The way she was guzzling her drink worried me. I’m sure it was because I’d have to hold her hair back while she purged it all later and not because this behavior was totally unlike her. “Take it easy on this one, okay?”
She ignored me and studied the room. “It’s busy here, isn’t it?”
“It gets busier.” I took her arm and tugged. “Come on. Let’s grab that booth before someone takes it.”
We weaved our way through the tables and claimed the booth. It was in the middle, far enough from the bandstand to offer privacy and close enough to the door so everyone joining us should see us right away.
Daphne slid in across from me, her head bobbing. “This music’s pretty good. Is it Celtic?”
It was the Beastie Boys. “It’s got Celtic roots.”
“I thought so.” She surveyed everything around her in that way she had when she was dissecting and evaluating. I could feel her foot tapping along to the beat of “You’ve Got to Fight for Your Right to Party.”
I was facing the front, so I immediately saw Rio when he stepped in. If I hadn’t seen him, I would’ve known he was in the house at the collective sigh from all the women.
I couldn’t blame them. He looked
good
. Yeah, it was all well and good that I could see his muscles rippling under his tight T-shirt and that his jeans hugged his package lovingly (yes, I looked) and that his eyes lit up when he saw me. But what really turned me on was the way he stalked toward me so confidently. With single-minded purpose. I bet he approached everything with that kind of concentration.
Yum.
I remembered how he said
fight me
and felt my nipples harden. I was practically panting by the time he reached our table.
He smiled. “Hi.”
I felt overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze, like I was the only person in the room with him. I had to clear my throat a couple of times before I could say “Hi” back.
Daphne scooted closer to the edge of the booth. “Who are you? Mena’s boyfriend? I’m her sister Daphne.” She held her hand out and toppled over.
Rio caught her by the elbow. “Careful. You okay?”
“Peachy, thanks.” She smiled unsteadily. “Mena got me a date too, did you know that?”
“She’s pretty generous.” Rio guided her back into the security of the corner of the booth.
“Mostly she’s always been a spoiled brat. Did you know she blew up my favorite Barbie?”
He glanced at me.
I shrugged. “It melted more than it blew up.”
“She was a brat,” Daphne declared. “But she’s okay now. Sometimes. Except for when she throws my coffee in the garbage.”
Hell, Daphne, air out all our dirty laundry right in front of the hottest man in the room. I held my hands up helplessly. “She’s not used to drinking.”
Rio’s smile was understanding. “I’m going to get myself a beer. You need another?”
I glanced down at the Guinness I’d barely touched despite my earlier plans. “I’m good.”
“I could use another one of these drinks.” Daphne peered down into her glass. “They disappear so fast.”
“No, she couldn’t,” I told Rio quickly.
“Be right back.” He flashed me his sexy smile again. I watched him walk toward the bar. I swear I’d never been one for men’s asses, but for him I could make an exception.
“He’s almost as yummy as my drink,” Daphne said, her eyes following him too. “But I’m relieved he’s not my date.”
I faced her and frowned. “Why?”
“He’s too overwhelming.” She shuddered. “I wouldn’t know what to do with him.”
I would. My entire body flushed as my imagination took flight. I fanned myself with my hand, hoping it was dark enough to hide my burning cheeks.
“It
is
rather warm in here, isn’t it?” My sister waved herself too. Then she unbuttoned her two top buttons. Only she must have still been warm because she undid another button.
“Much better.” She smiled at me and downed the rest of her drink.
I thought about telling her you could see her underwear, but she wore a white chemise on top of her bra so it wasn’t like she was flashing anyone. I figured I’d let her be. Getting her to drink water was going to be hard enough.
“No wonder Mom was raving about your boyfriend.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She pointed at Rio. “I’d rave about him too. He’s testosterone personified. Mom probably sees all the potential grandchildren in his loins—”
“Daphne!”
“—and Dad sees a guy he can bond with in football season.” She frowned. “The name Barry doesn’t quite suit him though, does it?”
How was I going to handle her when the real Barry showed up with his new girlfriend? I couldn’t have her telling our parents Barry and I split.
I looked longingly at Rio. It would have been perfect if I could have taken him to the party but, contrary to what my tipsy sister thought, our parents weren’t going to like him.
Daphne pouted when Rio came back with only a pint of beer. “Where’s my Sexual Trance?”
He and I exchanged a look and I slid out of the booth. “I’ll get her a glass of water. Be right back.”
At the bar, I looked back at the table to see Daphne talking to Rio with more animation than I’d ever seen, except when she was talking about childhood diseases. Panic and jealousy rose in me. I almost ran back to the table, but then I saw that Rio’s body language wasn’t like someone interested, so I calmed down.
Still, I returned as fast as possible. I set a big glass of water in front of Daphne and slid in next to Rio. “Everything okay?” I asked him.
He smiled. “Great.”
Daphne scowled at the water. “This doesn’t look like a Sexual Trance.”
“It’s H
2
O.” I thought maybe if I told her the chemical compound she might understand what it was, since plain English wasn’t working.
She pushed it across the table. “I want a Sexual Trance.”
“Don’t we all, but you’re going to drink this.” I slid the glass back at her.
“Make me.” She crossed her arms and glared at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, really mature, Daph.”
“Don’t call me Daph.”
I looked beseechingly at Rio.
He put his arm around me and whispered in my ear. “I can’t really blame her for wanting a sexual trance.”
His breath stirred every cell in my body to life. I froze, aware of the exact proximity of his lips to my neck, of the way his fingers toyed with the spaghetti strap of my top, of his thigh pressing against mine.
He was going to kiss me, I just knew it. I lowered my eyelids, ready, willing, and more than able—
Someone cleared his throat at the foot of the booth. Rio and I looked up simultaneously to find Barry and Cindy holding hands (he’d
never
held my hand when we went out) with Johnny lurking behind them. Cindy watched us with bubbly curiosity. Barry gaped as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. Johnny frowned at Rio’s hand on my shoulder.
I smiled even as I groaned mentally. “Hey, guys. You all know each other except for Johnny.” I pointed to him and everyone looked at him. “He’s Daphne’s date.”
“I am?” The confusion on Johnny’s face was comical.
“He is?” Daphne leaned around Cindy to get a better look at him.
His expression cleared up when he got a better look at her. “Mena was right. You’re hot.”
Hot? My sister? I looked at her. With her buttons undone and leaning over like that, he had an eyeful. And she had a lot to ogle. Frankly, I could support anything that got Johnny’s attention off me.
Daphne’s face lit up, emphasizing her angelicness. “You think I’m hot?”
“You’re totally hot. Can I buy you a drink?”
She jumped out of the booth eagerly. Impressive—she barely stumbled. “I want a Sexual Trance.”
An unholy grin grew across his face. “And I’m the man to give it to you.”
He was plastered to her side as they went to the bar. A match made in heaven.
“Is she going to be okay?” Rio said in my ear.
“Yeah. Johnny’s okay.”
“I was more worried about her having another drink.”
“She’s the most responsible person I know. I’m sure she’ll stop after this last drink.” I hoped. I was more focused on him whispering in my ear. Barry and my objective slipped to the back of my mind. All I wanted to concentrate on was the goose bumps from Rio’s breath on my skin.
The thing was, I didn’t really want him to stop. In fact, I wanted to feel his breath on other parts of my body. But I dragged myself from my prurient thoughts and smiled at Cindy and Barry. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“I’m so excited to be here,” Cindy gushed as she bounced onto the bench where Daphne had been sitting. “I’ve never been to a bar like this before.”
Barry squeezed her shoulder. “What would you like to drink, sweets?”
She beamed up at him. “A glass of chardonnay, please.”
Chardonnay? In a pub? I don’t know why I was surprised. Her clothes were just as out of place. She had on another fancy little dress that was more appropriate for an upscale jazz bar.
But Barry didn’t notice how out of place she was. He only nodded and went to do her bidding.
No biggie. He was already disconcerted by the way Rio was touching me. By the end of the night I was sure Barry would realize how much he wanted me back.
Rio tugged a lock of my hair. I looked up at him with a frown. He had a half-smile on his face as he said, “Where did you go?”
“Excuse me?”
“Cindy asked you a question.”
“She did?” I looked at Cindy, who watched me with tolerant amusement.
“It’s okay. I can totally understand why Mena’s off in space.” She gave Rio a sidelong look and giggled. “You two are
sooo
cute together.”
“Um. Thanks.” I just couldn’t bring myself to give her and Barry the same kind of comment. Even if they did look compatible. Grr.
She leaned across the table. “When did you guys know?”
I frowned. “Know what?”
“Know. You know—
know
.” She gasped in exasperation at my probably blank look. “Like, I knew Barry was The One when I saw him across the room at South Park Seafood. I was having lunch with my daddy and Barry came over after dessert to introduce himself to my daddy and ask him if he could take me out. It was so romantic.” She heaved a princess sigh. Then she snapped back to business. “When did you and Rio know you were it for each other?”
I turned to Rio and beseeched him for help.
To his credit, he didn’t smirk. “I knew as soon as she insulted my fighting ability.”
Cindy’s eyes widened. “You didn’t, Mena!”
“No, I didn’t.” I elbowed him in the sternum. “I just said boxing wasn’t fighting.”
She smiled sweetly at the two of us. “You’re just
sooo
cute! I’m
sooo
happy you found each other.”
Barry came back at that moment, so I snuggled into Rio’s side and said, “We are too.”
Barry frowned at me (yay!) and slid in next to Cindy. “Here you go, sweetie.” He handed her the glass of white wine.
“Thank you, Pookie.” She pecked his cheek and hugged his arm. “You’re so good to me.”
Gag. I downed some beer to keep myself from vomiting.
Daphne returned with Johnny in tow. He held a couple of drinks too, including another one of those drinks Daphne was hooked on. I scowled at him. He shrugged as if to say, “I couldn’t deny her, could I?” He set the drinks on our table, snagged a couple of chairs, and seated Daphne before taking his seat. Very close to her.
She didn’t notice anything amiss. She flashed him a loopy smile and took a swig of her drink. When she set it down on the table, it sloshed over the sides. “This is so cozy.”
“Isn’t it?” Cindy gushed. She leaned over Barry to get at Daphne. “You’re Mena’s sister? Ohmigod, you’re so beautiful. Are you a model?”
Daphne’s brow wrinkled. “A model what?”
I perked up. Maybe alcohol was the way to lower her IQ, to make her less perfect.
“You know. A model,” Cindy explained precisely. “Like photographers take pictures of.”
Daphne tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Well, they did take my picture for
BioPharm International
.”
“I knew it!” Cindy beamed at Barry. “Didn’t I guess that, Barry?”
“You sure did, sweets,” he replied fondly.
I frowned at him. I could see a certain naïve sweetness to Cindy that could, maybe, for some people, be attractive, but Barry hated sugar.
“Wait a minute,” Daphne interjected suddenly. She swayed toward the table so Johnny had to dive to save their drinks from being knocked over. “I thought he—” she pointed at Rio “—was Barry.”