Page 158 of The Wicked

“You are weird,” I told him.

“I know,” he said, gaze flickering to my hair before his hand moved, and he grazed the ends softly with his fingers, feeling the texture but not overdoing it, as if he didn’t want to scare me away. “I love what you did with your hair.”

I couldn’t look away from him, which made it hard to hide the evidence of the heat that rushed to my cheeks. “I—just brushed it.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“What’s your angle?” I asked.

His gaze seemed like he was drinking my face in.

“Elio.”

“Hm?”

“What’s your angle?”I asked in Spanish.

“I have no angle. You look outstanding. I like the dress too, and the purse. We’re matching.”

What the fuck?

“You wear black every day; I’m sure you match with tons of people in this world who wear black.”

He shook his head. “No, it looks different when you wear it.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“I don’t flirt. I tell.”

“Right.”

His attention remained solely on me; while it was unnerving, it felt good.

“So, anything I should prepare for with this dinner?”

“I do not think you need to prepare.” His eyes looked between mine. “I have a gut feeling you know precisely what to do at events like these.”

“So, you’re trusting me based on a gut feeling?”

“Exactly.”

There was a challenge in his eyes, and I knew if I tried to deny anything now, he would pick out my lie, so I let it be.

And minutes later, as the plane took off, I wondered briefly if Devil had been right.

Was I walking into a trap?

We had gotten to the business dinner quite fashionably late. The event center was large, with different wafts of expensive perfumes in the air, expensive menus, and an elite orchestra band at the far end of the table where Elio and I sat.

When we arrived earlier, Elio had headed straight to the mayor of Turin, and while I didn’t pay attention to the conversation, I could tell the mayor held the man on my arm in high regard.

Elio had surprisingly introduced me as his friend, using my name. I didn’t mind; I was prepared for this evening. I had also been getting looks from women around me. Some were mostly curious, and others judged with their eyes.

Elio might not have noticed or pretended not to, but he held me to his side with pride and asked Angelo to move around and mingle.

About an hour later, an announcement and speech were made. We were seated at a dinner table with the mayor, his wife and son, Angelo, a neighboring local mayor and his family, and some minister whose name I’d forgotten, along with his wife and daughter.

Elio had gone quiet beside me, but conversations passed freely around the table.