“Let’s go back upstairs and drink,” Race says with a wicked smile. “You know…and watch some people fuck.”
“My girl wants to let her freak flag fly tonight?” her guy says.
“Fuck yeah. It’s hot, and how many times do I get to experience something like that?” she replies.
“I’m sure we can make this a regular occurrence,” he tells her, sweeping his thumb across her wrist as he speaks. He looks at her with such adoration and love, my heart swells.
That’s the way in this family. The men, just like Angelo, are completely and utterly in love. There’s no doubt who they belong to or that they’re taken. No one’s eyes wander to the women with very little clothing wandering around the bar space, prowling for men.
“It’s more private and easier to talk in that room,” Max adds, tracing the lines of a tattoo on her husband’s hand.
“Among other things,” he replies with the most wickedly sexy smirk I’ve ever seen.
“Anyone against going back upstairs?” Izzy asks, and she’s looking right at me because earlier, I was the only one to object to coming to this place.
“It’s your night,” Mia’s guy says and looks at Angelo and me.
I shake my head, leaving no doubt about how I feel, and gaze over my shoulder at Angelo. He smiles, running his hands up and down my arms, causing goose bumps to scatter across my skin.
“I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together,” Angelo says, taking the words right out of my mouth.
I’ve lost track of the number of drinks I’ve consumed. My face no longer feels like it’s attached to my body. Every inch of me tingles, not from the nearness of my soon-to-be-husband, but because of all the alcohol running through my veins.
I’d never thought of myself as a lightweight drinker. But tonight, I feel like it’s my twenty-first birthday party with the way my body’s humming, while everyone else around seems more sober.
“What are their names again?” I whisper into Angelo’s ear, still trying to memorize the names of everyone here.
At this point, I’m so drunk, I know I’ll never remember, but that doesn’t stop me from trying between giggles.
“Joe, Anthony, Thomas, Morgan, James, and Mike.” Angelo points to each guy as he says their names, but he’s talking too fast for me to keep up.
“Were you all bred in some hot-guy breeding farm?” I giggle again, so unlike myself, before hiccupping.
Angelo’s hand comes to my face, cradling my cheek in his palm. “Are you saying my cousins are hot?” He raises an eyebrow.
“I’m saying no one got hit with the ugly cart.” I smile. “Even the women are drop-dead gorgeous.”
Angelo laughs and looks around the room at his cousins. “Baby,” he whispers, and my heart flutters. “There’s no one more beautiful than you.”
I blink a few times, trying to get the two images of Angelo to melt into one, but I fail. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Oh. My. God,” Mia says. “Look at this crazy shit.”
Izzy and James don’t move. They’re too busy smacking lips across the table from us like two teenagers free from their parents for the night.
I’m too drunk to move, and Angelo’s still holding my face and all of my attention. But the rest of the room gravitates toward the windows, staring out across the public area with their hands against the glass.
“You want to look?” Angelo asks.
I shake my head. “I’m perfect where I am.”
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I could even walk over to the window without falling on my face. My legs feel like rubber, nowhere near stable enough to support my body weight and make it to the glass with any sort of grace.
A server walks in, and the light from the hallway momentarily blinds me. Everything is amplified. The light, his touch, my need. She places two more bottles of champagne in the buckets near our table. She lingers a little longer than the last girl, her eyes roaming across the room. No doubt she’s taking in the hotness factor of the men filling the tiny space because that’s what I would do if I were her.
“Vinnie?” she asks with her mouth practically hanging open. “Vinnie Gallo?”
Bianca turns first. Her eyes narrow as she takes in the scantily clad woman holding the tray and looking at Vinnie like he’s prey. Her breasts are so large, they’re practically spilling out of her corset.
