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7
Bella
Iwalk into the building the bowling alley is located in, and of course, the first thing I see is Carmelo Mancini tucked into a corner of the lobby. To my surprise, he’s not with a woman. Then again, if he’s like every other real estate broker I know, his job will always be his mistress. So technically, he’s probably focused on the most important person in his life right now and trying to drum up new business.
I ignore Carmelo and walk up the stairs, thankful I have on jeans. The perv would probably look up my skirt without apology. I hate that I almost get a thrill from the idea of him doing so. His gaze in the hallway today was transparent. He was checking me out, and I can’t say I didn’t imagine us stuck in an elevator—until reality crashed down on me.
“Whoa, hold up.” Carmelo barrels up the stairs before I reach the third floor. “Not cool, leaving me on the sidewalk.” He smiles. A charming one that my mother would fall in love with.
“I told you I had a pit stop.”
His gaze travels down my body again. “I see. I’m not sure which outfit I pre…” His words trail off as though he’s stopping himself from continuing the conversation. “Want to play some duckpin?”
I ignore him and continue up the stairs. At the top, he opens the door like a gentleman, and I try not to look behind me to see what he’s staring at as I walk through the door.
The space is nothing like I expected. It’s older, and it looks as if these lanes have been here forever. This isn’t some trendy new place hipsters flock to. But the space does look as though it’s been decorated for office parties. All the team-building stuff companies preach have made places like this thrive. But maybe I’m just extra annoyed because I’ve been going to networking events since I got my real estate license. I’ve had enough club soda with lime for a lifetime.
I recognize a few faces from the building. Everyone we pass smiles nicely at Carmelo and shakes his hand or slaps his shoulder as if he’s been voted prom king. You’d think he was the damn mayor of New York, for God’s sake. Which makes me feel as though my time here is wasted. He owns the market of our small office building.
“There you are.” Annie approaches me, eyeing Carmelo before swinging her arm through mine and pulling me over to the bar and what looks like an older version of Carm. “This is Enzo,” she says, pride in her voice as she runs her hand down his arm.
He turns from ordering a drink and flashes a smile as bright as his brother’s. His warm brown eyes don’t have the same desire that’s laced through his brother’s blues.
“Enzo, this is Bella,” Annie says.
His gaze stays trained on mine as he extends his hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”
I shake his hand. “You as well.”
“Can I grab you a drink?” he asks.
The bartender places a beer and a glass of wine on the bar top, and Enzo hands Annie the wine. She smiles sweetly at him with a thanks.
“I’ll have what Annie’s having,” I say.
Enzo talks to the bartender, pulling more cash from a money clip in his pocket.
“Here, let me.” I open my purse.
“Nonsense.” Annie waves me off and shoots Enzo a look.
He smiles and looks at me. “She’s the boss.”
The bartender pours my wine, and Enzo passes it to me.
“Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Annie links her arm with mine again and walks us toward a group of people.
“I see I’m only good enough for some drinks, huh?” Enzo says to our backs.
Annie swivels around but keeps walking. “I’ll thank you later.” She winks.
“Spare everyone your flirting,” Carmelo says to Annie when he reaches us. He eyes my drink and his smile tips down a bit but recovers quickly. “I see someone beat me to it.”
“Your brother,” Annie says.
“Next one is on me.” He solidifies that with a wink that makes my insides go gooey.
I shake off the feeling and allow Annie to take me into the middle of a circle of people. She politely interrupts to introduce me to employees of the accounting firm in our building. I nod, chitchat, and hand out a few cards. One guy asks me if it’s my assistant who has the different color hair and dark glasses. I get the feeling he wants to pry for more information, like if she’s single, but he doesn’t ask.
