looks like it was applied by a professional makeup artist.
She’s got on long dangly diamond earrings and her dress dips down low, showing off the cleavage of her large breasts. Shit.
“This is Isabel. Izzy, you saw Jordan in the hall. That’s his wife, Laila.” I ignore the introduction and turn when his father calls my name in greeting as he stands up. “I’m John, and this is my wife, Nia. We’re so pleased you could join us.”
I hold my hand out to him. “Nice to meet you, John.” I greet him and then step around to shake his wife’s hand as well. She smiles, but it’s clear it’s not genuine. “Thank you for having me, Nia.” And then because I’m a catty bitch, I lean over the table. “I’m sorry, Lilly was it?” I tilt my head, and Damien snickers behind me.
“It’s Laila,” Jordan grits.
“I’m so sorry, Jordan.” I feign embarrassment and then look back at Laila and twirl a hand in the air. “I’m just terrible with names, and since Damien’s never mentioned you before, you… I mean your name is just so easily forgettable it slipped my mind already.”
She pulls her head back in shock, clearly picking up what I’m putting down, and Damien grabs me by the waist and pulls me into his chest. “Settle down, killer.”
Forget that. I don’t want to settle down. Damien’s going to have to worry about holding me back tonight. I never was a woman who got jealous with a boyfriend before, but something about the fact he didn’t tell me that they were married, and he was planning on spending the rest of his life with her makes me want to claw her admittedly beautiful eyes out of her face. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I won’t let anybody tarnish that.
I hold my shoulders back and sit down next to his father, who has pulled the chair out. “Thank you, John.”
Dinner is served immediately, and for the most part, everything is fine. At least I think it is. The banter between Damien and his grandmother and parents seems good. If he wouldn’t have told me that his relationship with his parents was strained, I’d have no idea. They really are good at faking it. Damien doesn’t talk to Jordan or spare his ex a second glance, but I do, and I catch her staring at the man she let get away, and she knows she’s caught. She regrets it. I can tell by the pathetic look in her eye. Pure anguish. Yeah, she’s a moron. Anyone who would let a man like Damien slip through their fingers after they were already sunk into him is certifiably insane.
I lean into my man, and without words, he tosses his arm around the back of the chair, pulling me closer to him, and I raise a brow at her. Take that, bitch. She clears her throat and then excuses herself, tossing her napkin on the floor and then hurrying away. I smile triumphantly, and his brother catches the entire thing.
“Isabel, what do you think of my brother’s job?” Jordan asks condescendingly.
It’s such an odd question, I ask him to repeat himself because surely, he can’t think he’s going to start anything.
“Do you like dating a bodyguard?”
“I like Damien,” I say flatly.
He nods. “Interesting. What do you do for a living?”
“I work at a veterinary clinic.”
“Oh, did you get a degree to become an animal nurse or something? Surely, you can’t be a DVM?”
I ignore the part about him implying I couldn’t be a veterinarian because it’s not worth my time to give attention to his insults. “They’re called technicians, and no, I didn’t because I didn’t go to college. I’m a receptionist.” Not everyone has desires to become a supervisor or a millionaire. I don’t need nor want a bunch of money sitting in a bank. I’m perfectly happy with a job I love and a steady income. More than that, I want a good man to love who loves me back just as much, and money doesn’t matter when it comes to what the heart wants.
Damien’s grip tightens on my arm, and I rest my hand on his thigh and give him a reassuring squeeze.
Jordan takes a swallow of his wine and twirls the remaining rose-colored liquid around the bottom of the tumbler. He lifts his glass toward Damien. “Guess it makes sense that you’d end up with someone as uneducated as you.”
His grandmother gasps and prays Jesus’s