Page 35

Tommie glanced over at the table in the VIP section she was watching. There were three men sitting in a dark booth, against a deep red wall. Her target was the one in the middle, in the black suit. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was flanked by two men with sun-streaked dirty-blond hair.
“He seems familiar somehow,” Tommie mused.
“Wish me luck.”
“Um, I’m not sure if you should—”
She walked over to the table she’d been eying for the past hour. As she neared it, she noticed that the estranged brothers didn’t look anything alike, except for their eyes, which were the oddest shade of green. That was where any similarity ended, though. Unlike Hector, who’s scowl showed a pallet of emotion ranging from being annoyed, angry, or anything else, his brother’s face was blank.
He barely gave her a glance when she stopped in front of his table. The men at both his sides appeared to be identical twins.
One of them had a busty blonde on his lap. “Which one of us do you find more attractive? Me or my brother, Damon?”
His brother just shook his head in exasperation.
Mary literally couldn’t see any difference between the two men. Other than the way they were dressed, that is. Damon was the more casual one, with red cloth high-top sneakers, whereas the one with the blonde on his lap looked like a model on the cover of GQ.
“You, Angel,” the blonde said with a pout. “I choose you.”
“Wrong answer, love.” He nudged her off his lap. “Off you go. Guess it’s my burden for being the prettier one.” The girl scoffed and walked away, her eyes flashing fire.
In the blink of an eye, Angel stood next to her, openly sizing her up.
She ignored him and focused on Hector’s brother.
“Hi, Kristoff, I’m Mary Rossi, and I would like to talk to you about your brother.” When he didn’t react, she added, “Your brother, Hector.” Maybe she should have had that clarified from the beginning. Just because Hector didn’t have any other siblings, didn’t mean his brother didn’t either.
“And who are you to my brother? My brother, Hector.”
She didn’t appreciate his mocking tone, but kept that to herself. She shouldn’t forget that these brothers hadn’t spoken to each other for years. There was some bad blood between them. Adding in her own anger would only add fuel to the feud.
“I’m his fiancée, and I—”
“Angel,” Kristoff snapped, adding something in Russian.
Holding up his hands, Angel stepped back.
Kristoff looked past her shoulder at their table. Mary followed his gaze. Her friends were staring at her. Jazzy, especially, had the weirdest look on her face.
“You are here with Gio’s woman,” Kristoff spoke.
“You know my cousin’s husband well?”
“We have history.”
“Aha. Anyway, um, our wedding is tomorrow, and it would mean a lot if you would attend it.”
For some reason, Kristoff’s demeanor softened. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to believe who she was, or maybe because she’d invited him to the wedding.
See? My magic is already working.
Hector is going to kick your ass.
No, he’s not.
“Does my brother know you’re here?”
“Nope. But then again, I don’t need his permission to talk to family, do I?”