Page 89 of Let Me Say It Again

Again, I was drawn to his lips. If I wasn’t currently completely satisfied in the area of carnal desires lately, then I could have only imagined the things those lips could do to a girl. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”And bycaught, I mean, you didn’t give it, so maybe you could.

“Name’s Marco Deluca.”Deluca. . . Deluca. . .“I’m the fresh blood my dad volunteered for this thing. Lucky, huh?”

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.Of course!This was Santo Deluca’s son. Dom’s brother.

At first glance, I never would’ve been able to guess, but in hindsight, it was obvious. The dark hair, how ridiculously handsome he was, and the swagger.Duh, Jade.“Marco Deluca,” I said, letting the name roll off my tongue. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about Dom’s brothers, but to finally get to meet one? I’m the lucky one, huh?” Sounded ridiculous, right? Remember, I was being sophisticated here. Not that it was false, it was genuinely nice to meet one of Dom’s brothers, but if I were being me, then I definitely would’ve said it differently. Something more along the lines ofI’ll be damned. You’re Dom’s brother?

Laughing, his eyes crinkled. “Oh, I get it. You’re not one of these people.”

Biting my bottom lip, I cringed, this time not hiding it. “That obvious, huh?”

Still laughing, he nodded. “Only to me probably. I’m what you’d call a straight shooter. My dad always says one day it’ll get my balls busted, but can’t change who you are, can you?”

Thankfully, Red wouldn’t want me to. I never showed him anything other than the real me, and he didn’t seem to have aproblem with it. The acting was purely for Mark and Sherrilyn’s benefit. I didn’t want to be the reason this deal didn’t go through. “I’m trying for the sake of tonight,” I admitted simply because I liked this guy. I felt comfortable around him, and it’d only been a few minutes.

“Waste. Be proud of who you are, whoever the hell that is, Jade Logan.”

Easy for him to say. He’d spend a few minutes here, walk across a stage, get bid on like he was a priceless artifact, and then leave until he had to pretend to be interested in whoever bought him for a date. “I’m here with Reddington Lyons.”

“Madone,” he said, and my Italian was rusty, but I knew I’d surprised him by that exclamation.

“You’ve heard of him?” Although, I should’ve figured.

“Everyone’s heard of him. Lyons Enterprises is no joke. You dating the hotshot?”

With a quick look over my shoulder, I shook my head. There may have been a lot of people around, but I doubted so very much that anyone gave a crap about my conversation. “I’m supposed to be engaged to him to appease some investor,” I said, attempting a whisper, rolling Red’s diamond around my finger.

Marco let out a roar of laughter that threatened to make the floor shake. “You Morellis are a fun group, aren’t you? Orpazze. I’m not sure.” Verdict might have still been out on whether we were fun or crazy.

“You’ve heard stories?” I asked, thinking about Perla. Even Allie. Who knew, maybe he knew about Bianca and her love triangle situation. But, before I could ask which ones, I spotted Mark walking by us.Damn it.

Sucking in air, he nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard stories. Sunday night dinner is always more amusing when Dom comes.”

Mmhmm. Sounds great.My mind was preoccupied, though. “Did you see that man? Did he come from the bathroom?” I asked, pointing to the door behind us.

Marco shook his head. “No idea, sorry. If it doesn’t have two long legs and a nice round ass, as a general rule I don’t watch it.”At least he’s honest.

I sincerely hoped that Mark hadn’t heard us, otherwise I was so screwed. And so was Red. And his company. Fuck.

Desperately trying to focus and let the nagging concern in the back of my mind go, I shook my head. “I was looking for your dad. Do you know where he is?”

“Schmoozing around here somewhere,” he said, shrugging casually.

“Yeah,” I murmured as the bell rang, signaling the start of the auction.

“That’s my cue. I’m up first,” he told me like he couldn’t be happier about that fact.

“Bleed them!” I winked, truly hoping tonight went well for him.

* * *

Reddington

“I didn’t think you’d ever stop talking to that guy,” I admitted once we were sitting down.

Jade smiled. “Jealous?”

Please, as if I’d give her the satisfaction of knowing that yes, I was, in fact, jealous. I didn’t like seeing her talk to other guys, so sue me. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

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