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“Oh, because a charity event is so awful?” she quips.
“When I have to schmooze, yes. But, I’d rather spend the evening with you.” She steps away from me, and I pull her back where our bodies are joined. “I’ll be home at eleven. You know where I live. You want this, and you want more. Be at my home at 11:15. You aren’t just a one-night stand anymore, Anisten. I want more with you, with us. I’ll text you my access code. If not, don’t worry, I’ll never bother you again.”
She steps back and turns toward the door, her hand on the knob about ready to open it.
“Oh, and, Heaven, after tonight, if you choose to keep our relationship professional, I won’t pursue you. What we shared will be over and I’ll move on, the access code will be changed, and you’ll only have access to methrough the case alone.”
She stops, my words sinking in. “I hope I see you later, Heaven.”
She opens the door and leaves without another word. Would I bet the house on her showing up at my apartment? Not a chance in hell. I like to win, and I’m not sure I’ll be pulling out the W tonight.
* * *
“You going to tell me who that was? I barely got her name, and fuck, Luc? Jealous much?”
“Piss off, asshole,” I demand, pulling into the valet parking and stepping on the brake harder than typical to get his attention. “And if I say lay off when it comes to another, then I’d suggest you lay the fuck off sooner, you feel me, douche-nugget?”
“You know,” Murph begins, a chuckle to his words, “you call me your best friend but I feel you don’t like me much. You should work on that, you know.”
I mess with Murph a lot, but he’s one of the most important people in my life. “You are my best friend.Who else would put up with your annoying ass like I do?” I stop because I have one last point to make. “But Anisten Atkins is off limits, you understand?”
His gaze swings to me as though I’ve hurt his feelings. “Oh, fuck, I just got it. You’re into this girl. Never thought I’d see it. Never thought I’d witness such a fantastic cluster fuck. I was totally messing with you, but now…oh, shit. Wait until Mama De Santos hears of this.”
He’s out of my car before I can grab him by his fancy lapels. “Murphy,” I warn. It’s enough, and he turns around.
“Kidding, I’ll just mention it to your sister, who’ll tell your mama.” He’s up the steps to the mansion of tonight’s event, and I toss the keys to the valet.
“And stay away from my sister,” I warn.
He keeps on walking as my eyes glance at my watch. It’s only seven. It’s going to be a long four hours before I know the answer to my ultimatum.
Too fucking long.
CHAPTERNINE
Why don’t I have girlfriends? Maybe because my job is my life, and I’ve never made time to foster friendships.
There’s one person who is always there for me. Can I call my sister and get an unbiased opinion about Luca? She’s more of a hard ass than I am. I pull at the phone and dial her number. She’s a year older than me and we’ve always been close.
She picks up on the first ring, a little out of breath. “Hello?” she asks, breathing heavily.
“Do I want to know what you’re up to, Bris?” I jest.
“Oh, fuck, Ani, I wish it was something that scandalous. I’m finishing up on the treadmill. Ten miles, but I’d rather climb a good-looking man and get my calorie count in that way, believe me.”
I giggle, then a chuckle overtakes me, and before I know it, she’s laughing as hard on her end of the phone. Bristol Atkins is the definition of an alpha female. At just thirty-one, she’s the CFO of a toy company. She’s raven black hair to my golden locks, short and petite where I’m close to six feet, but we both share a temper, and by her own accord, she has a shorter fuse than mine.
“Did you call to laugh like schoolgirls over the phone, or is there a reason, Ani? Oh, make it scandalous; let me live vicariously through you, please.”
“Bris, you live in the city that never sleeps. Surely you could find something scandalous any time of the day if you were looking.”
There’s a pause on her line. “And alas, little sis, I work all the time. You should know something about that, but don’t stall. What the hell is going on with you?”
I wait for a beat or two because I don’t want to give up the goods too quickly. “Well, if you would’ve attended Jewel’s wedding, you’d know a little bit.”
“I wish I could have. I’m swarmed with the end-of-year financials, but shit, now I’m curious. What the hell happened?”
I begin to explain how Luca approached me, our one-night stand, and how he rocked my world a week ago, all leading up to this ultimatum.
