Page 7 of Something Old

Shit. This isn’t good. I can’t let her feel that. She’s already throwing herself at me. If she knows I’m physically attracted to her, there will be no end to this disaster of a situation.

I shouldn’t even be kissing her.

It was impulsive. A terrible decision.

If I don’t stop now, I’m going to have a problem that will not be easy to hide.

The music changes and it’s enough of a distraction for me to pull away from her.

But my cock is still not ready to calm down and my heart is hammering against my ribcage. I am sure she feels it against her breasts.

I have to get out of here. I have to get away from her.

“I need a drink.” I mutter and let her go, hurrying to leave.

I walk straight to the bar and order a whisky on a rocks. Dammit. That was so stupid of me. Leora Alesso is nothing but trouble, and I can’t be mixing with someone like her.

I run my hands through my hair. Then I shake my head, closing my eyes and wishing I hadn’t been so stupid.

“You’re playing with fire.” My brother says with a chuckle as he leans against the bar next to me. Rufino looks like a red-haired Viking. He’s one of the very few people I’ve ever known who is taller than me. His presence demands attention. Most people are terrified of him.

It didn’t stop me and my other brothers from ripping him off though - just for looking different.

“What?” I say, feeling moody again, eager for this wedding to be over so I can go home, have a hot shower and forget any of this happened.

“Leora. You’re asking for trouble with that girl. Next, she’ll be wanting a proposal and she’ll be choosing names for your kids. That’s not the girl you want to mess around with.”

“Fuck off. She’s just tipsy.” I snarl, feeling more agitated by the minute. I wish he hadn’t seen that. I’ll never hear the end of it.

Rufino shakes his head. “She’s a firecracker, that one. But I don’t think she kissed you because she’s tipsy. I think she’s got thehots for you.” He’s leaning with his elbow on the bar, looking out over the crowd of guests. No doubt eyeing Leora.

My youngest brother arrives at the bar too. “Did you just kiss Leora Alesso?” He laughs, punching my arm.

“Don’t you start as well.”

“You guys are going to live happily ever after and tell your kids how you met at a wedding. Pretty romantic, Mas.” Celso says, grinning at Rufino as he taunts me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” I grumble, nodding a thanks to the barman as he slides my whisky towards me. “It was just a kiss. A drunk mistake. It didn’t mean a fucking thing.”

I glance over to where Leora is talking to some of her friends and immediately regret it. The looks she throws at me make my stomach knot.

I drag my eyes away.

She does look like she’s ready to name our kids. Freaking hell. I need to stay clear of her.

“I heard her father has hit some trouble with his business.” Rufino and Celso are chatting among themselves.

“What kind of trouble?” I ask, wanting a distraction from my bad choices. I make a point of keeping my back to the guests - to Leora. Making no accidental eye contact with her.

“Idon’t think his business has been bringing in any profits for a while now. He took out some loans to invest, but from what people are saying, he just ended up in debt.”

“You can’t trust what people say these days.” I shake my head. I never was one for gossip.

“Not just any people. Even dad was commenting on it the other day. Marco Alesso is in the shit. Dad was discussing the fact that it provides an opportunity for us to move in and take over some of his territory.” Rufino says.

Getting our hands on Marco’s territory would be a bonus. We don’t need it. But it would be nice. For my father, it would be more of an ego thing than a business thing. Marco and him have been at each other’s throats for years.

“Dad has been after his territory for over a decade now.” Celso takes a sip of his beer.

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