“Well. I mean. I do work here,” I stutter before I can stop myself.
God, I’m totally screwing this up. I have no idea how to talk to a man this attractive. I’m not on his level, not by a long shot. I don’t look like Gia, or Caterina, who are both glossy and stylish and amazing. My shoes don’t have shiny red soles. And I don’t know anyone who would threaten him with a horse’s head in his bed should he disappoint me in any way.
Not that he could ever disappoint anyone.
But I’m just… Sara. My hair is in a messy bun, I haven’t worn lip gloss since I experimented with nude colors when I was like thirteen, and I’m wearing a tracksuit. It matches (I’m not a total wreck) but my own nails aren’t even done, and I work in a freaking nail salon.
For a moment, I convince myself that he must have the wrong person.
Then, he says, “Do you like ice cream?”
I look over my shoulder, but there’s no one there of course, because I work at the rear of the salon with my back to the wall. I blink. “No.”
His face falls like I just informed him that I’m not allowed to talk to giants.
“I’m lactose intolerant,” I blurt out. “I eat sorbet instead.”
Oh. My. God. Did I just tell him I’m lactose intolerant? I want to mentally slap myself.Good work, Sara. There’s nothing sexier than telling a man you get an upset stomach around dairy.
I’m already preparing myself for another night alone in my basement apartment with a family-sized packet of potato chips and a Netflix serial killer documentary when he says, “I know a place. They do shaved ice. Let’s go.”
I gape at him. I must’ve misheard because of the blood gushing in my ears. But he’s studying me with what can only be described as eagerness in his bright green eyes, and I couldn’t turn him down, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t.
“Like right now?”
His eyes flicker. “When are you done?”
I glance at the clock. “An hour?” My voice tilts like he knows the answer.
“I’ll be back then.”
He drifts back over to the other bodyguards. Gia’s talons are duly sharpened, she pays Mary, and they leave.
But on the way out she turns around and winks at me. In slow motion. Like this is a movie scene slowed down for dramatic effect.
After the door shuts, Halle squeals, “Did he justask you out?”
“We’re getting shaved ice.” I think.
I can’t remember the last time a man asked me to go on a date. Perhaps the rules have changed while I’ve been holed up in my apartment waiting for Zac Efron to discover my existence.
It’s all a bit of a blur, and I’m starting to wonder if I imagined the whole conversation.
2
ROMEO
“Sara’s a nice girl,Romeo. Don’t fuck this up.”
I smile at Gia as she settles into the back seat of the car. “Thanks, boss.” I think.
She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. Some folks think that Gia is scary, but it’s just her way. When you’re used to people doing everything you tell them to do, and bowing their heads in your presence, it kinda makes you a bit… stuck up, I guess. I’m not scared of her though. I’ve seen her at her most vulnerable when guys let her down, the side of her that no one else sees.
She might have money and a family name that opens a lot of doors, but her heart still beats the same way.
“You nearly scared her half to death,” she says gently. “What were you thinking, just lumbering over to her like that?”
I shrug. “You told me to go for it. So, I went for it.”
