“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“That’s not a denial.”
“I convinced her I’m into this new celibacy thing.” Nico sighed. “Waiting for marriage and all that.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
Nico turned to Cooper, angling his arm on the railing. “Would you rather I fuck her?”
“I would very much prefer it if you didn’t, but I understand how lonely things can get. It’s not like we can see each other as much as we both want.” That was more than enough talking for Cooper. He needed to change the subject. “My headboard faces Lox’s room, so you need to be quiet when you come over.”
“I’m always quiet.”
Cooper shot Nico a glare. “That’s a lie and I’m not going to let you make me believe it, lest I get too carried away and we become the next gay scandal.”
Nico pursed his lips and nodded. “What a headline that would be.”
Sudden applause and cheers stole the attention of both men. They stepped through the open doorway and watched as the newly married couple made their grand entrance with their hands held together and raised above their heads.
Razer pumped his other fist in the air and shouted, “I got a ring, and I got the ring.”
Cooper couldn’t tell which ring was a ring and which was the ring, but he raised his flute to the air. Nico stood on the opposite side of the doorframe, leaning against it with a hand shoved in the front pocket of his linen pants.
The newlyweds marched through the ballroom and found their seats at the head table parked underneath magnificent stained-glass windows that stood at least three stories high.
As the guests all made their way to their assigned seats, Nico stopped to whisper to Cooper, “You know I set them up, right?”
Cooper was intrigued. “I can’t imagine someone as suave as you would have the skills required of a matchmaker.”
“True story.” Nico tongued the inside of his cheek with a grin. “She was macking on me at the club when I was still a Cobra. Because all I could think about that night was getting to you.”
“That night you came to my hotel room?”
Nico nodded. “The night you kicked me out of your hotel room.”
“You got what you wanted on the plane.”
“I’m still waiting to get what I want.” Nico tapped Cooper on the shoulder before making his way to his table on the opposite side of the ballroom.
Cooper watched as Nico took a seat beside his date, a petite blonde woman with blue eyes. If Cooper had a sister, he imagined she’d look just like the nameless woman.
After dinner, Cooper took another breather on the terrace. A cool darkness fell over the beach as the sun set behind the hotel, somewhere behind the mountains he couldn’t see. He swished the rest of his champagne in his mouth and swallowed, relishing the burn at the back of his throat.
A shadow passed over him with a familiar scent.
A little tipsy, he turned to Nico with a grin. “There you are, gor?—”
“Please go on and finish the sentence,” Matteo said with a smirk. “Am I gorgeous?”
“You look dashing in the same white linen suit every man in this joint is wearing.” Cooper turned back to the sea, leaning on the railing. He waited for Matteo to join him there before continuing, “I see you brought a date with you.”
“Isn’t she stunning?”
Cooper found it slightly amusing that there were two men with beards that night, and for the first time in a long ass time, he wasn’t one of them. Stassi was tied up in Los Angeles opening a new restaurant. “She’s beautiful, but I thought you were gay.”
“Bisexual people exist, Coop.” Matteo sighed, followedby a barely audible chuckle. “I’m not bisexual though. My management has me cosplaying a bisexual man because it’s easier to digest for the fans. I’m hoping it lands well enough that the piece of shit Anderson lets me actually play this season.”
These conversations were difficult for Cooper. He pitied the way Matteo’s private life was exposed in such a salacious way. Seemingly everyone had seen the video, but Cooper refused to watch it himself.
