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“Go ahead, Dom. We can keep ourselves busy,” Luca says, already turning his soon-to-be wife toward him and finding her lips.
“I’m going to find a seat.”
Since dinner won’t start for another twenty minutes, I sit down in the lounge beside the bar, pulling out my phone. My annoyingly loud family carries on with Val, who I haven’t had the nerve to look at again for fear our eyes will lock and people will figure us out.
Carm falls into the seat next to me. “Always working. Did you see who’s here? Small world.”
“Yeah.” I run my thumbs over my screen, responding to a work email.
“So, bro”—he clamps me on the shoulder—“I get huge props because I’ve yet to tell anyone, but I want deets. I see you took off the hardware.” He eyes my empty ring finger.
Both rings from last night are tucked into my suitcase. Val was gone when I returned to the room and her ring was left behind, so I guess it’s mine. “It was stupid, and I’ll get it annulled.”
“But who’s the red-toenail-polish hottie?”
I should’ve guessed that he got a peek before I shoved him out the door.
“And what the hell is with you marrying someone after only a few hours? Classic me, but you? Hell no.” Carm is chomping on a piece of gum, and the slapping of his jaw aggravates me.
“It was just some woman. No one important.”
“No one important? You married her.” Carm leans back in the seat, resting his ankle on his knee.
I glance up to see Bella escorting Val over here. “I was drunk. Beyond drunk. Obliterated.”
Not really. Not enough that memories haven’t come forward throughout the day. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but the memory of the two of us in the hotel room has surfaced through my hangover haze.
“Shit, man. I’d hate to be you and have to tell Mama.” He cringes.
“I’m not telling Ma. And you’re not either.” I rub my temples, another headache setting in.
“So we’re keeping this a secret for a long time?”
I turn my attention toward him. “For life.”
He sags into his chair. “I don’t have the stamina for that. Shit. I almost spilled to Enzo today. If I wasn’t so scared about falling to my death and never seeing Bella naked again, I would’ve slipped. And I don’t keep secrets from my woman. This is too much.”
I sigh. The worst possible person found out about my untimely nuptials. My brothers should thank their lucky stars they have me in this family to keep their secrets. “Just keep your mouth shut and eventually you’ll forget it even happened.”
Bella and Val step up the stairs into the lounge area.
“Valentina,” I say, rising to my feet.
She walks toward me with a smile as though nothing is amiss. My arm casually slides around her, my hand resting on her lower back as I kiss her cheek. She smells like she always does, and my dick reacts. She’s his favorite flavor.
“Dominic,” she says in a breathy voice.
I step away before I embarrass myself and motion for her to take the chair I was occupying. She accepts, and I take the one across from her, Bella sitting beside me. The slit of Val’s dress shows off her long legs, and it takes everything in me not to stare at them. The only thing that would make the fact that Carm knows I got married worse is if he knew who I married.
“Bella was just telling me how well your business is going, Carm.” Val crosses her legs and I somehow keep my attention on her face.
Carm laughs, raising his hand to flag down a waitress. “That’s because I’m a killer salesperson.”
“Well, you did sell her on yourself, so I’d say I agree.” She smiles at him.
“Absolutely. She’s way too good for me.”
“At least we can agree on one thing,” I murmur.
