Page 5 of Broken Deal

“And you’re the birthday boy I’ve heard so much about?” Her tone is casual, a forced smile still plastered all over her face as she tilts her head, too. But it’s hard to miss how stiff her movements are and the tension in her shoulders.

Can’t say I don’t enjoy the sight of her right now.

A small grin plays on my lips, amusement overtaking me.

Look at you, feeling something for once.

Thank God. I was beginning to worry.

“You guys talk about me?” I look at Aria and Damian, my tone playful. “I’m touched.”

“I’m sure you are,” Damian replies, dryly.

“I’ve been dying for you two to meet!” Aria exclaims excitedly.

With the way Sophia’s searing me with those piercing-blue eyes, I highly doubt she shares her best friend’s sentiments.

With a small, knowing smile I take her hand and bring her knuckles to my lips, giving her a soft, quick kiss. “Lorenzo Mancini, but you can call me Enzo. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella?1.” My lips tingle, already missing the brief touch of her skin.

Is she going to tell these two how we met? Or will she pretend she doesn’t know me? Am I deranged for hoping it’s the second option? There’s something about playing games. It gives me a rush, a hit of serotonin straight to the brain.

She takes her hand out of my grip. “Sophia Evans, it’smypleasure to meet you.” She bats her eyes with that forced smilestill in place.

Oh.Oh.This is good. This is more than good. This isfun.

Let’s see how long she’ll play along.

1 Beautiful.

This has to be some sort of sick joke.

Maybe if you blink enough times, he’ll disappear.

Yeah, I don’t think that will be happening.

Life has a funny way of bending me over and screwing me. Surely, the universe finds it hilarious to put me in the most idiotic, nonsense types of situations. This is what I tell myself as I meet the eyes of the man who pinned me against the wall of a cleaning closet at a nightclub andfuckedme a year ago.

The famous Mr. Three-Orgasm Guy.

Oh, God.

I slept with—from what I hear—the biggest player in the Chicagoland area. I sure know how to pick them. It’s always been an ongoing joke between me and Aria. Granted, the joke started when I went through one of the worst breakups of my life. And it was funny for a while. The perfect way to cope. I’m the queen of finding ways to turn something traumatic, or sad, into a joke. It’s how I can be the life of the party. But dread settles at the pit of my stomach at the realization that it’s not a joke anymore.

What is the matter with me? What’s so fundamentally wrong with me that I can’t even pick the right one-night stand anymore?

A lot of things are wrong with you. This isnota path you want to tread.

No. It isn’t.

“Shall we go back in?” Lorenzo suggests, tilting his head to the restaurant entrance.

“Oh, yes! I was coming out here to get you. Why did you disappear on us, Enzo?” Aria asks, crossing her arms.

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say destiny wanted me to be out here, right in this moment, Red,” he replies with a light, amused tone, his eyes finding mine.

This man is messing with me for the hell of it. If he thinks I’m going to break in front of these two, he has another thing coming. Besides being the loudest of the group, I’m also the most stubborn—though I will deny it until the day I die. I wonder who’s going to break first? I’m sure as hell not about to tell Aria and Damian howwellI know him.

His hand finds my lower back as he opens the door of the restaurant and guides me inside. The touch makes my skin hot, even though he didn’t make direct contact with it. Knowing this, makes me want to crawl out of my skin. The last thing I should be doing is feeling like this, so I swat his hand away and shoot him a withering glare. A small, mischievous grin plays at his lips as he raises his hand in innocence.

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