throat and realized I’d stopped in the middle of talking to Tariq and Dani to glare at Rocco and his new friend.
“Soooooo, I see you spotted him.”
I turned to see Salome and José standing by our table, drinks in hand. José, who was my favorite, handed me a glass of prosecco, and put his arms out for a hug hello. One of his eyebrows was perched high on his forehead and his eyes were zeroed in on the offending parties, who bypassed us and waved in the direction of the bar instead of coming to say hello. This was a beer and wine event. It wasn’t a personal affront to me. Rationally I knew that. It did not keep me from wanting to push tall-and-skinny off him and put my arm around his waist.
I forced myself to chill the hell out and gave José a tight squeeze. “I missed you, friend. How was New Mexico?”
“It was good. How’s you?”
I twisted my mouth to the side in answer and turned to give a kiss to Salome.
“Querida. I love this dapper fall lewk,” I said, admiring her emerald-green corduroy jacket and her gray shirt and slacks. “I’m loving it.”
See, I could be normal. Chat with friends and focus on things that were not Rocco.
José nodded appreciatively. “She got that jacket at the sample sale you wouldn’t come with us to.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t do sample sales for that designer because they have nothing bigger than a size twelve and I’d rather spend my time where they can cater to my body.”
José dipped his head in agreement. “Point taken. If they’re not smart enough to make clothes that you can show off with that luscious ass and gorgeous tits, then that’s their problem. Right, Rocco?”
What the fuck?
José winked at me like I was in on his joke as I made a full about-face to find Rocco Fucking Quinn standing behind me. He’d somehow gotten even more handsome over the past few days.
And yes, “she” was still there. I guess they decided to come and say hello before getting that drink after all. Swell.
I just stood there like a robot as he nodded, apparently in agreement with José. “Any designer who’d overlook a body like Julia’s is a fool.” He said it looking straight at me. The heat as he ran his eyes over me was so intense, it could’ve left a trail of blisters on my skin.
I didn’t answer, but I leaned up to him and kissed his cheek. He returned the kiss and placed a hand on the small of my back, just for a moment, pressing his fingers in. When I pulled back, he was smiling, relief etched all over his face.
“It’s good to see you, Rocco.” I could be cordial, friendly. Nobody needed to get their wig snatched up in here. “How’s Ms. Pulga?”
His smile widened and he lifted his hand to show me a few scratches. “She’s giving me hell, but at least she stopped shredding my door.”
I laughed as he turned to the woman who had been watching our conversation with very curious eyes.
“Caroline, this is Julia Ortiz. The official founder of the Gotham Exiles Club.”
Caroline’s smile did not reach her eyes and her body language was giving off a vibe that let me know she was definitely competition.
“Nice to meet you, Julia.” She was sneering more than smiling, but I rolled with it. I extended my hand and gave her a real smile.
“Good to meet you. Are you here with friends too?” Okay, that sounded a little bit more pugnacious than I intended, but this girl was getting on my damn nerves.
Rocco must’ve detected the menacing vibe coming off me, and intercepted before Caroline could set me all the way off. “We just ran into each other coming in. Caroline and I go to the same gym; we met at the twins’ party on Friday.”
He gave those last two words a meaningful emphasis, but Caroline was oblivious. “Isn’t that a funny coincidence? I mean, what are the chances of us both being here on a weeknight?”
I honestly had nothing, and after a few moments of awkward-as-hell silence, Rocco finally put us all out of our misery.
“Anyone need anything?”
Caroline jumped on that shit like she hadn’t drank anything for days.
“Me, please. I’ll go with you.” She immediately hooked her arm in the crook of his elbow and smiled up at him, and that’s when it happened.