Page 44 of Out of the Shadow

I nod. “Let me get the first round. What are you having?”

She seems startled by my question and tugs on the ends of her hair. “Can you please get me a Baileys with chocolate vodka, on the rocks?”

Her drink order surprises me—I figured she’d want some fruity drink. “Sure thing. I’ll meet you over there.” We part ways and I order her drink plus two fingers of bourbon. I’m going to need both of them. Why didn’t I just go to the party at my complex?

Taking a fortifying sip of the Pappy Van Winkle, I head over to where Angie is now surrounded with a whole bunch of people. All her relatives, I guess, although it seems crazy. A couple sing, off-key, while Angie claps with the rest of the group. I take the only empty seat, which is next to her.

“Hey.” I elbow her arm and pass her the dessert drink.

“Thanks.” She taps my stomach with her elbow, and introduces me to the four cousins sitting near us.

The song finishes, thankfully, and the duo return to their spots. Four people to my right stand to take their turn and a muscular guy in a NYPD T-shirt, about my age, sits down in the vacated seat next to me. He inclines his beer to me. “Leo.”

I clink my glass with it. “King.”

He leans over to me. “You the one shooting with Angie?”

“Yep.” I take another sip of my bourbon. Next to me, Marlene and another woman approach Angie and pull her over to select a song. I trail their movements with my gaze.

“She’s my sister. She’s been through a lot to get to where she is. We’re all proud of her.”

My eyes swing from Angie to her brother, the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention at the implicit threat in his tone. “We’re enjoying filming.”

Leo takes a sip from his bottle. “This isn’t a game for her. She’s putting her all into the show to get more attention for her agency.”

“It’s not a game for me, either,” I reply honestly. “And I’ve enjoyed learning about real estate.”

He nods. “What did you do before the show?”

His question brings me up short. I can’t very well say I’ve done nothing but workout, travel, and fuck. “I was unofficially in real estate. I hooked friends up with properties.” At his continued stare, I rush on, “Plus, I was an Instagrammer, getting paid by sponsors to take photos wearing their clothes and attending a variety of functions.” I hold my breath, hoping he doesn’t push any further.

The quartet ends their song and Angie’s group is up next. Leo points his beer toward the stage. “Ever hear her sing before?”

I shake my head.

He grins. “You’re in for a treat.”

Something about his words and tone doesn’t match, but my bafflement disappears when the trio starts butchering a song by Kelly Clarkson. Around me, all of the cousins catcall the stage.

“Oh, my.” I bring my glass to my mouth to stop myself from making any additional comments about their awful caterwauling. Angie hits a particularly bad note and I flinch.

“Yep. They suck. But we love them,” Leo chuckles. He shouts, “Work it, ladies!”

At least their lack of talent makes me feel more comfortable with the whole situation. Leo finishes his bottle and places it on the table. “Want to go pick a song?” He stands.

Shit. It’s not like I can refuse him. I take another swig of my drink and join him at the song menu. He flips the pages, and one song jumps out at me. “That one,” I point. With it, I won’t have to sing too much.

Leo smirks. “You’re all right, King. Yeah. Let’s Do It!”

His choice of the studio’s name brings a reluctant grin to my face.

Angie’s song ends, thankfully, and she high-fives the other two women on stage with her. When she passes us, she high-five’s her brother’s hand and—after a brief hesitation—mine. Why does her touch send a shiver screaming through my arm?

Shaking out my hand, I take my place next to Leo on the stage and the iconic music for “I’m Too Sexy” starts.

We strut around, encouraging everyone to sing with us, which they do. I make the first ridiculous “sexy” pose, and then Leo’s posing, too, and everyone’s laughing. Some of the cousins hurl lewd remarks at the stage, most of which are directed at Leo. We get into the song, and the cousins stomp their feet and cheer. I’m having so much fun I don’t feel weird about taking some liberties with the melody.

When it ends, Leo gives me a bro hug. “You’re all right in my book. Don’t let Angie get away with anything.”

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