Page 48 of Dancing with the Devil

When I eventually met his gaze, I could tell he was taken aback, but he masked it well. “And you thought I’d send that to you?”

“No—I just—I don’t know,” I sighed, shaking my head. “I’ve just been all over the place, and now Silvia got thisthingstuck in my head, and well, forget it,” I stammered. “It’s stupid.”

“And what could that be?” he asked, but now his tone had shifted from uncertainty to being laced with amusement and interest.

“I think I’ve offended you enough for the night,” I said, and he rose to his feet, standing mere inches from me, and I anticipated his next few words.

“I’ll pick you up on Friday at eight.”

“I actually have to perform at eight so nine. Be here at nine.”

“I’ll see you at eight, Nirah,” he once again said before leaving, and I dropped my shoulders.

My shoulders tensed up again when I remembered that I had to tell Silvia about the most questionable decision I had just made. Hopefully, she doesn’t kill me.

As I replayed different ways to tell my best friend about this, she walked past my table, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I said yes,” I softly said, and she fully turned to me with two drinks in her hands.

“Yes to what?” she asked—clueless.

“To his proposal. I said yes to his proposal,” I clarified, and her eyes grew wide.

“You did what!”

* * *

“I can’t believe you said yes,” Silvia mumbled, slamming my shorts into my suitcase.

“I thought you said I needed to get my head checked out when I told him I needed time?” I chuckled, and she groaned, throwing her head back.

“Well, I changed my mind. Your safety comes before really hot guys,” she nonchalantly said. “I mean, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No? I don’t know,” I sighed, falling back onto my bed and staring at the ceiling. “He’s the only option I have right now.”

“You can stay with me.”

“No,” I sternly said, bolting upright. “I am not bringing my problems to your doorstep.”

“Okay, what about Jordan? He seems really determined to protect you.”

“The same goes for him. I know that he can keep me safe, but I can’t let him. It’s not fair that he takes care of me like a little kid.”

She nodded, and we continued packing.

“I get it. But why so soon? And what if he’s worse than Sylvester?”

“Well, if he’s worse, then he’s worse, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” I shrugged my shoulders, feeling my stomach churn.

I’ve been through so much already that this was the least of my concern.

“And after the package I got, I can’t stay here anymore. Sylvester or his men can show up at any time, and he’s made it perfectly clear that the next time we see each other, it won’t be pretty.”

She chugged down her glass of wine and went for seconds. “Okay,” she nodded. “Where’s he picking you up?”

“The club since I’m performing tonight.”

We loaded all my belongings into her car, and she drove us to the club. Even though Silvia didn’t like my decision, she was stillvery supportive about it. I could tell she had a million questions, and so did I, to say the least.

We left my bags in her car until Antonio got here.