Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,32

burst into laughter, more freely than I normally would. It seemed the effects of the tequila were settling in. “I would say naive.”

“Well, you’re right about him. I wouldn’t say Leo is a monster...But he is full of himself and is a little too obsessed with the approval from Don German and Donna Angela.”

I swallowed tightly, knowing he’d have a hard time convincing me that Leo was anything more than a heartless beast. But now I had to live with knowing how I gave into him and let him take me in the woods. It was a little hard to harp on his flaws too much, since they now reflected on me and how low I would reduce myself. Instead, I put on a grin and perched my elbows on the table. I interlaced my fingers and rested my chin against them, staring intently at Jorge - only being a little suggestive in my expression.

“So...what about you? How are you different from your cousins?”

“More authentic, I’d say,” he replied with a charming grin. “That’s why I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. I couldn’t risk you falling for Dario’s good manners. I know he came to see you the other day.”

“And what’s so wrong with that? He only came to offer the apology that you and Leo should have been more willing to give.”

“He’s only trying to win you over so you’ll stop building the fence. He doesn’t care either way, but it puts Leo on edge and anything that puts Leo on edge...puts all of us in a bad mood. Dario doesn’t have much of a stomach for uneasiness in the house.”

“I take it Leo hasn’t been in the greatest mood the past couple of days?” I presumed, letting my curiosity get the better of me. It tickled me to think he had been out of sorts ever since the regrettable incident between us.

“You seem awfully pleased about such a notion.”

“Not pleased,” I shrugged. “I don’t care if he approves of the fence or not. I have every right to build it if I want to.”

“I, for one, am sick of hearing about that stupid fence. The only thing that’s bothersome about it is all the noise while it’s being built. Soon, it will be finished and we’ll probably forget it’s even there. Leo may fly into a rage any time he’s challenged on something, but I prefer to save my energies for things more worthy of my time.” He snaked his hand across the table and brushed his fingers against my arm. “Like wooing a beautiful woman.”

“None of you seem to be too interested in wooing me when I was Don German’s caregiver,” I reminded him, taking care to keep a coy, softness to my voice. The thought of it still sparked anger in my heart, but fighting with Jorge would do nothing to further my plans of revenge.

“We were fools,” he laughed, eyeing me up and down.

Jorge was handsome, just as Leo and Dario were. But his eyes were more narrow and dark with faint circles under them. His skin had a pale, olive tone to it and his hair was thick and always a little disheveled. It all added up to a very charming, rugged handsomeness.

But as his eyes locked in on mine from across the table, something hit me in my gut. I suddenly felt a little sick like I was looking into the eyes of a snake. I had a sudden urge not to trust him, but I was determined to make the evening useful in some way. I had conquered Leo, at least that’s what I was calling it for now. I would do the same with Dario soon. If I could play along with Jorge, I would have successfully tainted all of their reputations, and I’d have quite a bit to use as leverage against them.

I took in a deep, determined breath and threw back more tequila. Whatever darkness I sensed in Jorge couldn’t stop me from what I was set out to do. We continued throwing back drinks late into the night until finally, he suggested taking me home.

“It’s probably for the best,” I admitted in my drunken laughter. “But tonight has been great fun. We’ll have to do it again soon.”

He moved in closer and seemed very serious all of a sudden. I was almost too drunk to realize he was trying to set up a perfect moment for a kiss. I was willing to go along with it,