Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Ethan laughs and takes the drink, sipping it for himself. He shakes his head. “It’s perfect.”
Then he dumps the contents down the drain and starts to make a new one. I stay close by so I can deliver it to the woman as soon as he’s finished. I don’t want her to have any ammunition against me.
“Here,” Ethan says, sliding the new martini across the bar. “If she complains again, you might suggest another cocktail.”
I smile and thank him. “Yeah, I will.”
On my way to deliver the drink, I walk around a rowdy group near the balcony’s edge and quickly scan the crowd below. I’ve been doing it all night, but this time, I finally see Cristiano downstairs talking to Ramón.
A zing of excitement has me biting down my smile. So he is here.
I rush over to take the drink to the brunette, hovering near her as she tries her first sip. “Better?”
She sniffs and shrugs as if not wanting to give me the win on this. “It’s fine.”
I want to tell her she’s not hurting my feelings; I didn’t make it.
Instead I smile. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you or your friends.”
Before I leave, I glance down and notice the necklace she’s paired with her red dress—it’s a vintage silver De Vere heart locket. We stopped making them in the nineties and now they resell for ten times what they originally cost. I wonder if her opinion of me would change if she knew who I was, if she realized she’s wearing my family’s jewelry around her neck. I almost want to tell her and find out.
Instead, I turn and head back to Annika. She’s just returned from doing a sweep herself, and she leans into me and whispers, “She’s threatened.”
“By me?”
Annika laughs. “Oh yes. You should have seen the way she watched you walk away.”
“Why? I haven’t done anything to her.”
“Who knows? But this is hilarious and…” Her attention shifts toward the stairs, and her smile widens. “It’s about to get much more interesting.”
I look back just as Cristiano arrives in VIP. He clasps hands with the security guards flanking the top of the stairs, speaking with them for a moment before turning his attention to his friends.
The subdued group lights up when they see him, each person standing and vying to get their turn to greet him. I’m surprised there aren’t trumpets and banners waving for the king’s arrival. The pretty brunette hangs back and bides her time. When Cristiano finally says hello, she rises up onto her tiptoes and plants a red kiss on his cheek, then she coyly pretends to be surprised when her lipstick leaves a mark. She hangs on to his arm while she rubs it away, and my face is a mask of disgust before I realize I’m staring and look away.
Annika’s eyeing me, but I ignore her, twisting Winnie’s ring around and around on my finger, suddenly wishing I could go back downstairs.
The VIP balcony is crowded enough that it’s easy for me to stay under the radar. I serve food and drinks to my tables and try to be as attentive as possible. The brunette at Cristiano’s table doesn’t call me back again, so I happily let another server take over there. I’d rather deal with the other VIPs anyway.
As far as I know, Cristiano hasn’t seen me. That, or he’s purposely ignoring me. I don’t have to test the theory until one of his friends flags me down, holding up an empty champagne bottle. Gripped with immediate panic, I search desperately for another server to send his way, but everyone’s occupied, so I have no choice but to slip through the crowd.
I feel my heart thumping as I arrive at their low, circular table, wishing my presence wasn’t immediately noticed by everyone. The moment I address his friend, I feel Cristiano’s gaze and my face heats up in response. I want to look at him so desperately, but I don’t.
“Would you like a new bottle of Dom Pérignon?” I ask his friend, keeping all my focus on him.
He actually carries a passing resemblance to Cristiano. He has the same straight nose, strong jaw, and inky-black hair. He’s handsome and young and smiling up at me with a kind of playfulness in his expression. I think he forgets for a second that he wanted to place an order. Instead, he asks me my name first in Spanish, and when it’s clear I don’t speak fluently, he asks again in English.
“Elle,” I say with a practiced smile.
“Elle. I haven’t seen you before. You new to Aura?”
“Oh, here it goes.” A girl at the table laughs. “Juan Carlos found something he likes.”
I go stock-still, anticipating Cristiano’s response. After the way he handled things with the DJ the other night, surely he doesn’t want his friend hitting on me. Or maybe I have it wrong. Maybe he really doesn’t care all that much. Maybe if I were to look up, I would find his attention aimed at Ms. Cristiano Baby.