Page 189 of Dark Love

Dahlia

We almost kissed!

Vex and I almost kissed right in the middle of the street with the whole world watching. Well, not the whole world, but at least Mindy and Diane, and that’s two too many.

What was I thinking?

That he’s literally the sweetest, sort of, and sexiest man you’ve ever met.

We stop in front of a steak house. They can be frightfully expensive. This one looks nice, but not too nice. A good local’s spot.

“This place has the best steaks in town.” Adonis holds the door open as we step in.

“Doubtful,” Vex mutters under his breath.

I squeeze his hand. His jealousy is kinda cute. Though, to be fair, the steaks he got us that first night were phenomenal. But we aren’t here to find the best steak. We’re here to make friends. I need Vex to sit close enough to Adonis not to kill him, but for the two of them to engage in a friendly conversation.

Adonis moves to sit next to me. That’s not a good idea. Not good at all. “Mindy, do you want to sit next here?” I pat the chair.

“Sure.” She hurries over.

Adonis moves to the seat across from me.

Why couldn’t he have sat next to Mindy? If we could get him to fall for her, Vex would relax a little.

And somehow my life has become a middle school drama.

The chaos of ordering with a large group like ours gives my nerves time to settle down. Though not all the way, because Vex has an arm slung over the back of my chair. His finger is twiddling with a lock of hair on my shoulder.

It’s nice. Too nice for my brain to fully function and come up with an innocuous topic to talk about.

“So what do you do, Vex?” Adonis lifts his frosted glass of beer.

“Vex owns the hottest club in town,” Mindy answers before either of us can say a word. “That’s where they met. Isn’t it romantic?”

That night wasn’t at all romantic.

“Oh really? We all love a good story. Tell us.” Adonis takes a swallow and then leans forward expectantly.

Should I tell the story?

“There’s nothing really to tell.” Vex’s finger stops moving and settles on my shoulder, still wrapped in my hair.

“Oh, there’s a story. Vex kicked her out of the club after they met,” Diane chimes in from the other end of the table.

“It wasn’t quite like that. Vex had a limo take us home safely. Wasn’t that sweet?” Mindy thankfully changes the narrative.

Adonis’ eyes pass over her quickly before moving back to Vex. Does Adonis even see her?

Can a man like a woman if he doesn’t even see her?

That’s a question for another day. Right now, I need to change the narrative. “Vex always makes sure that the women in his club are taken care of.”

“Women are always targets at clubs. The number of calls we get for drugged women at clubs is astronomical.”

Wait? What? Adonis is making it sound like that’s Vex’s fault. “Women get assaulted at parties. Should they stop being allowed to go to parties? Or do you think we should hold every person who throws a party responsible for a woman getting assaulted? Vex isn’t responsible for what evil men do. And even talking like that is insulting to all the men who stand up to protect a woman. Because that’s what he does every night.”

Adonis stares at me, unblinking.

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