Page 509 of The Sinner: James

“Show off.”

“Are you in the mood to play?”

“Not tonight,” James says.

A waitress shows up to take our order.

Moments later, drinks sit on the table as men and women enter the lounge, their noise claiming our eyes.

Four males break away from the group and sit at the bar.

One of them swivels his head, his eyes falling on me, making my smile freeze.

I try to place the man.

He looks familiar, but not enough to smile back at him.

Fit, he fills his clothes well, and so does the man sitting next to him.

The first male pats his friend on his back.

The second one has a familiar face too.

One is dark-haired, the other brown-haired, both handsome. James swings his eyes in their direction too.

Recognition sets on their faces as they lock eyes with James.

“No, fucking way,” one of them says just as my mind places them in swimming trunks on the beach not far from here.

They slide off their barstools, heading to us.

My mouth falls open in surprise as they stop next to our table. Eve’s dream men stand in front of me––one looks at me, the other stretching his hand out to James.

“James Sexton,” the dark-haired man says, his eyes beaming with a smile.

“Ray Larson and Kyle Troy,” James murmurs, pushing to his feet. “What are you doing in Monte Carlo?”

“We’re here a couple of times a month. Mostly for fun,” Ray says, shaking hands with James. “When we’re not in Hamburg. We heard you were here but never thought we’d run into you,” he adds, his gaze sweeping the table.

“My friend and business partner, Lex Harrington,” James says, making the introductions.

They shake hands.

“And this is my wife.”

“Your wife?” Kyle asks, intrigued.

He and his friend peer at me and over my shoulder as if expecting to see Eve.

“Is she alone?” Kyle asks.

“If you’re not counting Lex and me, yeah, she’s alone,” James jokes, flashing a warning smile.

“Don’t take it wrong. We spotted her on the beach a few weeks back, and a beautiful brunette kept her company.”

James shifts his eyes to me, a questioning look on his face. Biting his lip, he hardly pushes his grin back.

My pointed look doesn’t make him stop, fueling his amusement.

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