Page 56 of Meet Me in Montreal

“It’s gonna be agreatnight. See you soon, Fivehead.”

She hung up, put the phone on her nightstand, and stretched out on top of Santino, straddling him as he pushed his hands into her hair. “Okay, where were we?”

A few hours later, at just about four-fifteen, she and Santino were approaching the entrance of the Four Seasons. For once, Santino wasn’t urging her to rush to make sure they were on time. She couldn’t blame him. Although he was showered, smelled good and looked fly in his long-sleeved white cotton button down shirt, thick silver chain and white slacks, and had even traded in his Tims for a pair of deck shoes, nervousness waswafting off him stronger than his cologne. The reasons why were many and went without saying.

She was wearing a matching color scheme in a white halter dress that flared at the waist, contrasting beautifully with her deep complexion and understated silver jewelry. When Santino had seen her in it, the look of appreciation and fresh desire in his eyes was everything.

“See? I told you I had something nice planned,” she’d said, flushing hot under that gaze.

“You were right. You’re stunning, tesoro.”

Although she’d never been an attention-seeker, she did enjoy the admiring or at least curious looks they received from other people as they passed. They did look good together, felt good together.

And it seemed they shared the same nervous energy. She braced herself when she saw her dapper brother and his equally well-dressed wife exit through the hotel door. Bobby sported a fitted chocolate short-sleeved button-down and dark jeans on his tall, lean-muscled frame, his even deeper mahogany skin gleaming and his short hair brushed down in waves. Well-trimmed facial hair completed the look.

Vanessa had to hand it to him; her brother was a handsome man who knew he looked good while somehow not being conceited in the slightest. His air of confidence was natural, not a deep fake. She both admired and deeply envied that easy balance.

Beside him, Zoe’s brown complexion with dark gold undertones beamed good health and her naturally loose, thick waves were in a cute and casual ponytail. Nails, check, pedicure, check. The olive sleeveless jumpsuit with the gold belt that further defined her already snatched waist, the tall cork wedged sandals, and the cross-body gold purse and gold bamboo doorknocker earrings…everything in between those pamperedhands and feet oozed expensive nouveau-80s chic. The dazzling rock on her finger eclipsed the late afternoon sunshine.

They even seemed to fuckingwalkin slow motion, the faint breeze blowing Zoe’s bangs like the entire city was their red carpet and nature was their personal wind machine.

The King and Queen had arrived. Montreal was not ready. And neither was she.

Suddenly, although they’d been holding hands for days at that point, Vanessa wasn’t sure if Santino’s and her intertwined fingers would send the wrong message. They still weren’t a real couple; their marriage was no longer bona fide compared to the pair now moving toward them with smiles slowly disappearing and being replaced by shocked dismay.

Zoe usually fake smiled at people she didn’t care for. This displeasure? She wasn’t even pretending to hide it. With twisted lips, as though she’d tasted something off in her milk, she ripped Santino up and down with her stare, then favored Vanessa with a head shake and a smirk. Before she could open her mouth, Bobby did the honors and got the ball rolling.

“Him? This is who you were with?” Bobby asked Vanessa, staring at Santino.

“It’s good to see you again, Bobby,” Santino said, his voice serious yet pleasant. He held out his hand for a shake, which her brother glanced at without touching.

“I wish I could say the feeling was mutual.” Bobby swung his gaze back to her. “You haven’t answered me. What is he doing here?”

“Okay,” she said, with a quick exhale. “You’re going to have to take the ‘big brother' tone back down a notch to ‘little brother’ where it belongs. He’s here for the concert.”

“Here for the concert? Since when is he a Panthro fan?” Bobby inquired, folding his arms with his stance wide.

“Since forever,” Santino said with a shrug, his face tightening.

“Can you name one song?” Zoe chimed in, clearly relishing her husband’s hostility.

“Can you?” Vanessa snapped back. “You invited yourself on this trip. Right now, he’s my guest, so you both need to ease up. Either we’re going to the show together and being cool, or we’ll have to split up. I’m fine with either. I’m here to have a good time.”

Zoe laughed with a shocked expression. “Fine, whatever, if you’re willing to manage him. I only wish I’d known this was going to be a white party,” she remarked with a biting smile, gesturing to their clothes.

Santino’s face tightened again, but he didn’t respond. When she and Santino had first met, Bobby and Zoe were engaged and only weeks away from their huge all-frills wedding. He’d given Zoe every chance, but she’d been rude to his face since Day One, joking with Vanessa in her passive-aggressive way if she really didn’t mind how he spoke, that he hadn’t gone to college, that he seemed to “lack ambition.”

He’d still given Zoe chances until their third date, which happened to be Zoe and Bobby’s wedding. A drunken Zoe had made some slurry remark to the other bridesmaids that there might be hope for Vanessa to get married after all if she was willing to wait until her groom was out of diapers. He’d refrained from cursing her out then and there because Vanessa had begged him not to, but he’d washed his hands of Zoe after that, only speaking to her directly if it couldn’t be avoided.

Bobby listened to the exchange with his almond-shaped eyes narrowing even further. “Hold up. How did he get a ticket to the concert? It’s been sold out for months. Was this the plan all along and someone forgot to let us in on it?”

“I’ve got a friend in town who hooked me up,” Santino answered. From his pocket, he produced four tickets which she gawked at, not having seen them before. “VIP box seats andaccess to a private lounge before the show. And afterward, my buddy is having a party at his place. Panthro’s been invited, and now, so are you.”

Next to the excitement Vanessa felt to hear she’d possibly get to meet her favorite artist was the joy of seeing the fresh shock on Zoe’s face at the news.

But again, instead of Bobby giving them his usual grin, his frown deepened. He gestured with his head to a space on the sidewalk with less foot traffic. “Van, can we speak alone for a minute?”

Sighing, she went to walk with him. Santino stayed put, but Zoe charged on after them. Bobby turned to cast a glance down at her with a lifted eyebrow.

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