Page 52 of Kiss Me at Midnight
Paulo pounced, practically swallowing her appetizer in one bite.
“Lily.” Jud leaned in closer, but didn’t lower his voice. “I would have eaten yours.”
“Why are you feeding my fiancé?” Rachel frowned.
The porter set down a serving tray nearby and began to clear dishes.
“Lily pays your fiancé too much attention,” Jud griped. His tone was sharp enough to cut Lily’s feelings into bite-sized chunks, leaving small bits of fight and confidence for Lily to scrape off the floor.
Lily drank a generous amount of white wine while leaning against Paulo’s shoulder. “I’m the only one here who speaks Paulo’s native language. Of course, I’m going to go out of my way to make him feel at ease.”
“That’s Rachel’s job.” Jud was still in Lily’s space, still radiating annoyance.
But Rachel was coming in a close second in the upset department. “Leave my man alone…friend.”
Lily growled. She’d never growled before.
The porter’s grip on a small plate slipped. It clattered into another one.
Lily jumped.
Jud laid a hand on her thigh.
Safe and mundane.
Lily angrily brushed him off.
The porter began serving them chestnut fennel soup in those little fancy shot glasses the chef preferred.
“What is going on?” Paulo asked in Portuguese. “Why are you and Jud fighting?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she answered back in Spanish.I’m just a girl who was made a fool of.
“I am worried.” Paulo laid a hand on Lily’s shoulder.
Bingo!
Lily’s gaze flew to Rachel’s face.
“Paulo,” Rachel said in a voice that would command a puppy to obey. And then her dagger-filled gaze landed on Lily. “I see it now. You always sit next to what’s mine. Whispering. Touching. Making passes.” Rachel played right into Jud and Lily’s hands, even though she knew they were here to stop her wedding.
Lily’s stomach roiled with anger and mortification. She wished her part in this drama was over. She wanted to go home and mope in her bed for a week. But she also wanted to give everyone at the table a piece of her mind.
Grrr!She growled again.
Jud gave her a questioning stare.
“I was only making Paulo feel included.” Lily took her wine and got out of her seat, coming around to relocate in the chair next to Rachel and across from Paulo, which would have been perfect if Jud had been as out of her line of sight as he was out of reach.
He tried to use me.
“Someone else can drink my soup.” Lily had no stomach for food. And in the war between anger and mortification, anger was winning out.
“I don’t think you’re as innocent as you claim,” Rachel said slowly. “This is payback for the argument we had earlier.”
“What argument?” Jud’s gaze was piercing.
“Why is Paulo yours, Rachel?” Lily’s anger was rising, building inside of her like a simmering volcano. “You don’t love him. You want to possess him, like a toy.”
