Where I Wanna Be (29 page)

“
Well, what do you think?” She asked.

Eli slowly blinked and looked over to his right where Simone was standing. He didn’t know how long she had been standing next to him. All that mattered was she was talking to him and that made him happy. “It’s beautiful, Moni.” He smiled at her. “You’re truly amazing.”

Simone didn’t want to read too much into what Eli said to her. She knew he was complimenting her services, though a part of her hoped he was also making a commentary on her.
So much for that no-contact rule.
“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you, Eliodoro.”

Eli tightly clenched his fists upon hearing his government name. Simone always purred his name, like it rolled off her tongue dripping honey. “I wanted to talk to you privately about what happened the other night. I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have; and I’m very sorry for that,” Eli apologized. “But I wanted to make sure you knew I won’t do anything like that again.”

But what if I want you to?
“Understood.” Simone smiled.

Eli needed to step away from Simone before there was a repeat performance of the other night. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to walk away this time. “Um, I’m going to set up shop with my employees and make sure everything is perfect on our end. So, I’ll see you again in a short bit.” He then walked away.

Simone focused on Eli’s tight ass. She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. She would be able to focus on getting the reception together without being distracted by her lustful thoughts of her ex. She had decorated many weddings and events. This one shouldn’t be any different.
Yeah, right.

“
What a hot one that is.” A SHE employee, Marla, watched Eli and his workers set up shop. “Good Lord, he’s gorgeous.”

“
Oh, Eli?” Simone tried to brush it off like it meant nothing. “He’s not bad looking.”

Marla turned towards Simone. “Yeah, okay. Mr. Hottie McHottie was talking to you and you think he’s just ‘not bad looking’? Whatever.”

“
We’re friends,” Simone shrugged, hoping Marla would end the lust talk about Eli soon, “I only see him as a friend.”

“
Yeah, but you can admit your
friend
was pretty damn fine, right?” Marla asked.

Simone felt herself growing defensive. She didn’t want to talk about Eli. She didn’t want to talk about how attractive he was. And she damn sure didn’t want to give off any hint she was
attracted
to him. “He’s cute.”

****

“
All right, we’re on schedule with the flowers,” Eli glanced down at his watch as he met with some Madre’s employees. “We have just a few more things to set up and then we’re done for the day. The hotel staff will take care of the takedown tonight. We’ll pick up the extras on Monday morning. Good work, everyone!”

“
Yo, boss.” Marco approached Eli. “Is that chick you were talking to single?”

“
Simone?” Eli asked. “Yeah, she’s single. Why? You want the hook-up?”

“
Dude, she’s freakin’ hot! Have you seen her body?” Marco glanced back at Simone and shook his head. “Baby girl doesn’t know what she’s doing to my jeans right now, yo.”

Eli laughed. “I don’t need details. I’ll see what I can do, how about that?”

Marco pounded fists with his boss. “That’s what I’m talking about, baby! Let me know, all right?”

“
All right. But hey, I’m not promising anything.” Eli added. “If she says no, don’t get mad at me.”

“
She won’t say no to this,” Marco waved a hand over his frame.

“
Confidence,” Eli pointed to him, “I like that.”

“
Learned from the best,” Marco pointed back to him and left to help with the arrangements.

It was a weird feeling—Eli didn’t want to introduce Marco and Simone to each other. They would probably hit it off and make a great couple. Maybe a few years down the line, they would get married and Marco might convince Simone to slow down and have some children. It would’ve been a win-win for all involved.

That was the problem—they would hit it off. Eli was insanely jealous of a woman who wasn’t even his; and he loathed to think about setting her up with one of his friends. The flip side was he didn’t have a reason to be jealous. He was a happily married man. He had a wife who loved him passionately. He had a great home and just adored his son.

He couldn’t stop playing the parking lot scene in his head over and over, as if it was stuck on rewind. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to feel her in his arms again, pressed against his body, lightly moaning his name in his ear as he ground against her. He remembered how her soft breasts fit in his hands and how anxious he was to see them naked.

It was more than sex. It was more than lust. He didn’t know what it was, to be honest. All he knew was that for the past few months, he couldn’t stop thinking, fantasizing, inhaling, dreaming about the woman just a few feet away from him. He hadn’t felt that way about anyone since Faith and she was all he cared about.

Eli finally realized he wasn’t just charting dangerous territory with Simone; he was going to hell in a hand basket with gasoline drawers on. He was about to get burned.

Simone stood in the corner, admiring Crystal from a distance. She’d chosen a lace halter gown in ivory while her bridesmaids wore strapless dresses in periwinkle, silver, lavender, and royal purple. Her hairstylist put her hair half-up, half-down with many ringlets. A small crystal tiara framed her hair and added an extra touch to Crystal’s look. She looked like a beautiful princess.

“
What do you think, Simone?” Crystal turned to her.

Simone shook her head and held back tears. “You look absolutely stunning, Crystal. Just stunning.”

“
You really think so?” Crystal nervously smiled. “Like, I really do look good?”

“
Girlfriend, you look amazing. You’re definitely one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen.” Although Simone had used that line on several other brides she’d had before, she could honestly say she meant it with Crystal. She reminded her of a fairy-tale princess out of a Disney movie.

“
I’m so nervous!” Crystal worried. “Like, what if I forget my vows? What if I trip down the aisle? What if...”

Simone walked up to Crystal and put her arms around her. “Calm down. Look at me. Look at me, Crystal.” The bride caught eyes with Simone. “Take a deep breath. Exhale. Take another deep breath. Yep, that’s it. Now exhale. We’re going to keep doing this until you’ve calmed down.”

“
I told her she should’ve had some champagne with us, back at the salon,” A bridesmaid commented.

“
I think that would’ve been a good idea.” Simone smiled.

“
Girl, Faith was passing out champagne to everyone in celebration of the nuptials! We all were drinking. It was good champagne, too. None of that cheap sparkling bubbly shit.” Another bridesmaid chimed in.

“
I would think it’s good champagne, with that money she and her husband have,” Another bridesmaid said, “isn’t Eli worth something like five million?”

Simone’s ears perked up upon hearing Eli’s name. She knew he was rich but he never said exactly how much wealth he had. He preferred not to discuss it with his friends, family, or clients.

“
Add ten, girlfriend,” Another bridesmaid commented to amusing whispers, “yeah, fifteen million. That’s how much all them D’Amato boys have.”

“
Is that cumulative or each?” The first bridesmaid asked.

“
Each.” The last bridesmaid commented. “The mama is worth around seventy-five.”

“
Seventy-five million?” All of the ladies said in unison.

“
Yep,” The last bridesmaid nodded as she sipped on her vodka. “She won the lottery, opted to take the lump sum, split it amongst the brothers and kept the majority. Opened up her shop while all of the boys went to school to make something of themselves. They’re all very rich; they just don’t act like it.”

“
How do you know all of this?” The fourth bridesmaid asked.

“
Girl, don’t you read the paper? It was all over the news about ten years ago.” The bridesmaid replied. “You couldn’t miss them. Big-ass men. All of them are at least six feet tall and made of muscle. Some are a little trimmer than others but I’m talking like you would need a microscope to see the difference. They all look like the type who would throw it down in the bedroom and have a woman pound on their chests like ‘Give it to me, Daddy!’” The bridesmaids hollered at the last comment.

“
Shit, are any of them single?” The third bridesmaid asked.

“
Kieran married Tiana Morris, that financial advisor sista? Yeah, she’s worth like two-hundred million so they don’t have to worry about a damn thing. Nick is hooked up with Dolce Gabbana’s sister and she has her own money, too, somewhere in the neighborhood of three million because of Sam the Man. The last two, Joey and Tony, are players.” The last bridesmaid shrugged. “Good luck snagging one of them, if you want to deal with him cheating on your ass all the time.”

“
Hell, for half of fifteen million, he can bring her home and I’ll watch!” The second bridesmaid commented to laughs.

Simone kept her thoughts silent. She knew Eli had money and she’d truly forgotten how much it was. Other than his occasional designer garb and fancy watch, she would’ve never guessed Eli was worth as much as he was. She was both intrigued and impressed.

****

“
How’s my favorite girl?” Eli purred over the phone.

“
Your favorite girl is tired, Daddy.” Faith yawned.

“
How many heads did you do today?”

“
Five.” Faith said with a twinge of exhaustion in her voice.

“
That’s not too bad.” Eli replied.

“
Eh.” Faith commented. “One was a weave and Jesus be a hair track if she didn’t at least deep condition her hair like I asked her to.”

“
Sounds like you had fun, baby.”

“
Lord, I need a vacation, baby. We need to go somewhere soon.”

“
Well, wedding season is almost done. Just a few more weeks and we’ll be done. Where did you want to go?”

“
Let’s go down to Florida to visit Disney. I’ve never been there and I think little man would really like it.”

“
Sounds good to me,” Eli commented. He had always wanted to visit Disney and was long overdue for a vacation.

“
Anyway, I’m about to pick up little man from my mom’s and go home. What time are you going to be in?”

“
I’ll be leaving here in a little bit. I just need to decorate the honeymoon suite and then I’ll be on my way. Did you want me to stop and pick up anything for dinner?” Eli asked.

“
Can you get some pizza?” Faith yawned over the phone. “I just don’t feel like cooking tonight.”