12
RAVEN
I stareat his back all the way to the lobby, trying to figure out what to do. Move to a table, order food, and watch the snow falling before going home? Or call it a night, pay for my drink, and go home?
Spending some time in my deserted home?
I’m still undecided when Cardenas and his friends or business partners move to a table reserved for them. I have no other choice but wait.
I don’t want to cross paths with them.
They’re all dressed to the nines, and one is more handsome than the other as if there was a male model convention in town.
In all fairness, their good looks have little to do with fashion and everything to do with raw, delicious masculinity.
I move my eyes over them, making a note of their sharps suits, designer shoes, starched dress shirts, and bright smiles.
They find their way to the VIP section, not far from where I had dinner with Kai, Francisco, and Alejandro a while back.
The memory starts nipping at me when they move away from me, and I get ready to leave for good when something else happens.
More cars roll to a halt in front of the hotel. A limousine enters my line of sight. A man and a woman slide out. And then two other men.
I almost have a heart attack when one of the men runs his fingers through his hair, reminding me of Alejandro.
Mouth ajar, I wait for him to turn around. No. It’s not him. And the other man is not Francisco.
But the third man…
The third man holds the door for the woman. And the woman walks out, flashing a smile. He politely helps her out, and when he turns around, I almost faint.
Kai??
Remotely I become aware of my trembling hands as I become one with my seat. I can’t move, and I can’t breathe.
My heart is about to jump out of my chest.
They all reunite in front of the hotel, the woman and Kai, partially concealed by the two other men. They all wear suits.
The woman sports a cocktail dress and an elegant coat.
She’s young but older than me. And she has long dark hair.
They talk for a few more moments before they set themselves in motion, and I see her face.
She is pretty too, and she walks by his side. Whatever their relationship as a group is, Kai is the closest to her.
Two seconds later, I realize they are about to enter the hotel.
A few more seconds later, it dawns on me that their presence here and also Roman’s can’t be a coincidence. They probably dine together. They, as in these seven men and this one woman?
What??
As much as I push all my crazy thoughts back, they keep pestering me, swirling around and blasting a lot of nonsense in my head.
Fuck no.
It can’t be that.