Page 104 of Cuffed By Love

The corner of my lip lifts, and I stare into her golden eyes. “All out of words, Tinks.”

Mira drops her gaze. She presses her ruby red lips together, clearly fighting the urge to smile. “Let’s sit.” Megan chirps excitedly. I take my seat beside Megan, and Mira sits opposite me with Levi beside her, facing Megan. “Shall we order some wine? What is everyone in the mood for?”

Levi drapes his arm around the back of Mira’s chair, his fingers stroking her bare shoulder. “I’m feeling rosé tonight. What are you going for?” Levi asks Mira.

“I was thinking rosé too.” She smiles brightly, leaning into him while they peruse the wine menu.

“Honey, what are you in the mood for? I’m in the mood for red?” Megan questions. I know what I’m in the mood for. A very tall glass of Mira.

“Red sounds wonderful, baby, you pick,” I tell her, lifting her hand and dropping a kiss over her knuckles. Megan beams.

Once the drinks are ordered, we make idle chitchat. “So Levi, when are you looking to go back to Aussie?” Megan inquires before she takes a long sip of her wine.

Levi shifts in his seat and shrugs. “Not sure yet. It all depends on how dad gets on with his treatments.” He expresses coolly. “Mira and I went to see him today; he seems to have perked up a little.” I pick up my wineglass and take a sip. My eyes fixed on Mira. When she catches me looking at her, she squirms in her seat.

“Mira, I love that outfit.” Megan gushes. Mira smiles and looks down at herself.

“Thank you. Levi and I are going out to a club after dinner. I don’t always overdress.” She simpers, looking over at Levi when he lifts her hand and kisses her fingers.

“She looks fire.” He croons, staring into her eyes. I press my molars together and suppress the urge to snap my wine glass in half.

“A club? That sounds like so much fun.” Megan states gleefully, looking over at me suggestively. Oh, bloody hell. I know that look; she wants to go dancing too. Since I’ve known her, I have never, not once, known her to want to go dancing. What the fuck is she on? While I don’t particularly like the idea of watching Mira grinding with my brother, a part of me wants to be there to keep an eye on her. Okay, fine. I’m burning with envy, so sue me.

“You guys should join. It’s this new club opening in Soho. Wyatt’s been invited to promote the place and invited us. Logan and Lexi are coming too.” Levi offers, missing the glare Mira is sending him.

“We’ll go, won’t we, baby?” Megan is practically bouncing in her seat. I smile, nodding, wrapping my arm around her shoulder; I kiss the base of her neck.

“Whatever you want, baby,” I murmur against her skin, and Megan sinks into me with a sigh. Mira’s hazel eyes dart from me to Megan, her lips set in a thin line. Up goes that challenging brow before she looks down at her menu, muttering something to herself.

I am well aware that we are both grown arse adults acting like adolescent teens, but this is what she does to me. Mira makes me fucking crazy. She always has. I should do the right thing and leave her be. Let her get on with her life, but I can’t. Something inside refuses to let her go.

“Mira, how did you and Devin meet?” Megan inquires while we eat our food. Mira chews her food and swallows before she answers. Her eyes meet mine as she reaches for her glass of wine.

“We met when we were five. The same day they moved into the house opposite ours. I fell off my bike, and he came to see if I was okay.” Mira explains.

“I should have known way back then you’d be a walking catastrophe.” I tease her, and she smiles into her wineglass.

“Oh shush, I was curious. I wanted to see who our new neighbours were.” Mira defends.

“She took one look at me and fell off her bike, isn’t that right, Tinks?” I chuckle when she stares at me, lips parted, eyes started, and shakes her head.

“Absolutely, he was this ugly little thing. You know where you see something so horrendously ruinous that you can’t help but look.” She drawls comically and points her finger in my direction. “I crashed my bike into a tree; he was that unsightly.”

It was my turn to gape at her while she smirks at me. “How dare you, Tinks, I was hella cute.”

“What is Tinks?” Megan asks, watching us curiously.

“That’s what Devin calls her.” Levi chuckles, rubbing the nape of Mira’s neck.

“I went through a phase where I loved Tinker Bell,” Mira utters with a playful roll of her eyes, her cheeks reddening.

“Loved? You were obsessed. You wore that costume every single day, Tinks. Let’s tell it how it is now.”

“Aww, isn’t that adorable? I had a thing for Belle from Beauty and the Beast when I was younger.” Megan gushes, and she turns her green eyes to look at me impishly. “Maybe you should call me Belle? It also means beautiful in Italian so it would serve as a double meaning.”

I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, so I opt for nodding and smiling instead. I’ve known the woman for five years, and she’s not mentioned that once, but now she wants me to call her Belle? We continue to converse throughout the main course, Megan firing question after question at Mira. I could tell she was feeling uncomfortable, and it was aggravating me. “I think that’s enough with the questions, babe. You’ve been drilling her the entire meal.” I tell Megan somewhat tightly and wipe my mouth with the napkin. Levi leans over and whispers something into Mira’s ear, and she nods, smiling gratefully. Her eyes lower to under the table, and she bites down on her lower lip.

“What’s for dessert?” Levi questions, smirking as he picks up the menu.

There’s only one thing I want for dessert, and you won’t find it on that menu.

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