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He grabbed my wrist, not rough but with a little pressure.

“Let me talk to you for a second.”

I let out a small breath. “About what?”

A hint of a smile pulled at his mouth. “You always this abrasive?”

“Yes.”

He chuckled and let me go.

“So what do you do when you’re not being rude at day parties?”

“I manage the bottle girls at Luxe,” I said, surprising myself by telling him the truth.

He nodded. “You like it?”

“It pays.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I met his eyes again and could tell he actually cared about my response.

“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s not my whole life.”

“What is?”

Now we were getting a little too personal. “Why you so interested?”

“You seem like an interesting person.”

I laughed. “You gotta do better than that, playboy.”

“Let me get your number and I can show you better.”

I smiled. “No. I don’t think so.”

His eyes widened slightly, not wounded. Maybe a little surprised.

“Alright, Belle.” The way he said my name…like he knew he’d be seeing me again, made me frown slightly as he turned to walk away.

I headed back to Siani who was in the same spot I left her.

“Finally, I’m parched,” she said, taking the water from me.

We walked back to the section and talked until the sun dipped below the skyline and the string lights came on overhead. Siani disappeared with Tariq one more time and I sat alone, watching the crowd slowly start to dissipate. My phone vibrated—it was a text from Gideon saying he’d made a reservation for dinner at Catch on Thursday. I left him on read.

Siani’s fast ass came back, flushed and grinning, lipstick gone.

“Oh. Before I forget.” She held out a black card between two fingers. “Riq’s cousin said to give this to you.”

I pursed my lips. “When did that happen?”

“When I was…” she trailed off and shook her head. “He saw me and Riq and said ‘if your friend changes her mind,’ all mysterious and shit.”

I took it. It was heavy stock with: CARDEZ MONTAGUE embossed in gold lettering, with just his phone number on the back.

“You gonna call him?”