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Zander stood near the pool table, watching the game. I could hear his voice with the others, talking and laughing. He was a much better people person than I was. I didn’t do the whole friendly vibe. I didn’t do friends. In fact, there was a lot I didn’t do, and I hated that I couldn’t force myself to relax here. It took everything in me to not focus on the fact that Rocco Moretti was downstairs, with my father.
Fuck. What if we had to sit with him during dinner? What if I had to choke up some kind words to him? What if…
Before my mind could totally run away with the possibilities, someone else’s reflection stood beside mine in the window, someone I didn’t recognize. Maybe a few years older than me, he was a good foot taller than me. His skin had a dark, warm tint to it, his eyes a chocolate color, not so dark they were pitch black, but not so light they were amber. He’d taken off his tie and his suit jacket, the long-sleeved, button-up shirt he wore untucked, one of the buttons near his neck undone.
He was cute, I guess, but then again, most of the guys here were. I didn’t think I’d label anyone in this suite as ugly.
“Pretty view,” he commented, though his eyes didn’t stare out at the city, like mine. His eyes were on me, as if he was saying that about me and not the city. “I’m Luca, by the way. I hear we’re both in Cypress for the same thing. Gotta love an ambitious father, am I right?”
He sounded like he was joking, trying to make light of the situation, but with the weight of everything, it just didn’t feel right to agree with him. I turned away from the window, staring at him. At Luca. Whoever’s heir he was didn’t really matter. None of these other would-be heirs mattered.
A quick glance at the group on the leather couch told me not all of the heirs were up here. A few had to be downstairs, still. There were maybe half a dozen up here—and, surprise surprise, they were all men.
When I didn’t respond, Luca went on, “Are you in there? Can you talk? Or are you just not at all interested in talking to me?” He chuckled. “That’s fine, that’s fine. I mean, look at you, in that white dress. You’re on a level of your own here.”
I had the feeling he would just keep talking and talking if I didn’t say something to shut him up. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to flatter me or flirt with me,” I muttered, folding my hands over my chest and cocking my head at him.
“Both,” he said. “Definitely both. Figured I had to pounce on you fast, otherwise these other idiots would.” Luca grinned, and his smile was flawless. Blindingly white with perfectly straight teeth, the kind of smile that reached up to his eyes, so wide and warm it all but knocked you off your feet when flashed at you with its full power.
Okay, so maybe he was a little bit more than just cute. I would never admit that out loud, though.
“I’m not interested,” I told him.
“Harsh, but I can respect it.” He leaned his shoulder against the windowpane, still staring at me with a smile on his face, as if I hadn’t just turned him down. “What’s with the white? I mean, this ain’t a wedding. Wearing white like that, you’re sure to stick out and draw attention to yourself, whether you want to or not.”
“I like the color.”
“Do you?”
“I do.” Even as I said it, however, I knew it sounded like a lie. This Luca, while I might not know him, didn’t seem completely clueless. The way he stared at me right now, how he examined me like he could see into my soul; it was obvious he knew I was lying. I didn’t like it.
It was a while before he said, “Okay, whatever you say.” When I didn’t say anything else, he gestured to the large leather sectional deeper in the suite. “Why don’t you come and sit with us? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to get to know you a little better, Giselle.”
My eyes flicked to the couch, spotting the other would-be heirs. So much testosterone. So many strangers. Even if they were not too bad to look at, did I really want to surround myself with them? I didn’t know, although, if I was going to do what I wanted, I supposed surrounding myself with strange men was something I should get used to.
So I swallowed down all of my anxieties and said, “Sure.”
Luca offered me his hand, but I didn’t take it, so his hand fell back to his side. He still wore a silly grin, and that grin never once left his face, even as he led me through the suite, back to the leather couch. I caught Zander’s gaze, and I gave him a quick shake of my head. I didn’t need him to come with me; he could stay at the pool table with the others. I’d be fine. Plus, it wasn’t like he’d be that far from me.
“Look who I brought,” Luca remarked. “Scoot. Make some room for the lady, will you?”
When two of the heirs moved aside, giving me a cushion’s space between them, I hesitantly sat down, the hairs on my arms starting to raise on their own, as if reminding me I was in a position I shouldn’t be in. Surrounded by men I did not know.
But I was taking my life back one step at a time, and putting myself in uncomfortable positions and situations was a way to rip the band aid off. It’d been three years. Father Charlie was dead. The girl I was three years ago would be proud of me, just as I hoped Father Charlie would be. I was still alive, after all.
“Let me get some drinks,” Luca said, going to the kitchenette area and fetching some, leaving me with the others.
I was slow to study the ones near me. All near my age, though two of them appeared younger, like they were still in high school. You could tell which ones were younger, because they still had a bit of a baby face to them, their faces not yet matured, their cheekbones not yet grown into.
They were nice enough, of course. No one was outright rude, although I’d be lying if I said they kept their eyes to themselves. In fact, they couldn’t stop staring at me, even the younger ones. They only stopped ogling me when Luca came back, and even though they were underaged, he still handed them each a bottle.
Eventually, my gaze landed on the man sitting on the far end of the sectional. He’d already gotten himself something to drink, sipping it as he watched Luca push one of the younger kids out of the way so he could sit by me. Unlike the others, he hadn’t introduced himself. And, also unlike the others, he was a bit older. He hadn’t shed a single ounce of clothing up here, still wearing his suit. His face held some stubble, which I was sure made him look older.
I must’ve been staring a bit too hard, for Luca saw, commenting on it, “Did that brooding asshole catch your eye? Cade, did you even introduce yourself?”
Cade. That was the guy’s name. I liked it.
When Cade said nothing, only staring right back at me, Luca said, “Oh, come on. There’s no need to act all mysterious and enigmatic now. Say something, friend.” Luca certainly had an easy way about him, that’s for sure, but I didn’t know if this particular situation called for it.
