“Yeah, I think I’ll be the judge of that,” he challenged and grabbed my hips, stepping up behind me. “Like the song says,hips don’t lie.” Nipping the shell of my ear, he stepped away, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over to a space with a velvet circle couch made semi-private with more beads hanging around it.
Braxton settled me in the middle and took one side while Jace plopped down next to me. Luca took the tufted chair directly across from my seat, and Nick chose to sit on the other side of Braxton.
“So you’re a bartender at The Bandit,” Braxton commented. “What drink did you make that has Lady Astin here in your debt?”
“It was just a martini… it’s what The Bandit is known for,” Nick answered. “While I think I make a solid drink, I believe Astin’s being nice.”
Luca snorted. “She doesn’t do that, or did you miss the altercation outside the club?”
“Hey,” I snapped indignantly. “I can absolutely be nice. If you’re nice to me, then I’m nice back, you give me shit attitude, then you get shit right back.” The three guys looked at me with matching expressions of disbelief. “Oh fuck the lot of you. We’ve known each other barely for a full day, and you think you know that much about me?”
“Was I wrong about how you give out compliments?” Luca asked.
Crossing my arms, I glared at him. “No, you’re right. I don’t give them out unless I truly mean it. Why blow smoke up someone’s ass? It doesn’t help them get better in the long run.”
“There you have it, Nick. It seems you made a damn good martini. Maybe I need to hire you here, poach you from your other place,” Braxton mused aloud, tapping his chin. “Maybe later I’ll sneak you behind the bar to make some for us.”
Nick seemed uncertain about that idea. “I’m not sure they would allow that.”
“Trust me when I say the owner would be more than okay with you making drinks,” Jace interjected.
This didn’t really set him at ease, but I had to chuckle to myself that as heir to the Caprioni Family estate and all that came with it, I wouldn’t mind one bit if he made drinks.
“I want to dance. Who’s coming with me?” I announced.
Braxton popped to his feet. “M’lady, I’d be honored to have this first dance.”
“Oh good God,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “Let’s go, prince charming.”
fifteen
WatchingAstinandBraxtonhead off to the dance floor, I stood and stopped Nick from joining them like the puppy wanted to. “Hold up a sec.”
Nick was a good-looking guy and, from what I could tell, normal in the general sense of the word. I could see why Astin would find someone like him, who had no idea who or what she was, so enticing. Sadly, normal wasn’t ever going to be in store for her now she’d been named underboss.
“What’s up?” Nick asked.
“How long have you been at The Bandit?” I asked as Luca came to stand behind him in case he decided to make a run for it.
Nick frowned and stepped back to look at both of us. “What the fuck’s going on right now? If you guys have some arrangement with her, and I crashed it, I’m sorry. How was I supposed to tell her no when she dragged me along?”
“You don’t,” Luca stated. “Now answer his question, how long have you been at The Bandit?”
“Five years. My uncle owns the place, and he got me a job there so I could work my way through college,” Nick admitted.
“Fuck,” I swore under my breath. “Nick, is your uncle, Harvey O’Hagan?”
“You know him?” Nick asked, sounding surprised.
I rubbed my forehead with a hand feeling a headache coming on. “When she was at the bar, she said an altercation happened. Do you know who the guy was?”
“Guys, it’s not a big deal. My cousin deserved it for sure,” Nick shared with a shrug. “Maybe the broken nose will teach him not to be a dick to women who turn him down.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“I’m going to ask you a question, and you better not lie to me, or this night will become so much worse for you,” I threatened, watching his eyes go wide. “Do you know what your uncle really does for a living?”
“I-I can’t talk about that,” he stuttered.