Alina
“WILL YOU STOP fidgeting? You’re driving me nuts.” Daria smacked my leg, and for a time, I stopped bouncing it up and down. But eventually, the jitters took hold again. “What is up with you?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like I don’t know him. I mean, hell, I’ve seen him naked for Christ’s sake.”
“Licked and sucked his—”
I held up my hand. “All right! I should’ve never given you details.” I smirked when she feigned being hurt.
“That man is hot as hell. I would’ve pestered you until you gave it up anyway,” she laughed, taking a sip of her martini. “And if his brother looks anything like him, maybe I’ll be giving you some deets of my own.”
“I have no doubt.” I raised my hand to signal to the bartender, all the while silently telling myself to go easy on the drinks.
Daria and I arrived early at Sail, an up-and-coming restaurant in Upper East side, so we could have a drink together before the men showed up. But sitting there in wait proved to be ill thought-out, my nerves getting the best of me and becoming worse the longer it took Max and his brother to show up. For some reason, I was a wreck, the anticipation of meeting someone from Max’s family overwhelming. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t sociable, but meeting the brother was sort of a big deal. At least, that was how I treated the upcoming encounter. What if he didn’t like me? What if he thought I was boring? Would he push his opinion onto Max? Would Max then question his feelings toward me?
“They’re here,” Daria announced, swiveling in her seat to face the front door. Quite the crowd had started to build, most of them patiently waiting for their names to be called, so it wasn’t until a few of the patrons moved that I caught a glimpse of the man I’d been waiting on, and who I assumed to be his brother. As the men walked toward us, Max yet to see me, I couldn’t help but stare at the two of them, the resemblance between them undeniable.
Hal was an inch or so shorter than Max and had light brown hair, but other than those two attributes, anyone could tell they were brothers. And close in age. The nearer they approached, the more I could see the similarities in their features, the same smile being one of the biggest. Max must’ve said something amusing to his brother because they both erupted in laughter as they pushed through the crowd of people.
“Holy shit!” Daria exclaimed. “Is that his brother?”
“Can’t you tell?”
“Damn, woman. If he’s single, you’ll be getting the dirty lowdown from me tomorrow.” She shifted in her seat, uncrossing then crossing her legs once more. Straightening up, she flicked her blonde hair behind her shoulder and made sure to flash the approaching men a huge smile, one that quickly turned flirty as Hal stepped next to her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Max greeted, leaning down to give me a kiss. His lips lingered and for a moment I forgot all about my nerves.
“Hi.” When he winked at me, I almost launched myself into his arms, completely forgetting all about propriety. The man was walking sex on a stick, and I knew every other woman in the place sensed it as well. Thankfully, my friend was completely into his brother.
“Alina, this is my brother Hal. Hal, this is Alina.”
Hal leaned over his brother to shake my hand, gifting me a familiar smile. Up close, I could see the only difference in their grins was Hal didn’t have a dimple, a trait solely for his older brother. “I was told to ask you about your closet full of surprises.” He laughed, which only made me whip my head toward Max.
“Don’t get all riled up. I didn’t tell him anything.” Max rested his arm on the back of my chair, his fingertip grazing over the side of my neck.
“There’s nothing to know,” I countered, slapping his leg. “Is your brother always so . . .” I suddenly failed to find the right word.
“Annoying? A know-it-all? Cocky?”
“All right,” Max interrupted, shaking his head at his brother before turning his attention toward my friend. “Daria. It’s nice to see you again.”
“You too,” she responded, flicking her attention right back to Hal. Before either Max or I could introduce the two of them, she extended her hand. “I’m Daria.”
“Hal.” The two of them locked eyes, and I knew they shared an attraction. He draped his arm over the back of her seat, mirroring Max’s pose. “How long have you ladies been here?” Hal looked from Daria to me and back again.
“Not long,” she responded, twirling a piece of her hair, which was her telltale sign she was interested, as if I, or anyone else looking at her, didn’t already know. “Maybe a half hour.”
“And how many of those have you had?” Max gestured toward my replenished glass of red.
“At least it’s not scotch,” I teased, wiggling my brow before taking a sip. I laughed a little too hard at my own joke, garnering a puzzled look from Hal. I’d never been great at holding my liquor, always the lightweight, so I could already feel the effects of the fermented grapes.
“Maybe you should switch. You seem to have no filter when you drink the stuff.” Scotch had been what I’d ordered the first night I met Max. It was the reason he started speaking to me, putting in his two cents where it hadn’t belonged. Although I’d found him rather irritating then, I couldn’t deny something had instantly sparked between us.
“Then I’m definitely sticking to wine.”
“You’re no fun,” he bantered, leaning down to kiss my temple, his lips lingering close to my ear. “Don’t drink too much, though. I have plans for you later, and I don’t want you passing out on me.”
Instant heat raced through me, his sex-laced voice conjuring up all sorts of images, all of which I wanted to partake in right then. But since we couldn’t skip out on dinner, I made a conscious decision not to drink too much.
“I’m starving,” Daria complained, placing her empty glass on the bar, only to wave off the bartender when he asked if she wanted a refill. It seemed as if she wanted to keep her wits about her as well, no doubt the handsome man to her right being the sole reason.
“Did they say how long before they can seat us?” Hal asked, taking a long pull from his bottle of beer.
“We were told an hour and a half when we arrived,” Daria answered, smiling up at Hal before coyly fiddling with her hair again.
“Then we better order another drink,” Hal suggested, tapping the wooden surface to get the bartender’s attention.
“I guess I could have another. It’s not like any of us are driving, right?” My friend giggled, and the sound was unexpected.
“Maybe you shouldn’t.” I tapped her arm, the corner of my mouth quirking up. I wanted her to be in the right frame of mind whenever the time came for her to decide whether or not she’d be leaving with Hal. I didn’t know the guy; therefore, I didn’t trust him, even if he was Max’s younger brother. I’d always look out for my friend, as I knew she would do for me. Even if her version of looking out for me was actually her pushing me toward Max, as was what had happened the last time we ran into Max at a bar.
“I’m fine,” she responded, turning to give her order before engaging back into conversation with Hal.
“How was work?” Max asked, looking at my lips a little too long before slowly perusing my body. His heated stare had me doing a bit of my own admiration, completely forgetting he’d even asked me a question.
“What?”
“I asked you how work was.” His smile disarmed me.
“Oh . . . it was fine.” I swiveled in my seat, my leg brushing against his. “You’re quite unnerving, Mr. Colter,” I teased, although I was completely truthful.
“Is that so?” Max placed his hand on my knee and squeezed. “Wait until we get home.”
Home. What an odd yet wonderful sentiment. We didn’t live together, yet I couldn’t help picturing that very same thing.
I opened my mouth to respond but was distracted when someone close by called out my name. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it, not until I peered around Max and saw the culprit who was standing twenty feet away.
Cambrian Halloway.
Gorgeous.
Famous.
Former client of the firm.
Eternal flirt.
Hell of a nice guy at heart.
“I thought that was you.” Cambrian sauntered over to our group and flashed everyone his movie star smile. A lot of A-listers were fake, repeatedly putting on a front for the public, but Cambrian wasn’t like the others. He was a genuinely good guy, always concerned about the well-being of others. So much so, he’d started a charity to help the underprivileged youth in his hometown of Los Angeles.
As he approached, I hopped off my seat to give him a cordial hug, accepting his kiss on the cheek in greeting. From the corner of my eye, I saw Max tense, but when I reached back to place my hand on his arm, he relaxed some, still wary of the man no doubt.
“How are you?” I smiled, remembering the last time I saw him, which was only a few months prior when he’d come in to meet with my father about some questions he had pertaining to the setup of his charity.
“Great. The premiere for my latest movie was a few nights ago. I think it went well,” he surmised, glancing at each person in our group.
A tight smile was plastered across Max’s face as he intently watched Cambrian, like a predator planning its strategy. Hal seemed intrigued by our new guest and Daria’s surprised expression was rather comical. While Cambrian was famous, he didn’t affect me like he did everyone else. The man was gorgeous, true, but the specimen who really revved my engine was standing next to me.
“I’m sure it’ll be another box office hit,” I replied, conscious of the fact our encounter was still only between the two of us.
“Which I’m sure you won’t see.”
“You know it’s not because of you,” I joked. “I just don’t have much time to watch movies.”
“How do you two know each other again?” Max interjected, taking a step forward. He and Cambrian were the same height, the movie star having a slightly smaller build. I reached forward and interlocked my fingers with Max’s, and when I tried to subtly pull him back toward me, I failed.
“Her father helped me out with a few legal things. Alina and I would chat while waiting for him to actually show up for our meetings.” Cambrian turned his attention from Max to me. “He was always late,” he chuckled.
“That’s his strategy. Keep the famous ones on the hook. Makes him appear more important, I suppose.” I was being completely honest, although I believed he thought I was joking.
There was an awkward pause as I gathered my wits. “I’m so rude,” I acknowledged. “Cambrian, this is Max, my—”
Max cut me off in order to assert himself. “Boyfriend,” he finished. At least he had the courtesy to extend his hand.
Trying to ignore Max’s show of dominance, I turned toward the other people in our party. “And this is my friend Daria, and Max’s brother, Hal.”
Surprisingly, after the official greetings had ended, Max invited Cambrian to join us.
“Thanks for the offer but I’m waiting for someone.” A small crowd started to form, but he barely noticed. “So what do you think of this place?” He looked to each of us for a response, and it was Daria who answered.
“It’s nice. Although if we don’t get seated soon, I’m going to have to gnaw on my arm.”
“Well, let me see if I can do something about that,” he offered, signaling toward one of the waitresses. She approached but acted as if seeing him wasn’t a big deal, when in fact I knew it was. Or at least I thought it was.
“We’re okay,” Max said. “We can wait.”
“Nonsense. What good is being part owner if I can’t help out a friend?” It then dawned on me why the waitress hadn’t been too affected by seeing Cambrian. She probably saw him quite often.
“You’re part owner?” I blurted, as if it was unheard of for celebrities to have their hands in the restaurant business.
“Yeah. So far so good.” Cambrian turned his head, searching the crowd of people. “Aww, here comes my date.”
All of us followed his gaze, and we collectively gasped. Max out of annoyance. Me out of slight disbelief, and Hal and Daria because being star struck apparently was the theme that evening.
I tried to swallow my jealousy as Amber Sotter sashayed her way toward us, her long dark hair flowing down past her ample cleavage, her legs appearing even longer in her tight mini skirt. Everyone’s eyes followed her because she was, well . . . Amber Sotter. But mine watched her every movement because I didn’t trust her, and my instincts were confirmed when her eyes suddenly zeroed in on Max.