Page 89 of Loving Leo

And while I can understand why he doesn’t, it hurts that he won’t even look my way.

Stupidly, I even try to make him. I stop near his tight littlecircle and brush against his arm and his gaze flicks up to meet mine before diverting back to a woman and man I assume are his parents. They look like him. Heath is almost a carbon copy of his dad.

“Well, Lana looks good don’t you think?” his mother says coyly, her question directed to Heath.

Heath huffs and sips his drink, not responding.

“Don’t be rude, Heath.”

“She looks fine,” he grumbles, obviously annoyed to be asked this, probably with me right there to hear it. So I move away, not looking back as I move around the guests, listening to their inane, idle chatter. It’s so out of the ordinary for me, their talk about luxury vacations to the Bahamas and the Greek Islands, their yachts and their time away spent at their chalets.

It’s wild. So, so out of my world.

I don’t belong here.

“Hey there,” a familiar voice says behind me. I turn around and see Selena grinning at me. She’s a little tipsy, not that I blame her. If I had to come to something so stuffy, I’d drink too.

“Hi.”

“We didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I didn’t either,” I reply and then start to walk forward, not wanting to cause a scene. But Selena follows, her heels clacking on the pavement noisily.

“It was a surprise and a good one. Heath really likes you.”

My heart picks up but I shush her, not wanting anyone to hear that admission. It seems these people are a little nosy and a lot bored. Gossip would spread like wildfire through this group.

“I know! I am being very quiet, but I just wanted to say hi.” It’s a whisper, but a loud one.

I can’t help but grin at her and she smiles back. She’s ridiculous.

“The food is delicious, by the way. I didn’t know you did catering. Thought you were just a camboy.”

Now that is said a little too loud.

“Selena,” I hiss and then move behind a bush where there’s no one around. “How much have you had to drink?”

She shrugs. “Some. Maybe ten glasses. Fuck, I hate these things. We have to pretend we like our parents. Which we don’t. And Lana is here, the bitch.”

I take a piece of food from the serving tray and push it toward her mouth.

“Here you need to eat something.”

Perhaps if she’s chewing she’ll stop talking so loudly and maybe it will help mitigate some of the alcohol flowing through her body.

“Oh god, this is good. Who is the caterer? I need to meet them. Man or woman? Who cares! I will marry them!”

I snort a small laugh when some of the food sticks to her lip.

I reach out and flick it away just as her mother appears around the corner, glowering at us.

“Selena,” she says sternly. “Stop flirting with the staff.”

Selena snorts. “Um, he’s gay, mother dearest. He’s not interested in me.”

Her eyes widen and I find my skin heating, meeting her steely gaze.

“Stop speaking to him then. He has a job I’m paying him to do.”

---