AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is where the party is.”
“At a security company?” Her brows shot up.
My lips twitched. “It’s sort of a long story. My brother-in-law owns the place. Sort of a work-live situation.”
“Okay then. Let’s do this,” she said with a sunny smile.
I tried to match her enthusiasm, but nervous energy still flowed through my veins. When we reached the elevator, she slid her hand into mine and squeezed. Her tiny, delicate hand gave me warmth, gave me strength. I tapped in the code to reach the penthouse and then leaned forward for the retinal scan. If Diana thought that was strange, she said nothing.
When the elevator doors pinged, I sucked in a deep breath. Next to me, Diana squeezed my hand and gave me a bright smile. “It will be fine. Watch. I have a feeling about these things.”
We were met in the foyer by Oskar, whose permanent scowl was in place.
“Oskar, how’s it going?”
“You’re here, so not great.” The German turned his attention to Diana, and his whole countenance changed as he suddenly plastered a wide smile on his face.
I had to mutter under my breath. “Okay, I get you. Turn the wattage down.”
“What’s the matter, afraid of a little competition?” Oskar looked back to Diana. “So, are you going to introduce me to my future wife?”
Diana just laughed. “Are you always this outrageous?”
Oskar nodded. “Pretty much. I’m not as bad as Noah though. So, Rafe, you can thank your lucky stars.”
I pursed my lips. I was happier when the German was his usual scowling self. When he smiled, it made him almost appear charming.
“Okay, that’s enough. Diana, this is Oskar. He works with my brother-in-law.”
The German grinned again. “When you get tired of this guy, come find me.”
Diana giggled, and I tugged her behind me. I found Noah in the kitchen, attempting to molest my sister, who was laughing as he copped a feel.
“Seriously, do you guys have to do that? There are people around.”
Lucia laughed and pushed Noah away before rushing over to give me a hug. It didn’t matter that I worked here now and she saw me almost every day, she always hugged me like she was trying to make up for all the days we’d missed.
I held her tight. It was still weird as hell to see Noah with my sister. And now they were happily married and parents of the only other person who had me wrapped around her little finger.
Noah came over and gave me a good thump on the back. “What’s up, brother?”
He inclined his head and slid his gaze to Diana while Lucia was dancing from foot to foot. Oh boy. They were going to make this a big deal.
“Guys, this is Diana. She’s a friend of mine. Diana, this is Noah Blake and my sister, Lucia.”
Noah shook her hand briefly and welcomed her to the party. Lucia was far more exuberant and hugged her tight before taking her hand and dragging her out of the kitchen, talking a mile a minute.
Noah turned his attention back to me. “Afriend?”
I just shrugged. “I do occasionally have those.”
Noah narrowed his gaze and studied me for a long moment. Then he started to laugh. “Friends. Uh-huh.”
I shook him off. “Shut up.”
“I never thought I’d see the day Rafe DeMarco—” He paused. “Does she know who you are? Or are you using an alias?”
I shook my head. “No alias. I’m out, remember?”
