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Vincent pulled a silky handkerchief from his pocket. “A dreadful shame,bella. To ruin such a lovely dress.” He came close, his intent to blot the wet spots on my chest and stomach clear. Kara latched on to his elbow.
“I think Saoirse should take care of that herself, Vinny. Is there a restroom nearby?” she cooed.
His lids lowered, and some of the puff in his chest deflated. I supposed he’d been looking forward to patting me down. He would have been severely disappointed since my tits were primarily made of a really good push-up bra and hopes and dreams.
I scrambled in the direction Vincent pointed, not escaping soon enough, judging by the pointed glare Kara shot me. I remembered then why we weren’t close. I considered myself to be a girl’s girl, while Kara was moreevery man for himself. One on one, she could be fun, but toss a guy into the mix, even one I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in, and the claws came out.
Throwing wine on myself had been half an excuse to leave. The other half had been self-preservation.
Unfortunately for me and my sodden dress, the bathroom off the living room had a line of people waiting to use it. The woman at the front rolled her eyes when I peered at the closed door.
“Someone’s fucking in there,” she deadpanned.
A laugh burst out of me. When she didn’t laugh with me, I realized she wasn’t joking. Then I heard the moans and skin slapping and continued on my merry way, following the hallway deeper into the condo. Surely, with six bathrooms, there wouldn’t be a line at all of them. The wet spots on my dress were getting cold, and my skin was starting to feel sticky.
The first room I came upon seemed to be a den. The couches actually looked cozy and plush. My attention caught on a throw blanket hanging over one of the windows. Someone had haphazardly tacked it up there. Compared to what I’d seen of the rest of the condo, this touch stuck out like a sore thumb, which intrigued me about its owner.
Before I could check out the rest of the room, I had to dry myself off a little. I locked myself in the attached bathroom and found a towel I used to soak up as much wine as I could.
Once that problem was mostly solved, I looked around the spacious bathroom. I’d been inside many nice homes in my life. My best friend and roommate, Elise’s boyfriend, Weston, lived in the penthouse of our building. This kind of place wasn’t brand new to me, but there was something about it that was a notch above everything else I had ever seen. The art, the modernity, the nod to luxury in the more public spaces and comfort in the private spaces like the den. Ireallylonged to explore the rest of the place.
The bathtub was freestanding in front of a wall of windows. For a moment, I imagined myself having a bubble bath and watching the sunset.
Then I moved on.
The party seemed to have filled in more. I wove through the mingling crowd, wondering if the fucking couple had vacated the bathroom yet. Kara and Vincent were in a small group near the windows. She’d tucked herself to his side, but when her eyes flickered to me, she tried to merge herself with his ribs.
Unoffended, I gave her a smile and strode directly to the bar to fill my wineglass. Then I found some cheese and crackers, which I folded inside a paper napkin, and carried my loot back to the cozy den.
As much as I would have liked to nose about this glorious condo, I had manners, so I would refrain. Though some might say eating crackers on a stranger’s couch in a room I hadn’t been invited into was rude in and of itself, and I wouldn’t argue that point.
But no one was around to tell me I wasn’t allowed in here, so I kicked off my heels, sank down on the cushions, and relaxed.
Chapter Two
Luca
Myheadthrobbed.Witheach beat of my heart, it expanded and contracted, skull, gray matter, the whole package.
It had been a long day. A long two weeks, if I was counting. And there was no end in sight. I’d accepted that, but today’s series of meetings had been the cause of the spike in my skull.
If my head had been pounding less, I wouldn’t have bothered getting on the elevator to my condo. Riding my bike in this condition wasn’t smart, though. That wasn’t to say there wasn’t a time in the recent past I would have thrown caution to the wind and gone for a ride anyway.
As the consultants had drilled into me today, my age of recklessness had ended.
I stepped off the elevator and opened the door leading to my entryway, where I was greeted by lights, music, people. Somewhere in the recesses of my tired mind, I remembered my cousin, Vin, who was here from Italy for an undisclosed period of time, had asked if he could have afew people over.
This was more than a few people. At least fifty strangers were milling around my living room.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was typical Vin. He had friends, acquaintances, and business partners on every corner of the globe. The last time he’d visited Denver and stayed with me, he’d had a party twice this size.
He probably considered this showing restraint.
If my brain didn’t feel like it was being liquefied, I would have poured myself a drink and joined in. As it was, I had no inclination to make small talk. I was all talked out.
As I stood there, surveying my home, Vincent moved through the crowd, coming my way. A petite brunette who had attached herself to him came with him.
“Luc, you’re here,” Vin boomed. He leaned forward, cupping my face and air-kissing both my cheeks. “Come in, get something to drink. There’s food in the kitchen.”
