Tiago's Love Page 5

  Rigid as if I swallowed a dagger, I slowly prop myself against my chair.

  His forearms are still on the table, his eyes slanted to his drink as he leans slightly forward, not looking at me.

  Neither of us speaks for a few good moments.

  My blood runs even faster through my veins.

  “What made you do it?” he finally asks with a low, quiet voice.

  I stay silent.

  Discreetly, he tilts his head to the side and shoots me a glance over his shoulder.

  His eyes drill holes in my chest.

  I feel a dull pain and a lot of regrets.

  “You didn’t give me a choice.”

  He tilts his head down and gives me a quick once over.

  “You could’ve told them the truth.”

  My words shoot fast at him.

  “You could’ve told me the truth, and this would’ve never happened.”

  He brings his eyes up as he parts his lips to say something else.

  I lift my hand only for him to see it.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Chris...”

  I stop, suffocated, the reality catching up with me.

  His face turns whiter than the tablecloth.

  “I’m not interested in hearing your justification. It’s pointless to me. Besides, it’s unnecessary now. Things are way more complicated than you think. Had I known you were his brother I would’ve never gotten in bed with you.”

  A muscle ticks in his jaw.

  My words were harsh but not entirely untrue. This thing between us would’ve probably never happened.

  “I think I’m going to go now,” I say as I push the chair back, just when David walks back to our table.

  My move catches Rain’s eyes.

  “Where are you going?” she asks, rounding the table and heading my way.

  “I’m going home.”

  “Why? The party just got started.”

  “I don’t feel well.”

  “Are you sure?” she asks, her eyes filled with surprise.

  “Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll stop by at your place tomorrow morning.”

  “I’m heading out too,” David says as James nears us. “I’ll take you home,” he offers.

  “Thank you,” I say with a smooth voice, not once looking at the man who’s still seated at the table, not far from all of us.

  7

  TIAGO

  My eyes stay on Eve’s back as she walks away from me, accompanied by David Moore.

  “Don’t even think about that.”

  I swivel my head back to the man in front of me.

  From across the table, James’ eyes taser me. Rain sits quietly by his side.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I shoot at him, unwilling to control my language.

  Of all things we could’ve discussed right now, Eve Malone is probably the worst.

  My blood hammers through my veins as I watch her disappear with the man who most likely wants to make a move on her. Tonight, of all nights.

  My jaw locks, my body hardening with tension.

  This is not how I imagined this would go down.

  What were the fucking chances to walk into a room and run into the man who sits across from me and also Eve Malone? What were the chances that the two were connected? What were the chances that the man who clearly has an interest in her was here as well?

  And last but not least, what were the chances for her to choose not to blow my cover? To try to bury our story?

  Why would she do that?

  Was she trying to do me a favor?

  Even if it wasn’t her intention, judging by the daggers shooting from my brother's eyes, a lie was preferable to a half baked truth.

  He looks at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

  I wonder if he suspects something.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to set me up and push my buttons with this stupid conversation so that he’d get confirmation that he was right.

  What’s it to him, anyway?

  I hold his gaze defiantly.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Eve Malone is off limits,” he says categorically.

  The grin that begs to come to life on my lips gets buried in the depths of my heart.

  Only if he knew.

  “I don’t understand,” I say, looking at him poker-faced. “What does she have to do with anything?”

  He studies me for a moment. I’m sure that signs are all over my face. I’m sure something feels off to him. He’s too good at this game not to know it, sense it, feel it.

  He is too much like me. And why in the world is he so concerned with Eve Malone and not me?

  Why would he be so protective with her when he had no damn problem to pimp her to those two suckers in Monte Carlo for a threesome some time ago?

  The swirling of my blood takes a turn for the worse.

  My fists clench as I remember Eve’s words.

  ‘Some guy from Colorado.’

  How could she say that to me?

  He’s not some guy from Colorado. He is one of if not the richest man in the state.

  Why would Eve be so protective of them too? I don’t understand.

  She never told me who her friend was or her friend's husband.

  She’s angry with me because I lied. She did the same thing.

  At least, I lied to her because I wanted her.

  I lied to her because an opportunity was handed to me.

  I lied, because, honestly, I don’t think she would’ve wanted to have anything to do with me.

  A twenty-one-year-old, so much different than her. Coming from a different world. A rootless nomad as she said.

  I had no intention of settling down here in New York. I wasn’t looking to hook up with anyone either. Especially, not someone like her, but things don’t always go the way you want them to, and I’m not the kind of guy who says no to a golden opportunity.

  So, if I needed to play that game, I did.

  But now... I don’t know.

  I would’ve taken her anger, and dark fury unleashed on me, over this crazy situation.

  James leans back in his chair, a small smile on his lips.

  He can’t possibly know that I’ve had this woman, but he can sure suspect that I want her.

  “She’s not for you,” he continues.

  Rain’s eyes stay rooted to my face.

  “Why the hell not?” I ask brazenly, venting some of my anger.

  A grin floods his eyes.

  Curtly, he ticks his chin and motions in the direction of the exit door where Eve and David Moore vanished a moment ago.

  “For one, you have stiff competition.”

  I’m not blind.

  I can’t read the clues as well as he does.

  David Moore is ten years older than me if not more. He sure has more money than me, and he’s what women call a heartthrob.

  I’m surprised he didn’t make his move on her way before I became part of the picture.

  “So?” I throw at him.

  “Not only that,” he says, ignoring my question. “I doubt that she’d be interested in someone like you.”

  For a moment, our eyes clash.

  His eyes harbor an amused smile while my teeth grind.

  Is he fucking with me?

  He probably is. He’s pushing my buttons, the same way he did it when he collected me from the Russians’ territory. He’s good at this, but I’m no novice. I’ll let him think whatever he wants. The joke’s on him anyway.

  Only if he knew, how interested she was in me.

  “Why’s that?” I ask, tipping my gaze down and flashing a player smile as I pick up my drink and bring it to my lips.

  He studies my grin for a few moments. My smirk is a trap, but I doubt that he knows it. It’s my way of saying that she is not off limits to me.

  Because she’s not, and she will never be.

  Whatever he says, or thinks of me.

&
nbsp; It’s not his fucking business after all.

  Rain observes me as well. I’m sure this conversation will make it to Eve’s ears.

  Even better.

  Once they start talking about me, a lot of crap will be revealed, and this shit will only be a drop in the bucket.

  So fuck it.

  I set my drink down and lift my gaze.

  James no longer smiles, a dark edge glinting through his eyes.

  “She’s not the kind of woman that you need.”

  That’s a weak defense, and he knows it. I dip my gaze to his tense lips for a moment.

  “Are you saying that she is too good for me?” I ask, scoring an unexpected point when I sense a wave of anger sweeping through him.

  “She is a good woman who doesn’t deserve to be taken for a ride by someone like you,” he clarifies it for me.

  My eyebrows lift, my smile dying out.

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  He makes an effort to push his words back, and I’m sure he does it for Rain.

  “You know exactly what it means. She would be your perfect target. And she would fall for you hard. The last thing she needs is someone who sweeps her off her feet for fun and then drops her when she least expects it.”

  I feel the punch of his words in the pit of my stomach.

  I stay quiet, pondering for a moment.

  “You mean she wouldn’t be safe with me?” I ask.

  He flicks his eyebrows up, tossing me a questioning look.

  “Would she?” he asks mockingly.

  My eyes dart back and forth between the two of them.

  “Were the women in your past safe?” he asks, taunting me.

  I’m not taking the bait.

  I see where he’s going with this.

  “So, you say that David Moore guy is a better match for her?” I ask, stretching a sarcastic smile.

  Or the guys he set her up with in Monte Carlo, I almost ask.

  “I have no fucking idea. But David is in a better place than you, not to say that he has more experience than you. He knows women. He knows what’s what, and he doesn’t play with them. And unlike you, he behaves like a gentleman.”

  My fists long to hit the table.

  I shoot a glare that leaves him unfazed before I push my chair back.

  “I don’t even know why we’re talking about her right now,” I throw at him, rising to my feet. “I don’t even know the woman. In fact, I don’t even think that this is about her and me. Your beef is with me, brother, but I’m not gonna stay here and fight you. I had enough of this ‘friendly’ reunion,” I say cold as ice as I slip my hand inside my jacket and fish out a business card.

  I drop it on the table.

  “In case you want to talk to me about something else other than women.”

  He doesn’t flinch.

  I shift my gaze to his wife and tip my chin down.

  “Rain.”

  With that, I take a step back, spin around, and walk away.

  8

  EVE

  My eyes stay on the handsome man who sits across from me in the limousine, my gaze roaming over his face.

  His blue eyes glimmer softly in the dimness, his suit and dress shirt doing him justice.

  Talking about missed opportunities.

  Had I had this moment with him a few months back before I met Tiago, I would’ve been so enticed by the idea of him–– despite my reservations and the fact that I tried so hard to make a point by staying away from him.

  I didn’t want to have anything to do with someone from Rain’s past. I thought that it was awkward.

  Seemingly, he has no problem with it.

  As he shifts his eyes to the window, once again, I see his appeal, and I realize how lucky Rain was to meet him at the right time. And more so, how lucky James was to steal her heart before David Moore got a chance to charm her.

  And that brings me to my next point.

  Timing is everything in life. And mine was off since I can remember.

  It goes for him, and it goes for Tiago.

  Had I not met Tiago, I would’ve been beside myself right now, seeing David Moore so attentive to me.

  Had I ended up with Andrew–– the first escort that I booked and liked, I would’ve never ended up in a hotel room looking for a man named Christian on that November evening.

  Seemingly, my life has been a string of crazy accidents lately.

  A soft sigh leaves my lips as I tip my gaze down, my mind spinning thoughts.

  I should’ve known that something was wrong.

  Christian’s face was my first clue. But how could I possibly envision that he had something to do with James?

  Hiding this critical detail from Rain was stupid and had consequences.

  By doing that, I messed with the natural flow of things and got myself tangled up in this mess.

  My chest feels heavy as I process these thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, prompting me to raise my eyes.

  “Yes. I’m a little tired,” I say, smiling sweetly.

  “You should take some time off.”

  “I had a mini vacation recently,” I say before I pull my mouth shut.

  He observes me in silence.

  “How do you do it?” I ask, trying to focus our conversation on him. “Managing your schedule and keeping your life under control?” I add.

  “I’m good at finding a balance,” he says with an even, smooth voice.

  My eyes linger on his face a little more. Everything attests to this man’s words. I’ve never seen him upset or tense or tormented of anything.

  Having money has to do with that, but it’s also the way he lives. He seems content, at peace with everything.

  A while ago, Rain told me that she suspected that he was bored with women. Perhaps he was and still is, but despite that detail, he certainly enjoys life and knows how to be happy by himself.

  That’s something I need to learn as well.

  “It sure works,” I say.

  It sounds like a blatant compliment, but it’s reality as well.

  “Sometimes, it’s better if you take things easy.”

  “That’s easier said than done.”

  “True, but it’s not impossible.”

  His eyes stay connected with mine, and for a moment, I wonder what exactly he is referring to.

  Reading his expression doesn’t offer me a clue. The man is enigmatic and hard to read.

  A moment later, his eyes twinkle with a smile.

  “I can help you with it.”

  “How?”

  “We can go out one of these evenings and chat about it a little more.”

  I mull over his proposal.

  “Sure. We can do that,” I say as the car slows down and pulls in front of my building.

  He takes his phone out of his pocket and checks his schedule.

  “How about next Thursday?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Le Bernardin? Eight o’clock? I can pick you up at seven thirty.”

  My stomach shrinks into a ball.

  I bet my expression has shifted too if nothing else for his rapid reaction.

  “We can pick another place if you want to. I suggested it because the food is good.”

  “No, it’s great. Yes, I know. The food is excellent. Seven thirty is perfect.”

  The driver holds the door open for me as I step out of the limo. On the sidewalk, I turn around and wave David goodbye.

  He tips his gaze down, giving me a warm smile before the driver shuts the door and climbs back into the limousine.

  Moments later, the car glides away, and I enter the building.

  A long breath rolls into my lungs the moment I walk into the quiet lobby. Finally, I’m relieved that I no longer have to smile or talk or hide the way I feel.

  Absently, I push the elevator button.

  The doors slide closed, and the car moves up before I find my way to my apartment.

  My cozy
place never felt so welcoming. Despite the memories looming from every corner, it feels as if I walk into a sanctuary.

  I shed my coat and kick off my shoes, and then I make a beeline for the bathroom. I spend an hour or so in the bathtub, my body covered with warm water and scented foam before I get out, pat myself dry, wrap a robe around me and walk back to the living room.

  I check my phone on my way to the kitchen.

  Rain called twice. I check the time as I pivot to the counter.

  It’s almost midnight. It’s too late to call her now. Besides, she might still be at the party.

  I set a teapot on the stove and scoop out a cupcake from a dessert box when the phone rings.

  “Hey,” she says. “Are you asleep or something?”

  “No. I just got out of the bathtub,” I say with a quiet voice.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Are you still at the party?” I ask as the background noise echoes in my phone.

  “Yes. I told you that it just got started.”

  “Cool,” I mutter as I start preparing my tea.

  For a few moments, she talks to someone else.

  “I’m back,” she says.

  “So, how’s, um... everything? Is James still there?” I ask as I pour hot water into a cup.

  A flavor of cinnamon and fruit fills my kitchen as I dunk the tea bag in the water a few times.

  “Yeah, yeah. He’s still here,” she says, rushed. “Hold on for a second, let me go into a different room. The noise is crazy in here.”

  Soon, her footsteps ring out in silent surroundings.

  “This is better,” she says.

  A second ticks by before she talks to me again.

  “He’s here. I mean in the other room, talking to some people.”

  “So where is his, um... brother?”

  “About that...”

  A smile flashes through her voice.

  “That’s why I called you actually,” she says.

  My pulse speeds up.

  With a trembling hand, I set my cup of tea on the table. Slowly, I slide into a chair.

  “Uh-huh... What about him?”

  A few more moments of silence slip by.

  “Rain?”

  “Yeah... Sorry. James sent me a message and I typed a reply.”

  “About his brother,” I say with a shaky voice, the anticipation killing me.

  “I think he set his eyes on you.”