Shit. Love?
She’d added to my life in so many ways, not least of which was helping me come out of my shell at work. I mean, sure, I was recognized for the results I produced, but I was just shy enough to want to avoid anything to do with small talk or socializing with others there. She’d shown me how to relax and trust myself in those situations. Whenever the familiar twinge of discomfort crept up on me, I just pictured her face.
Her beautiful face. Which I happened to be looking at right now.
The assholes at the firm looked down on her, which really chapped my ass. None of them had an ounce of the character she did. Just because she hadn’t gone to a fancy university and was a paralegal instead of an attorney, they thought they were better.
But they weren’t.
Of that, I was sure.
Chapter 22
Maizy
Holy lord, I had two gorgeous men in my apartment, and they were devouring my cooking. What girl wouldn’t love that? I just hoped Sparkle stayed out for a while longer so I could really show these two a good time.
The best part was that they seemed to enjoy each other’s company. No tension. No animosity. At least, none that was visible to me.
“Damn, this pizza is amazing,” Von said. “I’ve never had homemade pizza.”
His pups watched from the corner of the living room. They were perfectly obedient but clearly tormented by the smells filling the apartment. I felt better when he threw them a few treats from his pocket.
“Where’d you learn to make pizza like this?” Cato asked.
I had to admit, I was pretty proud of my pizza-making abilities.
“I took a class, and then practiced a lot. It was a little tricky to get the super-thin crust but after I made it about a dozen times, I had it down.” What I didn’t say was that while I was perfecting my pizza, Sparkle and I happily ate the ones that were less than perfect. They were still absolutely delicious.
Something inside me enjoyed that I’d impressed the guys with my cooking. I wanted them to see that I had a lot of dimensions, and that I was more than just a girl who worked at a law firm. Who was sleeping with four guys.
Cato cleared the table when we’d finished, and I brought out fruit and my fresh-made gelato.
“Shall we move over to the living room?” I suggested.
“Let’s do it,” Von said, as Cato nodded in agreement.
We settled in, and I looked at both guys, first one, and then the other as we shoveled the frozen goodness into our mouths.
“Thank you for coming tonight,” I said. “I know this might seem odd, but I wanted the men who were really important to me, to meet.”
“How’d it go last night?” Von asked.
I blushed. Shit.
They looked at each other and laughed.
“Okay, okay. Anson, Brade, and I had fun. My next step, after tonight, is to get all five of us together and see how that goes.”
“Sounds good to me,” Von said, raising his glass in a toast.
Cato, on the other hand, was silent for a moment. He was thoughtful, and if I knew anything about him, it was that he never spoke until he was sure of what he wanted to say.
“I agree,” he said, leaving me a little shocked. “It’s all good.”
Whoa. Was he just saying that to placate me, or did he mean it?
We’d find out in just a few minutes.