Chapter 14
DEX
Daniela marches across the bar toward Rio and the woman sitting with him.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The woman jumps up from her seat, looks at Daniela, and throws her arms around her.
“Are you spying on me?” Daniela demands, her voice sharp with surprise. “When did you get here? How? Why didn’t you call me?”
A firehose of questions spills from her mouth, and her friend barely has time to answer. They keep switching between Portuguese and English, and I catch about half of it, but I don’t need a translation to see that these two know each other well.
Rio and I exchange looks. I raise a brow at him. What the fuck, dude? I silently ask. Do she and Rio already know each other?
How?
“Hey, Rio,” Daniela says after a moment, once the commotion between her and her friend dies down.
“Daniela.” Rio greets her smoothly, then looks at me.
Daniela’s gaze moves between us, narrowing slightly. “You brought him along?”
I can’t lie to this woman. “He wanted to be my wingman.”
“I offered to come along,” Rio corrects, coughing lightly.
“Are you both together?” I ask, my gaze bouncing between Rio and the woman.
“You’re sitting like you know each other,” Daniela points out. She turns to Rio, her eyes sharp with suspicion. “Are you on a date?”
“Ha-ha. Very funny.” Rio rolls his eyes. He’s been quiet up until now, probably just as thrown as I am.
I flick him a look. Please, dude, please tell me you haven’t made a move on her.
Daniela’s friend snorts, holding up a hand. “I wouldn’t be caught dead with this man.”
“You sure about that?” Rio growls. “You came and sat next to me, and offered to buy me a drink.”
“This is Raquel,” Daniela tells me. “Remember? I mentioned earlier about my best friend from home, the one I ran marathons with—” As if she’s just remembered something, she switches gears mid-sentence and her arm slips around my waist.
Oh.
Oh!
The acting starts now. I grin and pull her close. She’s not soft and lush, like I expected, especially with those curves. Daniela is all lean muscle and firm. The way I like it.
“Hi, Raquel,” I say smoothly. “Daniela has told me so much about you.”
Raquel’s eyes snap to Daniela. “You told him about me , but you didn’t tell me about him .”
“I was going to … in person,” Daniela hedges. Her friend narrows her eyes and folds her arm, disbelief oozing out of her. “Why are you here, Raquel?” my curious fiancée-to-be asks.
Her friend hesitates. “I got worried.”
Worried? What the hell was her friend worried about?
“Worried about what?” Daniela laughs, and we all break out into awkward chuckles.
They don’t discuss this further, but I’m curious. Raquel turns to me, her gaze narrowing. “So, this is Dexter. Dexter Knight.” She spits out my name like it’s a curse. “You’re doing this? You’re marrying a Knight?”
My ears go on alert. I grin at her. “You’re talking about us as if we’re famous.”
Raquel folds her arms, like she’s getting ready to take me to trial. “Oh, they’re famous, alright. In every environmental law circle from D.C. to S?o Paulo.” She glares at Daniela. “Your fiancé’s family buries lawsuits like they bury toxic waste, quietly and with no accountability.”
A sniff of disgust as she looks at me.
“The Knights are everything I’ve spent my career fighting against. Corrupt. Ruthless. Untouchable. And now one of them has you in his pocket?”
“Dexter is wonderful,” Daniela coos, ignoring her friend’s disdain and smoothly slipping into a role that I sense makes her uncomfortable. If I can sense it, so can her friend. But then she lays her head against my shoulder, playing her part perfectly. “He’s just the sort of guy I never thought I’d meet, and yes, I guess what they’re doing is wrong. But, hopefully, over time, they’ll learn to do better, to be better ethically?” She gazes up at me adoringly, fluttering her eyelashes .
I stare down at her, stick on a grin. “With you by my side, I’d want to be better.”
I hear Rio snort. Her friend doesn’t look convinced. “How did you two meet?”
Rio’s watching, his gaze knowing, as if he’s waiting for me to slip up. Raquel folds her arms even more tightly.
“Did you know they were getting married?” she asks him.
Rio shrugs. “Didn’t you?” Perfect reply.
She exhales sharply.
“Why so cold all of a sudden?” Rio asks her. “I thought we were getting on just fine.”
Raquel glares at him, then me. “Tell me how you met,” she says, voice tight as she easily ignores Rio. “I need to hear this.”
We’re all standing around now, the energy tense.
“Shouldn’t we sit down and get more drinks?” I suggest.
“No,” Raquel snaps. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
I exhale through my nose. “What do you think? That I kidnapped her? Held her hostage? That I’m forcing her into this?” I hold up Daniela’s hand, to show off the engagement ring.
It feels like destiny, the way things are unfolding. The ring and us being caught and having our alibis straight.
Except … fuck . We didn’t discuss the very thing Justice Raquel is enquiring about. She cuts Daniela a sharp look. “This isn’t like you, Dani.”
Daniela stiffens. “What do you mean?”
“This makes no sense,” her friend says flatly. “Tell me how this happened.” She waves a hand between me and Daniela. We remain standing, arms around each other. Trying to look casual, even as I’m feeling something strange, with Daniela flush against me. I try to push it back down. Hide it away. Rio doesn’t sit. He stands with us. I think this dude might actually be afraid to sit back down with this chick.
“We met at a tech conference. In S?o Paulo.” Daniela says, easily.
Rio coughs lightly. I think I hear a “Bullshit.”
“Do you mind?” I hiss. He picks up his glass and drains it dry.
“You met … in S?o Paulo ?” Raquel asks stiffly. “You expect me to believe that you …” Her head whips in my direction, “You flew to Brazil for a tech conference?”
“You’d be amazed what I’ll do to avoid my father,” I answer quickly. This woman is too inquisitive for my liking. “I was invited to speak. Panel on sustainable tech investment. Very niche. Very exclusive.”
“He filled in for someone last-minute,” Daniela adds. “I was there representing my father’s company.”
“And you… just happened to sit next to each other?” The friend glares at us skeptically.
“Sounds like fate,” Rio murmurs.
“I challenged him during the Q&A.” Daniela looks up at me adoringly. I wish she really meant it.
“Atta girl,” Rio says.
“In front of a packed room. She basically accused me of being all buzzwords and no substance.”
Raquel arches a brow at Daniela. “That sounds like you.”
Daniela giggles. “He was asking for it. Quoting stats from 2016 like they were groundbreaking.”
I smile down at my fiancée. “She was the only one in the room who didn’t fawn over me. I was intrigued.”
“Aroused more like it,” my wingman mutters.
I turn to him, afraid he’ll blow our cover if he keeps this up. “Will you quit the commentary?” I hiss, before turning back to my interrogator. “And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about her all night.”
“How romantic,” Raquel says in a flat voice.
“Not all love stories start with roses. Ours started with professional humiliation and warm canapés,” I retort.
“Uh-huh.” Raquel looks like she’s still trying to make up her mind. “And you’ve been secretly dating ever since? Is that the story?”
“It’s not a story, Raquel. We kept in touch. It was… gradual. You know I don’t do instalove.” Daniela pats my arm, then, slides her hand up and down gently, as if convincing Raquel suddenly requires more effort.
“Real slow burn. Like gasoline on a match,” Rio says, taking another drink from the server.
Raquel eyes him. “You’re awfully vocal for someone not involved.”
He grins. “These two were meant for each other. It’s a beautiful love story. It really is.”
“One last question.” Raquel pins me with a stare. “Name one thing on the menu at that private dinner.”
Jesus. And then it comes to me. “Truffle risotto. It was overcooked.”
“And the wine was Chilean. Which was offensive, frankly.” Daniela doesn’t miss a beat.
Raquel huffs, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed, lawyer-brain in full effect. “...Fine. You pass. Barely .”
“Cross-examined and passed. Do we get a trophy?” Daniela asks.
“No, you get to keep your dignity. Barely.” Her friend pouts. Her lips are painted bright red.
Rio winks at her. “Told you. It’s a beautiful, unforgettable love story.”
My head snaps to him. “Remind me why I let you come here?”
“Comic relief. Obviously.”
***
DANI
I’m completely unprepared for this. For Raquel to turn up like this, unexpectedly, for her to be flirting with Rio Knight, of all people, and for me and Dexter to have to show, on demand, that we’re happily and madly in love.
But it seems to have worked. I think we’ve convinced her of how we met. I don’t know why I came up with a tech conference, although I did recently attend a tech conference and maybe that bubbled to the surface. Still, there’s no denying how eerie it was that Dexter and I just made that story up, on the spot.
If we’re not careful, we’ll end up finishing each other’s sentences, too. I find myself acutely aware of the way his hand, large and soft, fits around mine. How his hard body presses against me, his arm wrapped around my back has me breaking out in a rash of goosebumps.
From excitement, not cold.
I love the way his fingers splay on my hip, his thumb hypnotically stroking back and forth. How my skin slowly prickles with an expectant thrum.
“Why don’t we all sit down and you both join us? Dexter and I were just making wedding plans,” I say, forcing a bright smile.
My heart had almost jumped out of my ribcage when I registered that Raquel was sitting on the bar stool. She’s so unmistakably Raquel. Those glossy, long curls, that thin, nipped-in waist, the way she moves with the kind of confidence that only someone who has never second-guessed themselves a day in their life can. And, of course, she’s dressed in a designer business suit, perfectly tailored, and wearing sky-high stilettos.
And wearing her signature bright red lipstick.
But for her to be sitting with Rio of all people.
Why was she talking to him ?
When did he get here?
Why is he here?
Does Dexter not trust me?
Or does he not trust himself?
It’s too much to process all at once.
I was worried about how we’d do this, but so far, we seem to be keeping our cover. Raquel is suspicious and she was relentless in her questioning, but it seems like we’ve passed the test.
I’m still uneasy because she’s going to pick at every word, every action, every glance between Dexter and me until she finds a crack. She knows this isn’t me.
I feel Dexter shift beside me, his palm resting lightly on the small of my back. His touch is meant to be reassuring, but instead, it sends a jolt of tension through me. Not because I don’t like it.
Because I do.
That’s the problem.
Raquel’s sharp gaze flits down to Dexter’s hand, her lips pressing into a thin line before she looks back up at me. “Wedding plans?” she repeats slowly, like she’s rolling the words around in her mouth, tasting them, testing them.
I lean into Dexter’s touch and lift my chin. “We were just discussing venues.”
“Really?” She quirks a perfectly arched brow. “Because when I spoke to you earlier, you made it sound like this was barely a relationship, let alone something serious enough to be planning a wedding.”
I let out a light laugh, the kind that should come naturally to a woman deeply in love. “I wanted to surprise you, like I said. You know how it is, Raquel. Things move fast when it’s right.”
Dexter makes a low, approving sound and leans in, his lips brushing against my temple. “I love this woman with all my heart” he murmurs, his voice rich and smooth, laced with just the right amount of devotion.
I blink.
Dios . Okay. That was…convincing. Heart hammering in my chest, I turn to him, forcing warmth into my gaze as I play along. “You make my life complete ...”
Dexter’s mouth tilts into a smile that would fool anyone. Anyone except maybe Raquel. She glances between us, suspicion still etched into every line of her face.
“Huh.” She taps her manicured nails against her arm. “And when exactly were you going to tell me about this engagement?”
Dexter and I answer at the same time.
“Soon,” I say.
Raquel’s lips part, her head tilting.
“But you found out this way,” Dexter chuckles, smooth as ever, and tightens his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. He turns to me, and before I can process what’s happening, he cups my jaw and his lips brush mine so lightly. My lips feel scorched as he leaves his imprint on me.
For a man who can be so guarded, so emotionally distant, he blows hot and cold so fast, I feel like I have whiplash from his changing moods. His gaze lingers over my mouth and my lips instinctively part.
Time slows down. I think he’s waiting for my permission. Sweat forms along my nape. Raquel’s eyes feel like a lead weight on my chest, making it harder for me to think.
To breathe.
I tilt my face upwards and press my lips to his, but it happens so fast. The way Dexter’s mouth presses against mine, how my eyes flutter shut and I’m suddenly lost in a world of warmth and sweetness.
Then it turns slow, and lingering. I catch a hint of his cologne, dark and spicy. Dangerous, too. Like him. My arms close around his neck and I press myself against him, mewling against his mouth when his kiss turns hard, and crushing and bruising. Like we’re in the middle of making love, not standing in a bar, putting on a performance for my inquisitive friend. I hear a guttural moan deep in his throat, and feel the press of something poking against my stomach.
Oh my.
“Get a room, you both.” Rio’s voice breaks our spell and we pull apart. Dexter’s eyes lock with mine. I’m left feeling breathless, giddy. For a guy who doesn’t want any of this, he’s a pretty good actor.
Not to mention an amazing kisser.
My insides are in upheaval. My breasts heavy. Blood thunders in my ears. I can’t reconcile the cold man I met that first night with this passionate lover I now find myself staring at. This feels too real for my comfort. His thumb brushes over my cheekbone. “Right, amor?”
I smile back, feeling like a woman madly in love.
“It feels like I’m watching a porno.” Raquel huffs in disgust.
“And you would know this how?” Rio asks, eyes wide.
Raquel cuts him a cold look, before turning to us. I feel that we’ve managed to fully convince her. But the way Dexter kissed me, he’s convinced me that he loves me, and it feels bittersweet because I know how much he doesn’t want any part of this.
I have a long, cruel year ahead of me, and I’d better keep my wits about me.
The spell breaks after that.
We move apart.
There’s been too much shock and interruption, and our evening is ruined. Our appetizers go untouched and we all decide to head back. I feel a pang of disappointment.
This could have turned into something special, and I hate that we were denied that.