Page 6 of Moments in Ink

“If this is a business meeting...” Bristol began.

“Sit,” Aaron barked. Thankfully, the waiter came by with an extra chair as if hovering and waiting for us to make up our minds. The other three sat down and ordered a bottle of wine to share. I got my second martini, as did Aaron, though his wasn’t dirty.

“So, hi,” Bristol said, clapping her hands together.

“Stop it,” Aaron said with a laugh.

“What? Aaron never introduces us to his friends,” Bristol said.

“There might be a reason for that, babe,” Marcus said and let out a laugh when Bristol tried to elbow him in the gut.

“I hurt my elbow,” Bristol said, rubbing her joint.

“Probably because the man you’re going to marry is built as fuck. Sorry,” Zia said, not apologetically to Marcus.

“Oh, I’m not offended at all. She tried to elbow my abs, and she got what she deserved,” Marcus said with a laugh. I grinned, liking the chemistry between everybody, though I didn’t know Zia’s connection to the others.

“So, accountant?” Zia asked, and I raised a brow, annoyed.

“Yep. What, don’t look like the typical accountant to you?” I asked, my tone a little snippy. She’d hit a sore spot, and apparently, I was done pretending that I was okay with everything.

Aaron winced, and Bristol and Marcus looked between us, sharing a look I didn’t understand. Couples had their own secret language, one that I’d never quite learned with my ex.

“No, I was actually on the hunt for an accountant. And I think you’re hot, so you do you.”

Luckily, the waiter came and performed the wine ritual then, with Bristol doing the tasting. But as it was served, and we all clinked glasses in cheers, Zia’s gaze never left mine as she took a sip of her drink.

Aaron cleared his throat. “She’s my accountant, and she’s pretty kick-ass. And she deals with artists and small businesses, so she’d probably be able to understand all the weird crap that will come up with your business.”

I frowned. “What do you do?”

“I’m a makeup artist. And I had an accountant, but I need one that’s local now that I’ve moved back to America.”

“Where were you?” I asked, confused and not surprised at all that she was a makeup artist. Her talent was evident on her face.

“I was in England for a while, but no longer. I’m back home. We’re neighbors and all, so I guess you being my accountant wouldn’t be smart because that’d be mixing home with business.”

I noticed that she didn’t say the common saying of business and pleasure, but with the sparks emitting from both of us just then? Even if the chemistry wasn’t necessarily polite, pleasure wasn’t something that either of us would have with the other. Mostly because I wanted nothing to do with whatever Zia had. Because it scared me. I felt that heat there, but I told myself I needed time to be me.

“Okay, let’s get back to talking about me,” Bristol said.

Aaron snorted. “Subtle,” he said, laughing.

“What? My wedding is coming up, and I want to make it perfect.”

“Really? When are you guys getting married?” I asked, leaning forward, genuinely interested. I might not love love anymore, but I did love weddings. Mostly because I liked what people did with them to make them theirs. And given what I knew from Aaron about his family, the Montgomerys were good about adding their own flair.

“Our engagement was…let’s say unusual. So I want our wedding to be a mix of classic and very much unusual, as well.”

I raised a brow in question, and Bristol explained thevery unusualreason Marcus and she had gotten engaged. I just shook my head at the unbelievable and romantic story as the two looked at each other, kissed softly, and then stared into each other’s eyes as if they were the only two people in the world.

I looked at Zia and saw the longing in her gaze and wondered what the story was there.

But it wasn’t my place to ask.

When Zia got up to use the restroom, her voice soft, my gaze followed her, moving to all her curves, and I wondered what she was thinking.

Red alert. I told myself that this was dangerous. I shouldn’t wonder too much about her.

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