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She chuckles under her breath and shakes her head before waving to Frannie to follow her out of the dining room.
“You’re good with people,” Aria says with a smile as she stabs at her salad. “It seems to come easily to you.”
“You mean my stunning facial artwork doesn’t detract from my charm?” I ask, pointing at my face.
“No, just something I noticed about you. You fit in everywhere you go. It’s a quality I envy.”
“It’s one I adopted over the years,” I tell her, opting for honesty. “I was a scrawny little kid back in the day.” I shake my head at the memory. “Anyway, where I grew up, I was a target for all the bullies, so I had to learn to talk my way out of an ass whooping or two or a few dozen.”
“A few dozen?” she says with a note of alarm. “Tough neighborhood.”
“One of the toughest,” I confirm. “But it worked more often than it didn’t. So, then I learned to use the same skills to woo the ladies. Some might say my mouth is my second best asset.” I wiggle my brows until she laughs. The sound is genuine and feminine as fuck.
“You are truly ridiculous, Lucky.”
“A mighty fine compliment from a woman who eats a three-course meal in the middle of the week. Talk about ridiculous.”
“It’s not my rules.” She’s not saying that for sympathy, I realize, just as the housekeepers return with the rest of the food.
I keep an eye on Aria, watching how she smiles at the staff, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Everything is kind of wooden, as if she’s going through the motions but not really present.
“Thank you, beautiful ladies, for this fine feast,” I say to the women.
Frannie says, “Enjoy your dinner,” and they make their exit.
As soon as they leave, I pile more food on my plate and make exaggerated, appreciative noises because, for some fucking reason, I want to make the princess feel better.
“I promise not to eat everything, Lucky,” she laughs. “Feel free to slow down.”
I nod and dig into the butteriest mashed potatoes that have ever been in my mouth. “Damn, these are delicious. Eat up. Butter is good for the curves.”
She takes about half the amount that’s on my plate and the same is true for all the other dishes. “Happy?”
“More for me,” I shrug and keep eating. For a few long minutes, we eat in silence, and it’s nice. The tension is gone, and it’s quiet. “Aria.”
She freezes, and her gaze slowly crawls across the table before eventually meeting my eyes. “Yes?”
I put my fork down. “I have the MC looking into what’s going on with your father, but I won’t know anything until tomorrow, at least. That means we could be here for a while. Together.”
“I know,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone. “I know.”
“I think we should call a truce. It’ll make us both less miserable, and if you learn to love how awesome I am, then you’re more likely to listen to me when I’m babysitting you. Not that you’re a baby, well…sometimes.”
Her lips twitch, and I know she’s going to agree. “What if I like making you miserable?”
“You know what makes me miserable, princess?”
She licks her lips and takes a bite of potatoes. “What’s that?”
“An unfinished blow job.”
She freezes, and I think she’s going to flip her shit. Instead, she throws her head back and laughs. “So ridiculous,” she says more to herself than to me. “Fine, Lucky, you have a truce.”
“Perfect. And now that we’re friends, maybe you’ll want to indulge with me tonight?”
“Indulge in unfinished blowjobs? I’ll pass.”
“No, silly. My boys brought me some tequila, which probably isn’t your thing, but I have Maker’s Mark.”
