Page 109 of Lovestruck at Sundown
Lily and Joel seemed like Lily and Joel again. She was sitting on his lap and feeding him dessert with a spoon. Naomi kept her attention fixed on her phone’s screen, but her hopes of finding a way to get to that party seemed to diminish. She tossed her phone inside her purse with a sigh.
“Aaron?” Naomi said in a sweet voice that she’d never used with him. Or ever.
“No,” he replied instantly, taking a carefree sip of his coffee.
“No?” She scoffed. “You don’t even know what I’m going to say!” Her voice was back to normal.
He put his cup down. “You want me to drive you to the party. And the answer is no.”
“You have an SUV,” Naomi pointed out. “A big one. I’m sure we could make it. Ireallyneed to be there. It’s important. Elias was going to introduce me to a potential client.”
Aaron refused to make eye contact with Naomi. He picked up his cup again and said, “It’s not safe.” He took a sip, unbothered by her dilemma. “Besides, the SUV is not at my personal disposal.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” I said. “You can take the SUV.” But Aaron turned to look at me with dark, narrowed eyes.Oops. It was best if I didn’t stick my nose where it didn’t belong. Aaron was probably right. It didn’t seem safe for them to go, especially when they had confirmation that some roads were already blocked.
“Care for a trade?” Naomi pulled out her phone again and tapped her screen several times. She placed it on the table and slid it toward Aaron.
He picked it up with a frown. “What the hell is this?”
“Your very own fan club.” Naomi let out a wicked giggle as Aaron scrolled through the site with a furrowed brow and a clenched jaw.
Nina squeezed my bare arm with her cold hand, making me wince. “Sorry!” she whispered. “Show me!”
William pulled his phone from his pocket and googled Aaron’s fan club.
“Hey, we said no phones tonight!” I complained, but he rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek.
He passed the phone to Nina, and she gasped with amusement.
“Let’s see it.” Liam leaned in to see the screen while Nina scrolled through the photos and comments. “Marvelous!” Liam laughed. “You’re famous, mate!” He clapped Aaron’s back twice, and Aaron’s eyes turned two shades darker.
I pressed my lips together as firmly as I could to avoid laughing. Aaron would never forgive me if I did.
“Fix it,” Aaron demanded, sliding the phone back to Naomi. “Undo this.”
“Aaron,” I cautioned. Something about Naomi made Aaron lose his composure, and it seemed like she was well aware of it and using it in her favor. But still, I wanted him to check his tone.
Naomi clicked her tongue and slid a finger around the rim of her wineglass. “That’s a privilege reserved exclusively for my clients or people I owe favors to.”
Nina passed William his phone, but Lily intercepted it. Aaron watched as she and Joel perused the fan club website with raised brows and delighted smiles on their faces.
“Grab your things.” Aaron let out a defeated grumble and stood. “I’ll get the engine started.”
Naomi placed her hands on the table and pushed herself to a stand, a victorious grin appearing on her face. She rushed up the stairs to get her things while Aaron stepped out to warm up the engine.
“How’s Prince Federico?” William asked Nina out of the blue. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Great, I suppose.” Nina rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. Liam stiffened in his seat at the mention of the nonexistent prince’s name but remained silent. “Although I haven’t talked to him much lately.”
The corner of Liam’s lips quirked up into a subtle, pleased smile.
“Who’s Prince Federico?” Lily tilted her head.
“A figment of William’s imagination created to torture me.” Liam tossed a balled-up napkin in William’s direction.
“Torture you, you say?” William threw the napkin ball back at Liam and smirked with satisfaction at seeing him expose himself. “Why would the thought of a prince going out with Nina be a reason for torture?”
Nina’s gaze widened, surprise radiating through her big brown eyes. She knew there was something special between her and Liam, an undeniable attraction constantly kept at arm’s length for the sake of the friendship. But the lines were getting blurry, and even if I understood why putting their currentrelationship at risk was a reason enough to give them pause, their affection was getting hard to overlook.
