Page 87 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“Fuck.” Nina drained her wineglass and set it on the counter. “I need a refill.”
I grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled her glass. “It’s going to be fine,” I whispered. “Have fun with it.”
“Good evening, ladies,” Liam said, walking in. “Thanks for the invite, mate.” He tapped William’s shoulder as he closed the door behind him.
“Didn’t you invite yourself over?” William replied.
“William,” I warned, lifting my wineglass to my lips.
Liam ignored him and greeted me first, “Hey, Red.” I set my wineglass on the counter before he hugged me, and I hugged him back.
“That’s enough,” William grabbed Liam’s shoulders and shooed him away in an almost comical way. I snorted with disbelief as he stood behind me, ran his arms around my waist, and placed his chin on the top of my head. William treated Liam like a little brother, and Liam didn’t seem to mind. He knew William well enough to know that was his way of showing him affection.
“Hey, Nina.” He kissed her cheek, likereallykissed it, and I could almost feel the heat rising to Nina’s neck and face fromwhere I stood. “You look lovely.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, but I could sense that she was nervous.
William kissed my hair and checked on the bread.
“Wine?” I offered, and Liam accepted.
William asked us to sit at the table since the food was ready to be served. As always, I offered my help, but he refused. He liked having control over the way the food was plated and presented, so I learned to stop insisting and allowed myself to be pampered by him. I normally made myself useful by taking care of the dishes.
We ate and laughed and drank wine as we enjoyed the meal. Everything was exquisite, and everyone agreed. Liam and Nina kept complimenting William on the food. I’d tried the truffle pasta before, and it was one of my favorite dishes of William’s, but the swordfish was new, and it surprised me with how good it was.
Liam excused himself to the bathroom, and we all leaned in to whisper the moment he shut the door. “Text CJ and tell him to call me in ten minutes,” Nina said. “Tell him I’ll pretend to be talking to someone else, so I’ll be acting all giddy when he calls me.”
“On it.” I grabbed my phone to text CJ and explain the situation.
“I’ll bring up the subject when Liam returns,” William said.
“I’m nervous.” Nina twisted her empty wineglass by the stem.
“No need.” He refilled Nina’s glass. “Let him squirm a bit.”
Liam walked out of the bathroom, completely unaware of what we were up to, and retook his seat at the table.
“So, what time is your party?” Liam asked. He’d made it so easy to initiate our plan without knowing it. “We could share a cab, and I could drop you off wherever you’re going soyou don’t ride alone.”
He was so sweet!
Nina looked at William and me for a quick moment, and William lowered his chin to encourage her to get started. “Thanks.” She smiled and continued, “But don’t worry, the party starts in about forty minutes, so my date should be picking me up in twenty minutes tops.”
Liam choked on his wine and set his wineglass on the table. He cleared his throat and said, “Date? What date?” He tried to smile, but the chill, peaceful attitude he’d been displaying ever since he arrived had suddenly left his body. “You, um, didn’t mention you’d be taking someone to the party. Not that you have to, but I didn’t know.”
“Federico’s a real nice guy.” William wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and I could feel myself sinking in my chair. I felt terrible for Liam. It was easy to tell this was already upsetting him. “Sorry,PrinceFederico.” He chuckled, and I almost gasped at William’s audacity. All Nina did was take a long drink of her wine. “We met him yesterday, but he prefers we call him Federico. He’s such a down-to-earth fella.”
“Prince?” Liam’s voice came out two octaves higher. He cleared his throat. “What country is he from?”
“Italy,” William replied as Nina tore her napkin into a million tiny pieces.
“Yes, he’s Italian,” Nina echoed. “But he just moved to New York for his master’s degree in—economics.”
Jesus Christ. The story was getting out of hand. And I should’ve been taking notes in case we needed to repeat ourselves at some point.
“Sounds like a smart bloke.” Liam clicked his tongue and took another sip.
I braced my elbow on the table and rested my chin on my hand, wordlessly surveying how Liam panicked, how Ninaenjoyed seeing him react, and how William seemed so at ease with his improvised performance.
