I wasn’t going to acknowledge that. I’d been mistaken. Bradley wouldn’t openly check out a girl until his cheeks tinted pink and that salacious haze clouded his eyes. He wouldn’t do what my dad had done to tear up my family. He wouldn’t hurt me like that.
Nope, nope, nope, I continued chanting to the same pace of my light finger tapping.
“You guys can come over here,” Addie called to us, taking off her puffy pink coat to drape it on the back of her chair. Underneath, she wore a black long-sleeved shirt, which accentuated her small yet well-endowed frame. Would my boyfriend look at me if I looked like that?
I took measured breaths as Bradley and I crossed the room, and by the time I made it to the island, my perfect mask of ease was back in place.
“Would you two like some coffee?” Iyla offered. “Addie said you’d be coming, so I made enough for everyone.”
“That would be nice,” I answered with a matching smile. “Thank you.”
Bradley and I stood with Addie at the island, and I’d just opened the folder to get started when male voices drifted closer from the stairwell that separated the living room and kitchen.
Voices I instantly recognized.
My mouth dried, and my head snapped up as Dante, Zagan, and Coldin—the lead singer and drummer of Sinners Do It Better—appeared in the kitchen.
“Yeah. Poor Perseus is—”
Dante’s words cut off as his dark eyes met mine across the room. I didn’t think anything could truly rattle or surprise the confident man, but when he spotted me, he looked genuinely shocked.
“Holy shit,” I gasped under my breath, my gaze bouncing between the three men.
Not only had I been blessed by getting to spend time with Dante Braxton, but now I was breathing in the same air as Zagan Kraev and Coldin Morgrave. If the other two band members appeared, I was actually going to pass the fuck out. Or orgasm. Or puke. Or all three.
“Oh yeah,” Addie smirked. “I forgot to mention this is Zagan Kraev’s house.”
“Serenity,” Dante greeted, recovering from his surprise with a warm grin. “Well, this is interesting. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
Addie straightened. “Wait! You know my contractor and designer?”
Dante and Zagan stepped up to the kitchen island opposite me while Coldin leaned against the wall behind them. Dante’s dark blue shirt hugged his torso as he crossed his arms and cocked his head in the way an amused predator might do while studying their clueless prey.
“Serenity and I met last week.” His eyes cut to Bradley, who had gone ramrod straight beside me. “I met her boyfriend briefly at Harper’s house party we all went to.”
Bradley cleared his throat. His eye twitched as he maintained a friendly smile. “Yes. Good to see you again. If you’ll excuse us, though, we’re here for work.” Bradley turned to Addie and softened his voice. “Are you ready to get started?”
Both Iyla and Addie seemed oblivious to the sudden tension between Bradley and Dante as we moved to follow Iyla to theliving room. As I passed the three members of Sinners Do It Better, I spotted them sharing knowing, almost amused glances—save for Coldin. He stared at the floor, a bland expression fixed on his face.
Iyla gestured for Bradley and I to take the lush couch. Addie sat on her knees on the other side of the coffee table while Iyla went back to the kitchen to finish the coffee.
I tried ignoring the fact that I was sitting on Zagan’s couch and mere feet away from three of my five celebrity icons. Even more than that, I tried to not think about how seeing Dante again unleashed unexplainable warmth in my chest. I kept running into him, and while being around him made me nervous due to the array of emotions he brought out, he also made me … happy. I just didn’t want him to make me happy in front of Bradley, because my boyfriend wouldn’t like it if another man made me smile.
I took a deep breath to calm my excitement and nerves before opening my folder. I prepared to begin my second attempt at this meeting with Addie when a heavy body dropped down right beside me. I gasped and whipped my head around to meet Dante’s gaze. His muscular arm draped along the back of the couch behind me, and he spread his legs wide so that his leg brushed against my own.
“This is exciting,” Dante announced.
He leaned in close to me, peering over my shoulder to scan the mock-up house designs and portfolio. His face was so close to mine. If he looked up and leaned even slightly forward, our lips would meet. I swallowed hard as my face heated from the absurd thought.
“I can’t wait to see what you guys do for Addie,” Dante continued, oblivious to my internal freakout. I sucked in a hard breath when the arm behind me moved, and his fingers gentlytwirled a strand of my hair at the top of my back. “Maybe I should hire you to do some work at my house.”
“Dante,” I whispered in a warning hiss.
His gaze swung from the papers in my lap to my eyes. We were centimeters apart, the air between our faces charging with something hungry and magnetic. I stared at him whilehestared at my parted lips.
Thankfully, alarm bells flared to life in my mind, and I ducked my head, averting my gaze and ending whatever strange connection had been forming.
“Serenity,” Bradley gritted out from my other side.
