Jules cleared her throat. “Right, of course.”
“Oscar, you have the night off. Enjoy it.”
I looked back. His face fell. He was wearing a suit and tie, clearing thinking he’d be on duty. Probably looking forward to the open bar.
“Are you sure, sir?” he asked. “I’d be happy—”
“Good night, Oscar.” I stared hard at him. The fucker was much too familiar.
He shrugged and sat back down, not bothering to hide his disappointment.
I offered Jules my arm. “Shall we?”
“Let’s go,” she said, smiling up at me, and I felt a lightness in my chest I’d never experienced before as we called the elevator and headed out.
“You keep staring at her,” Cap said, grinning over her drink. She looked stunning in a simple white wedding dress. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her head like a halo and she practically glowed. I’d always loved Cap like a sister, but hot damn, did she look incredible. She wasn’t my type, but I understood what Mal saw in her. And speaking of the bastard, Mal lingered nearby, clearly uncomfortably in his tuxedo. He kept straightening his jacket like it was somehow out of place.
“I am not,” I lied. I hadn’t been able to look away from Jules for more than two minutes all night. “I’m just having a great time here.”
“Please. You brought her as your date. You didn’t need to do that. We invited her.”
I grinned and shrugged. “She didn’t know that.”
“You didn’t tell her? Oh, god, Carmine. You really are an asshole.”
“What can I say? I wanted credit for her coming, not you.”
“Truly a monster. We’re lucky you’re on our side.”
“Damn right you are.”
People mingled as caterers passed carrying trays piled high with appetizers. The Lowdown was decorated with flowers and intricately folded and cut paper streamers, making it look like a forest of blue and gold and white. Cap drifted through it like a fawn, laughing and joking with the guests, though I suspected she didn’t know most of them.
I’d sent out the invitations. Business leaders, state senators, several power brokers, and other important men and women were crammed into the tiny bar. Mal had grumbled, but eventually agreed. A small altar was set up at the back of the room, and a tired-looking priest stood sipping a big glass of wine and looking out at the sea of expensive faces with a deep frown. He’d probably never been in a room filled with so many monsters before.
I drifted away from Cap and found Jules at the bar. She had a glass of champagne in her hand and was busy ignoring a drunk guy with slicked-back hair, some investment banker my father used to do business with. “Fuck off,” I said to him as I squeezed in between them.
Jules looked surprised, but the drunk asshole only mumbled an apology and hurried away.
“Do you talk to everyone like that?” she asked.
“Only banker scum. Do you know who that guy was?”
She shook her head. “He was telling me how much his portfolio made this year. It’s a really big number.”
“He’s as corrupt as Bernie Madoff. Maybe fucking worse. I hate slime like him.”
“Seems to me this whole room is filled with that kind of slime.” Her eyebrows rose.
I nodded slowly and sipped my whiskey. It burned on the way down and I looked at her. She was my weakness, and glancing in her direction made my blood rush through my veins like liquid fire. All I wanted was to drag her to a dark corner of the building and rip that fucking dress off her body.
But I kept it under control.
“This is how power happens.” I gestured around. “That man over there, the older gentleman with the bright blue tie? He’s a real estate developer that owns half the downtown buildings. Most of the people in here pay him rent. And that guy there? He’s the CEO of Intracorp, this absurd data-mining company that moved their headquarters into the city a few years back. Everyone invited today is important somehow, and it’s my job to stroke their fat cocks until they smile and coo and give me what I need.”
Jules’s mouth fell open. “I thought this was a wedding for your friends.”
“It’s that, but it’s also more. Everything’s more in our lives. They know it like I know it.” I leaned closer, smirking. “Besides, they have another ceremony scheduled in the Bahamas in three days. This is just the warmup.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “You’re letting them go on a honeymoon? Right now?”
“They deserve it and I’m paying for the whole damn thing, so they’d better enjoy themselves.”
“I think they will.” She softened slightly, watching as Cap and Mal kissed each other.
Sometimes, I felt a pang of jealousy whenever those two were around each other. The love between them was palpable, like a buzz or a tingle in the air. Mal orbited around Cap like a planet around the sun, and Cap glowed so much brighter for having him around. That feeling was intoxicating, and I knew I’d never experienced something like it before.