethan is right,” Isabelle added.

Ethan reached for her hand and shook it, then held on to it for a little while longer.

“You look familiar.”

Damn! Would he put two and two together and realize that she’d been at the Preston party wearing a wig and glasses?

“I just have that kind of face.” She shrugged. “Nice to meet you, Ethan.”