Page 30 of Lovely Venom

“Don’t worry about them,” she says.

Cristian pauses to glance over at the two of us whispering, his jaw hardening slightly as his gaze drifts over my outfit for the second time tonight. Abella found me a backless gold diamante mini dress she swore would be perfect. I thought so too, but now I’m questioning everything—like the fact that it’s held up by a single halter strap and the plunging neckline doesn’t allow for a bra.

“Mr. Vitale.” A beautiful blonde in one of those red dresses approaches us, her gaze sweeping over Cristian’s body. “It’s my pleasure to serve you tonight.”

Val shoots us a look as we all clock the double-entendre. This woman definitely wants to serve Cristian in more ways than one.

“Thank you, Sienna. But you’ll be attending to my guests this evening.”

“Oh. Of course, sir.” She nods, but her expression falls flat.

Cristian leads us toward the owner’s alcove, an elevated space that offers some privacy and a view of the crowd. It’s surrounded by gauzy green drapes and more foliage, blending seamlessly into the background.

As we reach the short set of stairs, a man removes the velvet rope to allow us through. Cristian guides me in front of him, his hand brushing the bare skin of my lower back.

It sends a shiver down my spine, and I’m almost certain he felt it, but I pretend it never happened.

At the top of the landing, the girls and I find our seats on the curved velvet lounge while the guards take up their posts beyond the curtains.

“Get them anything they’d like,” Cristian directs Sienna.

“Of course, Mr. Vitale. Is there anything I can get you?” She stands there, so hopeful he’ll say yes, but he doesn’t.

He shakes his head and glances at Angelo, who’s leaning down to murmur something in Abella’s ear. Judging by the way she’s blushing, it’s safe to assume it’s something about him railing her in that red dress later on. I swear if she weren’t already pregnant, the look he gives her would fix that.

“We’ll be back when we’re done with our meeting.” Angelo presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“Take your time.” Abella leans back with a sigh. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Before they go, Cristian meets my gaze one last time, and it almost looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.

It leaves me with a lingering sense of uncertainty as I watch him walk away. But Sienna solves that problem when she steps forward, intentionally blocking my view.

When I look up at her, every trace of warmth has disappeared from her face.

“Drinks?” She forces a smile as her gaze moves to Abella.

“I’ll have a Sprite,” Abella tells her.

She takes orders from Val and Lucia before she offers me a cold stare. “And you?”

“I’ll have champagne, and you can just bring the bottle. We’ll open it.”

Abella snorts as Sienna walks off. “Don’t trust her with a cocktail?”

“Hell, no. What is with all these women giving me the evil eye tonight?”

“You walked in beside Cristian,” she muses. “I doubt he’s ever come here with any other women at his side, so you’ve probably just shattered all their dreams. It’s the curse of keeping company with hot men.”

“Does it ever bother you?” Lucia asks. “Having women ogle your husband like that?”

“It used to,” Abella admits. “When we first married, and our relationship was tense to say the least. But I don’t worry about it anymore. I trust Angelo, and he always makes it very clear where he stands if anyone steps out of bounds.”

“You got one of the good ones,” I murmur.

“There are more out there,” she assures me.

I nod, but truthfully, I can’t even let myself imagine it.