“I’ll take a cup,” he said.
“Serve yourself.”
His lips curved wryly as he joined me. “Is she coming out?”
I shrugged.
“She’s not mad, is she?”
“I doubt it.” I took both mugs to the coffee table, then went to the wall where the controls for the drapes were. “It takes some work to piss her off.”
“You’re good at it.” He smiled and settled into one of the armchairs. “I recall that viral video of you two scrapping in Bryant Park.”
I shot him a look as sunlight began pouring into the room. “You must really hate your job.”
“Tell me you wouldn’t be curious if I eloped with a chick I knew only a couple of months.”
“I’d send her my condolences.”
He laughed.
The bedroom door opened and Eva stepped out dressed in her clothes from the night before. Her face was freshly washed, but the dark circles under her eyes and her swollen mouth made her look both well f**ked and extremely f**kable. With her bare feet and barely tamed hair, she was stunning.
Pride swelled my chest. Uncovered by the lack of makeup, the dusting of freckles on her nose made her adorable. Her body told you she was a dream to f**k, the confidence in her posture told you she’d take no shit from anyone, and the mischievous amusement in her eyes told you there would never be a dull moment.
She was every promise, every hope, every fantasy a man could have. And she was mine.
I stared. Arash stared, too.
Eva shifted her stance and smiled shyly. “Hi.”
The sound of her voice snapped him out of it. He pushed to his feet so quickly he spilled his coffee. “Shit. Sorry. Hi.”
He set his mug down and brushed the stray droplets off his pants. He went to her and held out his hand. “I’m Arash.”
She shook it. “Nice to meet you, Arash. I’m Eva.”
I joined them, pushing Arash back with my forearm. “Stop drooling.”
He glanced at me. “Funny, Cross, you ass.”
Eva laughed and leaned into me when I slid my arm around her shoulders.
“It’s good to see he works with people who aren’t afraid of him,” she said.
Arash winked, blatantly flirting. “I know how he operates.”
“Really? I’d love to hear all about it.”
“I think not,” I drawled.
“Don’t be a spoilsport, ace.”
“Yeah, ace,” Arash taunted. “What have you got to hide?”
I smiled. “Your corpse.”
He looked at my wife and sighed. “See what I have to deal with?”