Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“I. . .” was at a loss for words.
“My brother, Gio, and Loren are like that.”
My brows pull together. “No, they’re not. At all.”
“Right. So, you think women belong everywhere you do?” she asked quickly.
“Absolutely.”
“Above or below you?”
“That sounds like a trick question.” I couldn’t help the smirk on my face. She blushed fiercely as if realizing what she’d said.
“You know what I meant.” She frowned. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. This was adorable. On top of being drop-dead gorgeous, she was fucking adorable. She pursed her lips and added, “I don’t find you funny, you know.”
“That’s a shame because I find grown-up Lenora quite entertaining.” I winked and took the last sip of my now watered-down tequila.
Again, she blushed. For a moment, I let myself just look at her, taking in her big brown eyes, high cheekbones, and thin nose. Her face was a work of art. Her curves were distracting. Her skin was flawless. If I were to build my ideal woman, she would look like Lenora. I remembered where we were and who she was and forced my eyes back to hers. She shivered slightly as if I’d touched her in all the places I’d imagined, and fuck, wouldn’t that have been fun?
“The party starts at nine,” I cleared my throat. “Make sure you’re at Scarab around eight, so you can be acquainted with the bar.”
“Will you be there at eight?” she asked, licking her pouty lips slowly. Christ. I needed to get out of here.
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.” Her smile was blinding. “As far as alcohol, does the bar have a lot of variety?”
“We have more than most,” Lorenzo said, joining the conversation again. He was the one overseeing the shipments of alcohol. The one Dean had “stolen.”
“If you need more rum, Isabel can always get it,” Rosie said.
“True. Jamaican Mike can drive it over,” Cat added.
I shot Loren and Dom a look that said put an end to this conversation now. Mostly because we didn’t know who was listening, and Mike’s place had already been ambushed once and raided again. It had gotten so bad that Russo had to start shipping our shit to the morgue. That’s another story for another day. Lorenzo’s eyes widened back at me, and I had to bite back a laugh. He wanted me to say something to his wife? Pussy. These men were feared in the streets, but at home, their wives inspired the fear.
“We agreed you wouldn’t talk about the alcohol ring in public, remember?” he said, bringing his hand up to her face. “It’s for your protection.”
Cat laughed. “This isn’t the Prohibition Era, Lorenzo. Running rum from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan is not illegal.”
“You two know better than anyone that you shouldn’t talk about our business publicly,” Dom said.
“We’ll stop talking about ‘your business,’” Rosie started, air quoting the words, “when you two stay out of ours.”
Loren frowned deeply. “We don’t get in your business.”
“So you don’t go over every freaking contract I sign?” Cat asked.
He chuckled. “I’m a lawyer, babe. I can’t help it.”
“Right. And you two magically show up at night when we’re rehearsing with our male partners?” Rosie raised an eyebrow.
“Or female. We don’t discriminate,” Dom said with a smile that vanished quickly when Rosie glared at him. “You stay too late and take ages to text us back.”
“Because we’re working,” Rosie said. “Besides, we have bodyguards with us at all times.”
Dom sighed heavily, throwing his head back. Loren shut his eyes and held the bridge of his nose. This was the part of relationships that I was not envious of. I felt a hand on my forearm that warmed my entire body, and I looked over at Lenora. What the fuck was that?
She dropped her arm quickly, eyes widening as if she felt it too. “Do you have special drinks planned for the soft opening?”
“Nope. The bar is yours for the night. You can do what you want.”
“Thank you.” Her smile widened even more, if possible, and I felt the warmth travel to my chest.
Heartburn, probably. I needed to leave. I looked around for Dean and spotted him speaking to Giuseppe and Angelo. All the big bosses were here except for Joe, who was waiting until the last minute to fly in since the IRS was looking at him for tax evasion. Funny how our country works. He’d killed and had people killed, burned down businesses, and imported and exported weapons, but they only wanted to get him because of his taxes.
“Well, this has been a blast but I’m going.” I set my empty glass on the nearest empty surface and looked at my watch.
“Where are you off to? A strip club with Nico?” Dom asked. Lenora huffed and looked away. She fucking huffed. Hopefully, I was the only one who heard it. Maybe so, since Dominic didn’t react.