Scott’s lips lingered by my ear. “Should we be worried that Ashley’s going to eat Axel for dinner?”
“Leave them alone. At least someone’s getting some.” Slapping Scott’s arm, he plopped down next to me, pulling Ashley’s gaze away from her hulking focus.
“Well, if you two can refrain from ripping each other’s clothes off, I have the contracts here.” Scott patted his leather messenger bag.
“No promises.”Ashley smiled,noembarrassment on her face. Truly, a woman of my own heart.
We all had a good laugh as the waiter returned with a bottle of wine, offeringAsha small amount to taste. After doing the whole swirl, smell, and taste deal, she nodded, and the waiter poured us all a glass.
Axel raised his and gave us all a toothy grin. “To the new SA Designs.”
We all cheered and clinked glasses.
“I just can’t wait to get into the new space.” Ashley bounced in her seat, her hand grabbing mine. While she was excited, I was still in worry mode. Converting a warehouse into both work and office space looked easy on paper, but the build had proven to be one nightmare after another. Luckily, the end was in sight.
“Only one more month!” Scott slapped Axel’s back and took another sip of wine.
“And only another million things to do.” Axel returned Scott’s pat, causing wine to dribble from Scott’s lips.
Axel and I were the realists of this not so little endeavor, or as Ashley and Scott liked to refer to us as, mom and dad.
Ashley shot a glare at Axel and grabbed her menu. “No need to be a downer, Ax.”
“Sorry, shorty. Didn’t mean to rain on your parade.” Axel leaned in, resting his hand on the back of her chair.
Pleased with his apology,Ashperused the specials.
I snuck a peek across the table, and Axel’s soft expression piqued my interest. With his eyes trained on Ashley’s face, he smiled like a man in love. Looking between the two of them, I wondered if my friend felt the same.
“I want one of every app! And every dessert!” Ashley was in “everything is great and okay as long as we act like it” mode, and I was thankful for that.
Scott waved down the waiter and ordered enough appetizers to feed the restaurant. Once we all ordered our mains, Scott pulled out the contracts. With a dramatic flourish, he pulled out an expensive, fancy pen.
“Let’s sign this thing!”
We all took turns jotting our JohnHancocks.
I tried to come up with some sweet words to mark the occasion, but none seemed right. “So that’s done.”
A silence fell over the table as we all looked at each other. A slow smile pulled at our lips until we were all full-on smiling like lunatics. No words were needed. Our hands joined as we leaned into the table, moving closer to one another. It felt good to bask in this new chapter of my life—to look at my friends and know we were on the verge of something amazing.
“Excuse me.”
A hand on my shoulder pulled me out of the silent love fest we were sharing. When I looked up, I nearly shit my pants. Marco Moretti stood there,holding a bottle of champagne.
Snapping my mouth closed, I swallowed.
“Marco, how good to see you.” A forced smile wavered on my face.
Smirking, he leaned down into my personal space. “Well, that’s a big fucking lie.” Turning to my friends,he gave them the Moretti smile I’d grown so fond of, one I never wanted to see again. “Champagne, compliments of the house.”
Our waiter showed up with four champagne flutes, and Marco filled one at a time. He was taking forever, a smugsmile letting me know he knew exactly how uncomfortable I was.
Afterwhat felt likea millennium, he nodded and told us to “enjoy” before walking away. I wanted to leave it at that, to forget Marco even existed, but I couldn’t keep my eyes from following him to a table on the other side of the room.
If I thought seeing Marco made me sick, I was wrong. That was a simple cold compared to the full-on system shut downthat seized my body when I saw Luca, sitting there, real as can be, and he wasn’t alone.
Acrossfrom himsatNicki Ricci. Beautiful, graceful, fucking Nicki.As if that wasn’t enough, an iceberg size diamond on her left ring finger sparkled in the candlelight. My lungs burned as I tried to take another breath. It was like my body forgot how to function. Whenair finally forced its way into my chest, I panted out the growing panic.