Page 56 of Resisting the Temptation
Mateo follows where my line of sight was, whistling as he sees who caught my eye. “The blonde babe got your attention? I thought you only liked brunettes, but I guess people change. You should go ask for her number. Maybe she’ll be able to fuck the grump out of you.”
“That’s Emma,” I mumble.
“What?” He holds a hand up to his ear.
“That’s Emma,” I hiss, a bit louder.
Mateo’s eyes widen in surprise, his mouth popping open into an “o.” Then, his grin turns conniving. “Well, well, well. Since that’s my potential future wife, I should go say hello.”
He goes to stand up, but I clamp his arm to keep him in place. “Don’t.”
“Why not? It’s the polite thing to do.”
“Leave her alone. She’s had a rough week. You’ll meet her tomorrow.”
“But we’re both hereright now.It’s as if fate tossed her into my lap.” His eyebrows pump suggestively.
Unbidden, an image of Emma sitting in Mateo’s lap, snuggling into him and nuzzling against him crosses my mind. His hand in her hair, resting on her hip. Her hand cradling his jaw as she gazes at him adoringly.
My grip on him tightens.
Mateo glances down at where my hand is strangling his arm, then up at me, before his face splits into a wide, knowing grin. “It truly is fate because here she comes,” he whispers, and Emma appears on his other side seconds later.
Kit comes towards us but stops in front of Emma as she places her order.
While Kit is making her drinks, Mateo clears his throat.
Emma turns toward Mateo and gives him a brief, kind smile before facing forward again.
Good. Show him you’re not available.
Undeterred, Mateo starts talking to her. “Emma? I’m Mateo. Enzo Rossi’s son.”
Emma’s head whips towards my brother, her eyes wide with shock, then she registers I’m sitting next to him, and her eyes dart between the two of us as she taps her nails rapidly on the bar top.
“Hi, uh, we’re supposed to meet tomorrow at lunch, I think. Hi, Ben,” she adds the last part almost as an afterthought, and I don’t like it. I don’t want to be anafterthought.
“Emma.” I take a sip of my drink.
“Well, the fates have aligned so we can meet without an audience. Well, other than my brother. And I must say, I’m grateful for that.Mamàwas right, you arestunning.”
Emma blushes. I can’t even appreciate it because she’s not blushing for me, she’s blushing for my Casanova of a brother.
I didn’t know fratricide was on the agenda tonight.
“Thank you,” Emma replies with a tight-lipped smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Her body language is screaming uninterested, which Mateo either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.
Kit brings a tray of drinks to Emma, but before she can pay for them, Mateo is telling Kit to add it to his tab. Emma protests, but Mateo insists, so she concedes with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. She thanks Mateo again before taking the tray to her table, waving goodbye to us with promises of seeing us tomorrow. Mateo and I both watch her the entire time she walks away.
“Damn,” Mateo curses as he turns his back on them. “I thought for sure she’d invite me to her table or continue our conversation. Hopefully tomorrow will go better.”
I chug the rest of my soda water, relishing the way the bubbles burn on the way down.
“I don’t think she’s interested, Teo.”
He waves his hand in front of him dismissively. “She was just caught off guard. I can charm her tomorrow when she’s not with her friends.”
