Page 53 of Star Crossed
“Right. Okay.” Tino looked dazed as he looked around the diner. “If you say so.”
“Oh, hey, Jules, look,” Melody called out, waving to Jules as if everyone in the restaurant hadn’t already noticed Romeo’s arrival. “He’s here early. Who knew?”
Jules slid out of the booth and took a steadying breath as she walked up to him, being very aware that all eyes were on them. She held out her hand to Romeo in a very businesslike manner and tried not to shudder when he shook it, his large palm engulfing hers, reminding her of the first time they met.
“Miss Conner,” Romeo said with a teasing smile.
“Wellings,” Jules said cordially, unable to help grinning. “Nice to see you finally found your way to our neck of the woods.”
“Well, Clay’s offer was a little too good pass up,” Romeo said, his smile growing broader. “And I wasintriguedby what you have to offer.”
“And you remember Romeo’s brother Tino, dontcha?” Melody asked, obviously unaware of the sexual tension pulsing between Jules and Romeo. “He went along with Romeo when we did that publicity tour last month. He’s funny; you’ll like him.”
Jules grinned at Tino. “I’m sure I will.”
“Jules is our local lawyer,” Melody went on to explain. “And I think Terry gave her the keys to the place y’all are renting from him.”
Jules nodded. “He did. They’re at my office. If y’all would like to stop by after you eat, I can take you out there and show it to you.”
“Sounds great,” Romeo said brightly. “Mind if we join you for lunch?”
“Not at all. We’re in the corner booth right over there. Head on over; you must know Chuito.”
The second Romeo’s and Tino’s backs were turned, Melody breathed a sigh of relief and mouthedthank youto Jules. Making it evident that though she put on a front of being oblivious to the curiosity of the other patrons, she was very aware of the stir Romeo’s arrival caused. More than being a famous UFC fighter, one who’d had an ongoing rivalry with Clay until he’d saved Melody, he was also very city, and it made him stand out in a town that always got a buzz off the gossip of something new and different happening.
Jules winked at Melody in return, and she only felt mildly guilty for the ruse because luring Romeo to the corner of the diner wasn’t exactly a hardship for her. Then she turned and headed back to the table, all the while thinking of how she was going to get him alone long enough to do more than shake hands.
* * * *
“You’re giving me your Ferrari?”
“Wreck it and die,” Romeo warned as he put the car keys in his brother’s hand. Giving Tino his car when he was high on sugar and energy drinks was just asking for trouble, but Romeo wanted Julesthatbadly. “I’ll text you the address to the house.”
“No problem.” Tino gave Romeo a knowing smile, then turned to Chuito behind him. “You ready?”
“Sure, man,” Chuito said casually. “Where’d you wanna go?”
“I just wanna check the place out. See what there is to do around here.”
Chuito tilted his head and pulled a face. “There’s not much.”
“You sure you can’t let your little secretary off?” Tino asked Jules, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe she knows where the party’s at.”
“She’s sure,” Chuito said before Jules could answer, giving Tino a dark look, making him appear threatening in a way that had nothing to do with being a successful MMA fighter. His voice was suddenly electric with danger as he warned, “Partying with Alaine’s off the menu.”
“Hey, it’s cool.” Tino held up his hands passively. “I didn’t know you were doing her.”
“I’m not—” Chuito swallowed hard before he gestured to Romeo’s Ferrari parked next to Jules’s car in the parking lot of her office. “Let’s just take off.”
Romeo watched his brother and Chuito pull onto the road in his car, and tried not to wince. He wasn’t real sure what there was to do around here, but he was fairly certain if there was trouble of some sort, Tino could find it, especially with Chuito as a tour guide.
“You know that guy’s got a colorful past.” Romeo leaned against Jules’s car next to her and gave her a look. “I knew he trained with Clay, but I didn’t realize helivedover your office.”
“You don’t know anything ’bout Chuito or his past,” Jules said defensively. “You’re just buying into the hype ’round him. He’s lived over my office for three years, and I’ve never had a problem with him.”
Romeodidknow he had a past. It was more than the obvious gang tattoos and the hum in MMA circles that said Chuito was a very dangerous man both in and out of the cage. It was an instinctive knowledge that Chuito would do what he had to in order to protect his interests, even if it wasn’t moral or legal. There was a reason Tino had gravitated to the light heavyweight champion within two minutes of sitting down to lunch. They were cut from the same cloth and used to a lifestyle where black-and-white for ordinary, law-abiding citizens was blended gray under the guise of loyalty and survival.
Then again, how could he give Jules shit for letting a former gangbanger live above her office considering she’d been having phone sex with Romeo every night for nearly two months and he wasn’t a former anything. He was still very much involved with the mafia whether he wanted to be or not.
