Page 51 of Love or Leave

It was probably wishful thinking on his part, but she seemed into him. In fact, with the way she'd been looking at him all day,he was convinced her mind was so deep in the gutter she'd need a shot of penicillin.

Just then, Cara smiled at him before dropping her gaze to his mouth and licking her lips.

Fucking hell.

His body responded instinctively. His heart pounded as a flush of warmth radiated from his stomach. He wanted to touch her. Wanted to kiss her lips. Wanted to drop his face into her cleavage while she straddled his lap.

But more than that—arguablyworsethan that—he also wanted to justbe withher. Alone, hanging out, talking, laughing, playing games.

He shook his head.

He had to stop this!

He screamed it in his head, but the message didn't seem to absorb.

He'd swore up and down that he would keep his distance that weekend, or at the very least not spend any time alone with her. But the second she'd stepped into the back of the limo that morning, with her beautiful pale pink skin that had been licked by the cold, he knew he was in trouble.

He'd wanted her sitting next to him, her head on his shoulder, her hand in his.

He'd tried to stop himself from thinking about her. He really did. But then she'd smiled at him and sent that Scrabble invitation and he was toast.

He shouldn't have accepted the invitation.

He shouldn't have played the word sex.

And he definitely shouldn't have felt relief when she'd said things weren't great with Jalen.

He blinked hard at the menu, forcing his attention on the first line—though he’d already read it thirty times—instead ofon Max’s hulking presence beside him or Cara’s stunning eyes smirking at him from across the dimly lit table.

"This place is so cool," Cara said.

Antionio looked up at the sound of her voice as if being summoned, and before he could stop himself, his eyes connected with hers. Her eyes sparkled brighter than the jeweled earrings that framed her face. He broke eye contact and glanced around the room with a casual nod, hoping it wasn't obvious how much was going on in his mind.

"Yeah, I didn't expect all this from the outside," Chelsea said.

In fact, none of them had.

Natalie had heard of a secret steak house in an old, renovated factory that was incredibly exclusive, and booked reservations. When they'd arrived and saw a butcher shop, they'd thought they'd been scammed, until a host in white gloves opened a nondescript black door and invited them in. The opulence hidden inside shocked them.

The restaurant was small and intimate, decorated in black and gold. The host led them into a private cellar room with chandeliers and sconces on the walls. Antonio had loved it—until Cara sat across from him and he realized all that lighting was illuminatingher.

She was wearing a deep burgundy dress that brought out the natural flush in her cheeks, and she'd painted her full lips the same red as the first night they'd met. All of that was bad enough the first time he'd seen it. But this time she glowed from the inside out, like a fucking beacon.

Resistance was futile for a brainless bug like him.

"You okay?"

He twisted his head toward Max, who was staring at him with a puzzled expression.

Shit.

Had Max just caught him ogling his beloved sister?

"Yeah." Antonio’s voice was garbled and thick with fear that he had just spoken his last words.

When Max didn't immediately stand and break his neck, Antonio cleared his throat. "Why?"

"I just said you're being even more quiet than usual, but you didn't hear me."

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