Page 44 of Forget Me

13

MATEO

I pulledopen the door to the wine bar and scanned the place for the gala planning committee. Mimi’s back was to me, but I’d have known her dark curls anywhere. Seeing them made my heart hammer against my ribs. Why was I putting myself through this? Why had I let Larissa pull me into a situation where I had to see Mimi three times a week, when every disapproving stare was like a knife in my chest?

Larissa waved at me, and I trudged toward their table.

I did it because Mimi wanted this job at the foundation more than anything. Because she wanted to spend all her time, not just her after-work hours, helping kids.

And because I’d do anything for her.

If my friends back on the island could see me now, following a woman around like a puppy, they’d laugh at me.The sailfish has been hooked at last,they’d hoot. Hell, I’d have laughed a year ago if you’d told me I’d be standing in a chichi wine bar planning a party I didn’t give a shit about and could never afford to attend, all for a woman.

But my heart didn’t care.

“Mateo!” Larissa stood and pecked my cheek. Well, it should have been a peck, but her lips lingered a second too long, long enough for her hand to drift from my shoulder to my chest. She squeezed my pec.

I gripped her hand and pulled it off my body, gently returning it to her side. “Hello, Larissa. Natalie. Mimi.”

“You’re late,” Larissa said, a slight pout to her pink lips. “We chose the flowers without you.”

“You brilliant ladies don’t need me to choose flowers.” They didn’t need me for anything, but I’d go along if Larissa, who held Mimi’s job in her hands, thought they did. I glanced down at her, but Mimi had her eyes on the spreadsheet lighting up her laptop screen. “And no flowers are as lovely as the three of you.”

Larissa batted her eyelashes. “Too bad I have to go now. I have an appointment at the salon.” She shook out her mane of straight blond hair, an obvious plea for another compliment.

I obliged her. “You’re perfect. No salon could make you more beautiful.”

She smiled, satisfied, and laid her hand on my arm. “You’re so sweet. Thank you.”

I peeled her hand off my biceps and turned it into a handshake. “Good night, Larissa.”

“Bye, girls. See you Monday.” With a toss of her hair, she was gone.

“Didn’t she say she was engaged?” Natalie stared at my arm where Larissa had squeezed it.

Mimi glared at her spreadsheet. “Mm-hmm. We met her fiancé.”

Was she jealous? She didn’t even like me. Or did she?

Jealousy over a fake date could be my foot in the door. I rested my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be jealous, baby. You know my heart beats only for you.”

She stared at my hand like she wanted to shake it off. With Larissa gone, would she drop our pretense? I hoped not. I wasn’t ready to stop touching her.

“The night is young, ladies. Should we have another drink?” I tugged Larissa’s chair closer to Mimi and eased into it. I let my hand trail from her shoulder to her back until it rested on the sexy curve of her waist.

When she let it stay, my heart skipped in my chest.

“I have a better idea.” Natalie leaned forward on her elbows. “Dancing.”

Mimi stiffened under my hand. “Dancing? I don’t dance.”

“But we have to learn. For the gala. Bachata.” Natalie waggled her shoulders. “I watched a video online, but it’s not the same as having a teacher.”

As much as I wanted to, I didn’t dare squeeze her waist. But I’d be free, even expected, to put my hands on her when we danced. “What do you say, Mimi? Should we get in some practice tonight?”

She frowned. “You can’t dance with both of us. Why don’t you and Natalie—”

“My brother Andrew’s picking me up,” Natalie bounced in her chair. “I’ll ask him to come with us. Dancing with us is better than moping around in his condo.”

---