Page 25 of Broken Deal

Am I focusing on the food spread instead of the people around me?Yep.

Isabella approaches me. “Oh, thank God you’re here.”

I look up to see her annoyed face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m the reason for this sunshine humor of hers,” a man says, walking into the kitchen. “Matteo Carter, nice to meet you, love.” He gives me a boyish smile.

“Oh, the famous Matteo. I’ve heard so much about you,” I say with a grin, wiggling my eyebrows and waving. “Sophia Evans, lovely to meet you.”

Matteo laughs, taking a sip of his beer. “You’ve been talking about me, Isa?”

“If you count me telling her how insufferable you are, then yes, I’ve been talking about you,” Isabella replies in a dry tone.

Even though Isabella spat an insult his way, Matteo’s smile doesn’t falter. I’ve heard Damian and Isabella say how Matteo is always smiling or joking, always the life of the party, and I can see what they mean. Funny, though, how that bright smile of his doesn’t reach his eyes.

Matteo shrugs. “Whatever you say, Isa.”

“Only friends get to call me Isa, and you lost that privilege a long time ago,” Isabella replies before storming away.

Yikes. I guess Aria wasn’t exaggerating when she told me chaos follows whenever they are in the same room. I step backward, inching out of the kitchen to dodge any chance of conversation and giving him an awkward little wave as I go. I turn around and bump into someone’s chest with a loudthud.

“Watch where you’re going, Blue.”

My back stiffens at the sound of Lorenzo’s voice. Theway he speaks, always with that light, flirtatious tone and the way his words drip like honey sends a shiver down my spine.

“Lorenzo,” I say curtly.

“Blue,” he repeats my new, dumb nickname he came up with.

I weigh my options for a moment. I can either go back to the kitchen and strike up a conversation with Mr. Sunshine, or stay here and spar with Mr. Playboy.

Boy, my options sure are looking grim.

But see, at least Mr. Sunshine over there doesn’t infuriate me, nor does he make me feel things I’d rather not entertain.

Yup. Mr. Sunshine it is.

As I’m turning around to walk back into the kitchen, Lorenzo grabs me by the arm. The touch is brief and innocent, but it doesn’t make it burn any less.

I get out of his grip. “I’d rather you not touch me.”

“Is my touch taking you down memory lane?” he asks with a lighthearted tone, mischief dancing in his eyes.

I blink at him in astonishment. “You’re breaking our deal with that comment.”

His shoulders shake as he lets out a soft, velvety laugh that goes straight to my core, my body betraying me, yet again.

“Funny you say that,” he comments.

I’m fairly shorter than him, even with my four-inch heels, so he has to lean down for his lips to hover just beside my ear. The way his warm breath hits my earlobe takes me back to that night. His woodsmoke cologne envelops me as I’m trying to mentally kick those memories away from me. The smell of pine and cedar hits me first. Such a rich, earthy aroma, like the comforting embrace of a roaring fire. It’sfaintly sweet, too, with a hint of burning maple. The scent perfectly suits him—strong, manly, dangerous, and surprisingly sweet.

“Rule number one about making a deal? Make sure the other party agrees. Otherwise, it’s all fair game, Bella.?1”His voice, barely above a whisper, is deep and husky.

He straightens, locking his light-brown eyes with mine, and winks before walking away and leaving me there standing feeling flustered.

Now that we’re all here, we quickly sit to have dinner. It’s nice, a lot of chatter and laughter, mostly from Matteo and Lorenzo trying to get a rise out of Damian. Isabella, well, she’s her dark, cloudy self we all love, and Aria is the sweetheart of the group, but jokes from time to time with the guys to get a reaction out of Damian, too.

“Red, you know, I’ve been wondering how you can be with my cugino?2,” Lorenzo starts, trying to contain his laughter before he continues with the taunt. “You gotta tell me, is he that good in bed? That’s gotta be it.” Lorenzo shakes his head.

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