Page 29 of Charm

“What? Now you’re Miss Priss?” she responds. “How many times did you tease me about that kind of thing? A million, that’s how many!”

“Yeah, but not in the middle of a black-tie function!” I object.

“Phooey! Nobody can hear a thing,” she says without remorse.

“Um…I heard,” Sophie says from two seats away. Dario grins as he rests a hand on the back of Nikki’s seat.

“Yeah, me too,” he says. “Along with everyone else at the table.”

Oh, my God…

“Oh, whatever,” Nikki brushes it off. “It’s not like we’ve never heard any of this before. Meanwhile,” she leans in closer and lowers her voice, “it looks to me like you been indulging in a bit of that ‘slap and tickle’ you used to joke about.”

Now I really do choke on my wine.

“Would you cut it out, you tart!” I blurt.

“What? You don’t want me to get you a cushion for your tushie?” She grins.

“You’re impossible,” I huff, but I can’t help grinning back. She leans in close again, this time lowering her voice so that only I can hear.

“You know, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be doing this thing for real, Andz,” she murmurs.

“What?” I frown.

“I mean, who says it has to be a fake wedding?” She widens her eyes, then stands abruptly. “Uh-oh, time totinkle!” she announces. “These babies use my bladder like a trampoline,” she adds lightly. Dario is already at her side, his arm around her waist as if he’s waiting for her to fall.

“Enjoy!” I tease, somehow imagining that their bathroom break might involve more than a trip to the restrooms. I can only hope that the four bodyguards give them a decent amount of space. Sophie chuckles as we watch the pair move away.

“The pair of them are impossible,” she says. “I’ve heard that pregnant women get horny, but holy crap, they’re like randy teenagers.” She rolls her eyes, then shifts her focus. “Meanwhile, there’s Raoul. Talk about eye candy, huh? Come to think of it, this whole place is teeming with hotties. I could throw a stone and hit one without even aiming!”

“Uh, sure,” I say, realizing I hadn’t even noticed. Probably because I still haven’t taken my eyes off Mateo.

“I’m going to stretch my legs,” says Sophie, standing and giving me a wink. “And I think I need to stretch them over there.” She nods in the direction of a group of guys who could easily be male models or aspiring film stars.

“Go for it,” I encourage her, settling back and reaching for my glass. I’m glad she’s overcome her anxiety around men – no mean feat considering what she went through. Though I suddenly realize that not only do I only have eyes for Mateo, but the thought of being touched by anyone other than him makes my flesh crawl.

You’re so screwed, girl.

I reach for my purse, planning to touch up my make-up, when a hoarse cough stops me short. That sound right behind me has me freezing like a statue.

“Hello, Andrea,” a voice says. “So, we meet again.”