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I shove her playfully. "It's not like that, stupid."
Her eyes twinkle. "What's it like?"
"I wouldn't know. Like I said, it's not like that."
I told the girls last night when we were shopping with our moms about my decision to not marry Santi. I didn't tell them I would work directly with Maxim.
When I was ten, no one knew I liked Santiago. I would watch him when the guys were at the pool. At night, I would daydream, staring at the sky and imagining what our kids would look like. What color my wedding dress would be.
Until one day, my grandfather sat me down and told me I needed to hide or be open about it. There is nothing he doesn't plan. Nothing he doesn't see.
My mother and Alina thought it would be cute for us to grow up with the hope we would marry someday when they found out about Niko having to marry Xena. My grandfather used it to his advantage by giving his blessing to form an alliance between our families. Keep thingsentre familia, he said.
He went along despite the lingering doubt I would see in my father's eyes. He saw himself in Santiago and the other guys growing up. Compared to my brother, Niko, Maxim, and Ezekiel, Santiago is the cold-hearted out of the five. The one that doesn't care what anyone thinks. They are all womanizers. Ruthless. Heartbreakers. Santiago… is heartless.
"Fine. Then, tell me why you're running out on him?"
I shrug, looking out the window and watching the rain fall. "He was busy."
"At an Italian restaurant? He took you out to eat. Who was he busy with?"
"The waiter. They went to high school together, and she was chatting him up," I say, playing it cool.
"You were jealous,'' she says enunciating each word.
I suck my teeth. "I am not. He's not my boyfriend. I had to do something involving the Kings. He asked if I was hungry, and I said yes. So, we went to Tortellini. Big deal."
"How many times has he taken you out to eat?"
"Nine times for the past three weeks."
"Nine times? He likes you, Elena."
"Nothing can happen between us... I was in love with his brother."
The Russian bodyguard in the front passenger seat shifts in his seat. I look over at the driver, and he glances at his partner.
"Do they talk?" I whisper.
"Who them?" She points, leaning close, sitting up, grabbing the front seat. "We have secrets…right boys?" The one in the passenger seat looks over at Xena. If a guy can fuck you with one look, this guy has mastered it.
"Xena,estas loca?" I scold.
"Nothing you say will leave this car"––she winks––"I got their tongues tied." She looks toward her bodyguards. "Right, boys?"
They both nod.
"What about Niko?"
"What about him? He prefers blondes holding on to motorcycles."
The bodyguards gave her the video. That is how she knows.
"Be careful, Xena. Niko is not like the Kings."
He's crazier than his father, Dimitri. Niko might have fun with the other guys, but once he finds out someone touches Xena, I wouldn't be surprised the Kings will be busy disposing of bodies.
She sits back in her short skirt, crosses her long tan legs, and changes the subject. "Maxim likes you, Elena."
