Laughing, Mina tugged me inside, her laughter filling the air as she walked with me.
“Do you think…” Mina started talking, but I lost focus when I saw the woman in the black dress across the room from me.
The function tonight was a small, intimate event. All of the elite of Dallas were in attendance, along with a few local mayors that supported their cause.
I really hadn’t been thinking too closely on who would be there, because if I did, then I’d be thinking about who I wanted to be there but probably wasn’t going to be there.
But seeing Six in the dress that fit her like a fuckin’ glove? Yeah, I’d been trying so hard not to think about her that seeing her in front of me had startled me to the point that I couldn’t listen to the woman talking at my side.
“...are you even listening to me?” Mina asked, tugging on my sleeve.
I swallowed hard, wishing Six would turn around, and replied, “No.”
“Who are you staring at?” she asked curiously, trying to see over a man that’d stopped a waiter for a drink.
I moved her with me, making sure that she saw the woman I’d been staring at.
There really was no reason to hide it. I considered Mina my friend as well as my nephew’s wife. Before my nephew had found his way back to her, I’d watched over her, and eventually had become good friends with her despite who I was.
“Oh, wow,” she said softly. “She’s beautiful. I love her long hair.”
I loved it, too.
Her hair was long, lavender, and curly.
I hadn’t seen it quite so curly before.
And God, that black dress exposed most of her back, almost all the way down to the dimples right above her butt.
I could see just the slightest hint of a tattoo poking out from the bottom curve of the dress, right above her right hip, and I was all but gagging to find out what that tattoo was.
“She’s stunning,” Mina said just as Six turned around, a frown on her face.
That was when I saw the man standing next to her.
He had a glass of wine in his hand and he was holding it right above the bare skin of her back.
He’d touched her with the cold glass.
I fisted my hands to keep my temper in check, then maneuvered Mina so that we were at the table we were going to be at for the night.
A table that just so happened to have Six at it, too.
Was that a coincidence?
I had a feeling that it wasn’t.
But whether it was due to the fact that Ivan was there, too, and wanted to talk shop, or because a little hellion had switched the names around, I didn’t know. Whatever the reason for her being at my table, I was quite satisfied.
This night would prove not to be as boring as I’d suspected it would be.
Plus, it gave me the ability to keep my eye on her.
Like right now. I could clearly see her ripping into the asshole that’d touched her with the cold glass.
CHAPTER 11
I’m at the age where I’m permanently unimpressed by a lot of shit.
-Six to Lynn
SIX
“Excuse me.” I stepped back. “Please, be courteous and give me some breathing room.”
Don’t deck him, Six. Don’t deck him. Don’t deck him. It would be super, duper bad if you hit him. Like, your dad may never forgive you. Don’t deck him.
“I’m sorry.” The man smirked. “Did I touch you?”
This asshole.
This was the dude who had done this same thing the last time I’d seen him at one of my father’s parties. I didn’t know his name, because asking for it would make it seem like I was interested, and I sure the hell wasn’t.
He was a little trust fund baby, though. He was way too young to be self-made. About my age, but definitely a whole lot less mature.
He knew he fucking touched me. The jerk.
“Yes.” I smiled congenially. “You did. Now, kindly back off before I shove my knee into your balls.”
His face changed as he took a startled step back. Whether it was because he hadn’t expected hostility after that stunt, or because he didn’t expect a woman to be so pissy, I didn’t know. But whatever the reason, I didn’t fucking like the fact that he’d touched me.
The wanker.
“That was uncalled for,” he said hastily, an angry mask slipping over his face.
“What wasn’t called for was you touching a girl with a cold glass of wine when you knew it would startle her,” I countered. “It’s called socially acceptable distance. Please, learn what that is for the next party you attend.”
The man’s smile returned.
“The next party, maybe you’ll be off the rag,” he teased.
At least, he thought he was being funny. He wasn’t.
“I’m not on the rag, thank you very much.” I gritted my teeth to keep from barking a curse at him. Once I thought I had myself under control, I downed the rest of my wine and placed it on the nearest table. “Maybe you should learn how to speak with people you don’t know, too.”