“Right after midnight, Dante Tieri disappeared from the party.”
“Yeah,” Eve concurred. “And fast.” She looked up at Celina with her wide green gaze. “And you were the reason why…weren’t you?”
Reiley let out another rasp. “Holy crap, Cel. You slept with Dante Tieri?”
Eve snorted. “I’ll bet there wasn’t a lot of sleeping going on.”
“And now he wants to see you again! Shit! Cel!”
Celina grabbed her phone and rose, failing at making both actions seem anywhere near calm. “It’s not happening. He’s not happening. And no, I’m not going to ‘share’ about it.” She felt her friends’ hurt curl through the air like acrid smoke. She felt shitty about that, but it didn’t change her determination to push Friday night into the past. The far past. “Things sometimes happen, okay? Anomalies are only that. Nothing more.”
“Anomalies?” Eve tossed a disbelieving glance at Rei. “She did not just call Dante Tieri an ‘anomaly,’ did she?”
Celina rolled her eyes. “Fine. You want a better word? How about mistakes? Yeah, that is better. Mistakes happen, you guys. That doesn’t mean one needs to repeat them.”
Before either of them could hold her hostage again, she grabbed her coffee, then left the lounge without a backward look. That didn’t stop Eve from lobbing a parting shot, directed at Reiley but deliberately loud enough for her to hear too.
“I wish my mistakes made me blush like that.”
Chapter Seven
Dante ordered a fourth Glenlivet on the rocks while finishing off his third. He set the empty glass on the bar and studied the leftover condensation on it, collecting the blue-gray lighting off the back bar. Delilah’s was a perfect pick for tonight, his and Mark’s go-to choice for enjoying whiskey, pool, and conversation without worrying about the social page editor taking dictation on their words. Not that he gave his friend much to go on so far. That didn’t stop Mark from sharpening up the scalpels in his gaze, or hunkering his leather-jacket-covered shoulders in a lame attempt at unobtrusive.
“No reserve chute tonight, eh, Inferno Boy?” Mark finally drawled.
He cocked his head at his friend. The liquor finally started to work, creating a warm fuzz in his head. Well, wasn’t that nice? It did shit for the chill he couldn’t get out of his blood, the emptiness since he’d left Celina’s on Saturday. The void he didn’t even know he’d been living with until the party this guy talked him into throwing.
“You called this meeting, boss, not me.”
The bartender brought him his new drink, but as he reached for it, Mark clamped a hand on his arm.
“All right, Tieri. Start talking before you’re not able to.”
Dante took a quaff of the whiskey out of pure defiance. Mark huffed.
“Is it the company? Something with the family? Is your mother sick?”
“No,” Dante snapped. Hell, the man would just keep ramming if he didn’t. “No, no, and no.” He dragged a hand through his hair. The room felt too small. His skin felt too tight. “Fuck. If only it were that easy.”
He should’ve expected his friend’s reaction. A knowing snicker leaked from Mark’s lips. “Okay, got it now.”
He glared again. “Really? All figured out, huh?”
“Shut up, Tieri, and tell me who she is.”
Dante brooded into his drink. He’d let the guy crow about getting that far into his head. But the rest? He couldn’t figure out the rest. And damn it, he liked being miserable about it. The gloom gave him a reason to think about her. To hang on to her somehow.
“All right, then. I’ll assume it’s Meredith Collins. Personally, I didn’t get the connection with you two on Friday, but—”
“Shut up.” He practically snarled it. “Are you kidding me? Meredith? Don’t you know me better than that?”
Mark cocked a brow in arrogance and swigged his beer. “Guess not. But I’m all about enlightenment.”
Damn it. Now the fucker had him backed into
“Yeah,” Eve concurred. “And fast.” She looked up at Celina with her wide green gaze. “And you were the reason why…weren’t you?”
Reiley let out another rasp. “Holy crap, Cel. You slept with Dante Tieri?”
Eve snorted. “I’ll bet there wasn’t a lot of sleeping going on.”
“And now he wants to see you again! Shit! Cel!”
Celina grabbed her phone and rose, failing at making both actions seem anywhere near calm. “It’s not happening. He’s not happening. And no, I’m not going to ‘share’ about it.” She felt her friends’ hurt curl through the air like acrid smoke. She felt shitty about that, but it didn’t change her determination to push Friday night into the past. The far past. “Things sometimes happen, okay? Anomalies are only that. Nothing more.”
“Anomalies?” Eve tossed a disbelieving glance at Rei. “She did not just call Dante Tieri an ‘anomaly,’ did she?”
Celina rolled her eyes. “Fine. You want a better word? How about mistakes? Yeah, that is better. Mistakes happen, you guys. That doesn’t mean one needs to repeat them.”
Before either of them could hold her hostage again, she grabbed her coffee, then left the lounge without a backward look. That didn’t stop Eve from lobbing a parting shot, directed at Reiley but deliberately loud enough for her to hear too.
“I wish my mistakes made me blush like that.”
Chapter Seven
Dante ordered a fourth Glenlivet on the rocks while finishing off his third. He set the empty glass on the bar and studied the leftover condensation on it, collecting the blue-gray lighting off the back bar. Delilah’s was a perfect pick for tonight, his and Mark’s go-to choice for enjoying whiskey, pool, and conversation without worrying about the social page editor taking dictation on their words. Not that he gave his friend much to go on so far. That didn’t stop Mark from sharpening up the scalpels in his gaze, or hunkering his leather-jacket-covered shoulders in a lame attempt at unobtrusive.
“No reserve chute tonight, eh, Inferno Boy?” Mark finally drawled.
He cocked his head at his friend. The liquor finally started to work, creating a warm fuzz in his head. Well, wasn’t that nice? It did shit for the chill he couldn’t get out of his blood, the emptiness since he’d left Celina’s on Saturday. The void he didn’t even know he’d been living with until the party this guy talked him into throwing.
“You called this meeting, boss, not me.”
The bartender brought him his new drink, but as he reached for it, Mark clamped a hand on his arm.
“All right, Tieri. Start talking before you’re not able to.”
Dante took a quaff of the whiskey out of pure defiance. Mark huffed.
“Is it the company? Something with the family? Is your mother sick?”
“No,” Dante snapped. Hell, the man would just keep ramming if he didn’t. “No, no, and no.” He dragged a hand through his hair. The room felt too small. His skin felt too tight. “Fuck. If only it were that easy.”
He should’ve expected his friend’s reaction. A knowing snicker leaked from Mark’s lips. “Okay, got it now.”
He glared again. “Really? All figured out, huh?”
“Shut up, Tieri, and tell me who she is.”
Dante brooded into his drink. He’d let the guy crow about getting that far into his head. But the rest? He couldn’t figure out the rest. And damn it, he liked being miserable about it. The gloom gave him a reason to think about her. To hang on to her somehow.
“All right, then. I’ll assume it’s Meredith Collins. Personally, I didn’t get the connection with you two on Friday, but—”
“Shut up.” He practically snarled it. “Are you kidding me? Meredith? Don’t you know me better than that?”
Mark cocked a brow in arrogance and swigged his beer. “Guess not. But I’m all about enlightenment.”
Damn it. Now the fucker had him backed into
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