Chapter 13
“Eight ball into the left corner pocket,” Raven announced.
Three men stood beside the pool table, all grim-faced as they watched Raven bend down, sight the ball, shift her pool stick back and forth and then…snap! Raven tapped the white ball and everyone watched as it rolled smoothly across the green felt table. It looked as if it might come to a stop right in front of the eight ball, which was perched just at the very edge of the pocket. But at the last moment, the white ball bumped the eight ball. There was a communal inhalation of breath and then…the eight ball dropped into the pocket.
“Damn!” Edward replied, gazing at Raven with admiration. “Well done!”
Sean laughed, then walked over and hugged Raven. She smiled and accepted her friend’s gesture, hugging him back. They stepped away from each other and Mandy watched as Raven searched for, and found, Timothy’s angry gaze. He was glaring at her as if she’d done something monumentally offensive.
“That was good,” Tim finally grumbled, acknowledging her skill with a tilt of his handsome head.
And that’s when Mandy saw what she would have thought was impossible; Raven blushed! The tough, all-knowing, all-seeing match-maker actually blushed!
Mandy’s mouth fell open and she turned her head, looking up at Zahir. She heard his deep chuckle which told her that he’d witnessed the blush as well.
“The next few months are going to be very interesting!” he whispered into her ear. Then he nipped at it, pulling her in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist when she shivered.
“Soo…Tim and Raven?” she whispered, leaning to one side and speaking in a low voice so the others wouldn’t overhear.
“Naeam,” he agreed with a nod, then jerked his head towards the corner of the billiard’s room. “And I’d also put a wager on some sort of connection between Antonio and Astra.”
When Mandy looked over at the other two members of their party, she noticed that the combatants seemed to be ready to come to blows. Astra’s long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back as she tilted her head back to glare up at Antonio.
“Intriguing!” Mandy whispered back. “What about him?” she asked, nodding her head towards Edward. “What do you know about the Duke of Finhearst?”
Zahir grunted, nodding in the general direction of the man standing by the pool table. The handsome duke was watching the others in awed fascination. They both laughed softly when the man in question shuddered after viewing the other couples. Even Sean was on his phone, most likely texting his beautiful wife, Kennedi, and Levi was leaning against the billiard’s room wall, talking on his phone with a sappy smile on his face. Yeah, he must be speaking with his wife, Clarissa.
“Those two are dedicated to their wives,” she sighed, appreciating a man who cared so much for his spouse and didn’t care who knew it.
“I’m just as dedicated to you, Habibi,” he whispered, nuzzling his nose against her neck. “Astra mentioned something about wedding dresses earlier today. I’m the one that mentioned that Antonio might need her assistance with future events.”
“Oooh! That sounds like you’re doing a bit of match-making,” she teased, turning so that she could smile up at him. “I like the idea!” She glanced over her shoulder at Antonio and Astra, then looked up at Zahir. “They’ll make an excellent couple.”
“I agree.” He leaned back against the pool table, sliding his hands low on her back as he pulled her between his legs. “And are we going to make an excellent couple?”
She grinned, lifting up onto her toes to kiss him. “Absolutely!” she whispered back, all the love she felt for this man shining in her eyes. “A most excellent couple!”