Page 50 of Stuck On Them

“I’ve only seen balls and nuts. There are really no good options for it. What else could they be called?” She leaned in close to the mirror, doing something to her eyes. Women putting on makeup was so fascinating to watch.

“I don’t know about nuts. Someone might be allergic to them, and it might ruin the mood using the word. I guess they’re sort of like the ornaments of the penis, and they can’t be ignored despite their unsexy names.” What the hell was I even saying? Thank fuck the guys weren’t here because they would never let me forget this conversation. “Some people like them nipped, swirled, and a little teacup action. A romance author can’t just ignore them because of an aversion to the word balls.”

She giggled, and it filled me with intense satisfaction. “Hey, baby. How about we go back to my room, and I’ll give your penis ornaments some tea bag action.”

“Teacup sounds much more sophisticated, and I’m down for that if you are.” I winked as she looked at me through the mirror.

“How old are you?” She put the cover back over her cart and turned to face me.

Her makeup was subtle, but the way she’d done her eyes made the flecks of green and gold in her eyes pop.

“Thirty-one and, believe it or not, I’m the oldest out of the three of us. Granted it’s only by a month, but I’ll take the wins where I can.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, suddenly a little nervous that this was an issue. She looked legal for sure—plus she’d been drinking at a bar—but shedidlook young. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven.” She grabbed her purse and phone and slipped on her sandals before giving me a shy smile. “I think I’m ready.”

I looked at her lips. Damn. This friend thing was going to be harder than I thought. “Ready for...?”

“Some tea since you’re such an old man?” She rolled her eyes and laughed. She was definitely teasing me. “To go... on the boat.”

“I can assure you there is nothing old about me.” I took her hand and led her to the door. Friends could hold hands and since she didn’t pull hers from mine, I entwined our fingers. “Is this okay? I’m not sure how friends hold hands.”

She locked her door, and we walked side by side to the stairs. “Nora and I only ever hold hands if we’re super excited or scared.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited.” I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It’s going to be fun.”

“We’ll see.” She reached into her purse as we stepped outside and pulled out her sunglasses. “How far is your boat?”

“It’s parked on the Hudson right now. Should take about twenty minutes to get there.”

I led her a short walk down the street to where my driver had parked. It had been fairly easy to find a space since it was the weekend. During the week, people liked to park in surrounding areas and then take a quick ten-minute train ride into Manhattan.

“Do any of you drive?” Paige asked as I opened the back door, cold air pouring out.

“Yes, but I didn’t want to today.” I squeezed the side of the door as she climbed into the back of the SUV, giving me a view of her round ass.

“Luca!” I turned my head on instinct and instantly regretted it. “Are the rumors true? Are you engaged to be married to Clara Accardo? Who are you with?”

Did they really think I was going to answer that asinine question? “Have the day you deserve, boys.” I jumped in the SUV and slammed the door shut.

The driver had the privacy screen up already but didn’t need my go-ahead to take off. He knew exactly where we were going.

“Were those paparazzi?” Paige looked past me to the three assholes trying to get pictures through heavily tinted glass.

Idiots.

“Yup. Usually, they don’t follow me too often. They mostly bug me when I’m going to events.” I pulled out my phone and texted my security team about the incident.

“Who’s Clara Accardo?”

I really didn’t want to talk about Clara, but I couldn’t exactly keep it a secret now that Paige knew her name. “Clara is the only heir of Carlo Accardo, who runs a very lucrative custom jewelry empire in Italy. My family has been trying to get me to marry her.”

“That’s... wow. That happens in real life?” She buckled her seatbelt.

“Unfortunately.” I looked out my window as we pulled away from the sidewalk. “She’s nice and all, but we aren’t compatible.”

“What do you mean?”

I wish she’d just drop it because I promised Clara I wouldn’t say anything about her sexuality. It wasn’t my place to out her, no matter how frustrating both of our families were.

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