So no, I can’t be truly angry—only shocked.
And I can’t be too shocked, either, because a part of me that I didn’t know even existed until yesterday is whispering bad things in my ear. I want Dominic to talk to me. To shower me with attention the way Joey and Sisco do.
We pull up to the restaurant and Sisco holds the door open for me. He takes one arm and Joey takes the other, while Dominic walks ahead of us. I’m hyper-aware of everyone’s gaze on us as we walk inside and take a seat in the VIP area. I know it must look bad—one woman with three men—but it’s not like that, and they need to mind their own business or I have no doubt that one of the brothers will make these people regret their perverted thoughts.
“Drink, madame?” the waiter asks, but before I can answer Dominic orders two bottles of red wine for the table. Each bottle is easily two hundred dollars, and even though I know that I should be grateful, I can’t help but scowl at him.
All my life men have ordered me around and told me what I could and couldn’t do. It shouldn’t bother me; I should be used to it by now—and yet I feel bolder with the Novello brothers. Something about being with them gives me strength.
“You don’t approve, Natalia?” Dominic asks with dark amusement, pulling me away from my irritated thoughts.
“Red is fine,” I say, holding his gaze. The corner of his mouth quirks up and I know that I’ve pleased him. I like that look on him. The dark threads of thrill dance across my skin, so I decide to push my luck that little bit more. “But I’d love a bourbon.”
The air is thick as he assesses me, holding my gaze steady. Sisco and Joey are quiet as they watch how it is all unfolding, and I’m just about to tell him to forget about it when he looks up at the waiter.
“You heard the lady.” He waves his hand and the waiter leaves.
I think we’re finally getting somewhere, but instead of talking to me he pulls out his cell phone and starts tapping away at the screen. The waiter returns with the wine and the bourbon and takes our orders. Dominic orders his steak and then looks over at me.
“I presume you’d like to order for yourself again, Natalia?” He steeples his fingers beneath his chin and I can’t decide if I’ve angered him or if he’s amused, so I choose to go with it.
I order my food and the waiter leaves, and I drink my bourbon in barely three sips because I’m so nervous. We’re still receiving looks from other people, and I know I’m being paranoid but I can’t stop my cheeks from growing hot under everyone’s stares.
Joey’s hand slides over my knee under the table and I stare at him in shock. He’s talking to Sisco, though, and not even looking at me, as if the act is so casual he isn’t even thinking about it.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I say, and excuse myself.
I feel everyone’s eyes on me as I leave the main room and head to the bathroom, willing my knees not to knock as I walk.
I’m scared.
I’m nervous.
I’m excited.
I’m convinced I’ve done something wrong because Dominic won’t come near me, and yet I can’t think what it could be. In the bathroom I powder my nose and will myself to calm the hell down. My stomach is fluttering with nerves. I head into a stall and I’m about to flush the toilet when I hear voices.
“Did you see her?”
“She’s beautiful, but I mean, it’s all fake, right?”
“Right.”
“Tits, lips, I heard even her ass is fake,” the other woman cackles.
I don’t know why, but I stay frozen to the spot, listening. They can’t be talking about me, and yet something tells me that they are. My mother always told me that what someone says about you is more about them, and yet it still hurts. I don’t even know these women.
“And such a slut. Three men, what is that all about?”
“I heard her daddy sold her to them—a bad business deal gone wrong or something.”
“I wouldn’t mind being sold to them.”
They both laugh.
“Princess or not, she’s just like the rest of us.”
“Worse,” the other one agrees, and they both leave.
