Page 57 of Dex

“Meu Deus,” she mutters under her breath.

Fuck.She saw him.But I don’t understand why she’s so angry.“What are you doing, Daniela?”

She doesn’t answer.

She just heads toward Rio, and I frantically try to figure out what beef she has with him.At the same time, I see the woman sitting next to him.They’re turned towards each other, as if they like each other.

Did he bring a date here?I catch a glimpse of bright red lips and long brown curls, a sharp profile, and an expensive business suit.

To my utter shock, Daniela doesn’t reach for Rio.She taps the woman on her shoulder.

It suddenly feels like shit is about to go down.

Chapter 14

DEX

Daniela marches across the bar toward Rio and the woman sitting with him.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing.The woman jumps up from her seat, looks at Daniela, and throws her arms around her.

“Are you spying on me?”Daniela demands, her voice sharp with surprise.“When did you get here?How?Why didn’t you call me?”

A firehose of questions spills from her mouth, and her friend barely has time to answer.They keep switching between Portuguese and English, and I catch about half of it, but I don’t need a translation to see that these two know each other well.

Rio and I exchange looks.I raise a brow at him.What the fuck, dude?I silently ask.Do she and Rio already know each other?

How?

“Hey, Rio,” Daniela says after a moment, once the commotion between her and her friend dies down.

“Daniela.”Rio greets her smoothly, then looks at me.

Daniela’s gaze moves between us, narrowing slightly.“You brought him along?”

I can’t lie to this woman.“He wanted to be my wingman.”

“I offered to come along,” Rio corrects, coughing lightly.

“Are you both together?”I ask, my gaze bouncing between Rio and the woman.

“You’re sitting like you know each other,” Daniela points out.She turns to Rio, her eyes sharp with suspicion.“Are you on a date?”

“Ha-ha.Very funny.”Rio rolls his eyes.He’s been quiet up until now, probably just as thrown as I am.

I flick him a look.Please, dude, please tell me you haven’t made a move on her.

Daniela’s friend snorts, holding up a hand.“I wouldn’t be caught dead with this man.”

“You sure about that?”Rio growls.“You came and sat next to me, and offered to buy me a drink.”

“This is Raquel,” Daniela tells me.“Remember?I mentioned earlier about my best friend from home, the one I ran marathons with—” As if she’s just remembered something, she switches gears mid-sentence and her arm slips around my waist.

Oh.

Oh!

The acting starts now.I grin and pull her close.She’s not soft and lush, like I expected, especially with those curves.Daniela is all lean muscle and firm.The way I like it.

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