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“It’s so nice to meet you all. I’m thrilled to be here. It’s so beautiful.” I grin at Natalia. “Your wedding’s going to be spectacular if this is any hint.”
“Spectacularly expensive,” her father groans, and everybody laughs. A waiter approaches with a silver tray, and Luca grabs two champagne flutes. He hands one to me and our eyes meet. His brief smile tells me I’m doing a good job.
There are so many people closing in around us, all of them wanting a minute with the host. It’s enough to make me feel claustrophobic. Luca notices, too. “We won’t monopolize your time,” he assures Paul. “I wanted to be sure to extend my congratulations to the happy couple.”
“Thank you for being here,” Paul replies before his smile slips into something more serious. “Stay close by. I’d like to have a word with you later. If I can convince you to leave this lovely lady unchaperoned for a few minutes.” There’s a twinkle in the man’s eyes that tells me he appreciates a pretty face—and firm ass. Good thing I have both, I guess.
“By all means. I’m at your disposal.” He nods to everyone before we move on, sipping our champagne, arm-in-arm again. Like an actual couple.
I lean in, my lips brushing his ear. “I feel like that went well.”
“It did. You’re a natural.” He grins at me. “Paul certainly likes you.”
“Paul needs to stick to women closer to his own age,” I mutter out of the corner of my mouth. “I don’t think he could handle me.” He throws his head back and laughs, which makes me laugh, too. I wish it wasn’t so easy to warm up to him. I wish it wasn’t so easy to forget this is all fake.
Right now, it’s real. I can live in this moment and pretend to be the sort of girl Luca would bring to an event like this. “Should we have worked on a backstory for me?” I ask as we approach a table covered in appetizers. I’m starving half to death, and drinking on an empty stomach probably wouldn’t be a great idea.
“Hmm. I wish I’d thought of that.” He looks me up and down, smirking. “Who do you want to be?”
“Oh, I get a say in it?”
“Sure. Just for tonight. You can be anybody you want to be.”
It’s almost enough to make my head spin. “Maybe I should be a model and leave it at that. I can use the name of my old agency. I just got back from a trip to Milan, maybe.” I’m glad Deanna told me so much about her modeling days.
“Why didn’t things work out with that?” He takes a few items on a small plate while I wonder if I could get away with taking an entire tray for myself. Everything looks and smells so good.
“Would you believe it was because I wouldn’t sleep with a photographer and he badmouthed me to anybody who’d listen?”
“No shit.”
“No shit.” According to Deanna, anyway. “Ironic, huh?”
He leans in until his lips touch my ear. “Want me to kill him for you?” The thing is, I don’t know if he’s kidding or not. It isn’t easy to think clearly when he’s this close, either. A delicious shiver runs through me thanks to the brushing of his lips over my earlobe before he pulls away.
“If only I knew you back then,” I murmur.
There’s a band playing in what I can only think of as a ballroom at the rear of the house. There are doors leading out to a wide patio strung with twinkling lights, where people spill out to mingle while those inside dance. “It’s so beautiful,” I whisper in awe. The people, the lights, the house. It’s like a dream.
A dream featuring bodyguards wandering around.
“Paul always knew how to throw a party. The family’s Christmas bashes are legendary.” Luca smiles a little. “I used to look forward to them when we were kids. They’d have a guy come in dressed as Santa with gifts for all the kids. Trees in every room, servers dressed as elves and shit. It was completely over-the-top and a lot of fun.”
“He seems like a nice man,” I offer.
“He’s a good one,” Luca agrees as we make our way through the ballroom. He nods in acknowledgment of a few people. “Generous, for sure. Always wants everyone to have a good time and feel at home.”
He nods to a pair of men across the room. “Paul Jr. and Rico.” Yes, they look just like their father. Natalia favors her mother with her petite build. He raises a hand and they do the same, both of them staring at me for a beat before going back to their conversation.
“You’re making a strong impression,” Luca observes with a snicker.
“Yeah, no offense, but it’s not difficult to impress a man.” I glance his way, shrugging.
“No comment.” But his lips twitch like he’s amused. “You’ve impressed that one, too.” He turns to me, leaning close. “Don’t be obvious. He’s standing behind me, next to the door. He’s been eye fucking you ever since we entered the room.”
I giggle like we’re having a real conversation before letting my gaze drift over in that direction. Sure enough, there’s a man with short, sandy hair and a heavy build standing there. He wears a tux like the other men, but he looks even more out of place in it than Ignacio did.
And he’s staring at me. “Good for him,” I sigh. “What, you think I’ve never been eye fucked before?”
