Page 2 of Grasp The Moment

“What did you want me to do? Tell her to get an?—”

I can’t even finish the sentence. The word is too hard to formulate. It’s been years since I’ve thought about it, years since I’ve had a conversation like this with my mom.

“Goodness, no! I love Deli, but I wish you had been smarter. You should’ve married her mother, made afamily. Delilah needs a mother, someone who can teach her the beauty of womanhood. She needs a woman's touch, mijo. You know… You want your inheritance so badly, right?” she asks, looking me square in the eyes. Her eyes are obsidian, a complete contrast to their usual light brown.

I gulp, my heartbeat kicking up a notch as she sighs.

“Find a suitable wife and mother for Delilah, and it’s yours. Until then, we have nothing to speak about.”

1 Mijo (Spanish)- Contraction of “mi hijo” meaning “my son”.

1.Derek

Five months later, Las Vegas, Nevada

Tequila burnsmy throat as I down my second shot of the night, alone.

I’m the perfect image of a pitiful man, as all of my friends find themselves on the dance floor of some rinky-dink Vegas bar. I huff a sigh, twisting in my seat to face them. A flitter of amusement passes through me as Sienna, the birthday girl, shakes her ass sloppily on the floor. But the sight of my friend, her boyfriend, Jace, staring wide-eyed at his girl is what makes me laugh the most.

Too bad that feeling of happiness is fleeting.

In an instant, my somber mood is back, and I’m twisting back around to face the bar.

I need to get through the next forty-eight hours in Vegas without a hitch and then get to work at home. I need to find a way to appease my mother and fast. There’s no way I'm getting married, not right now, at least. I’m deep in my thoughts, my internal turmoil running rampant until it’s interrupted by a loud smack of a hand against the bar and blonde hair flipping in front of my face.

I’m sucked into her orbit immediately. Her light perfume smells of bergamot and mandarin, filling my being with her sweet scent. I lean in close, eyeing her as she turns to the bartender, immediately catching his attention as well as the other two patrons nearby.

“I need two lemon drops and one lime.” She grins, her smile devilish as she winks at the bartender.

God, she’s gorgeous.

The bartender must think so, too, because he grins widely at her, the crow’s feet in the corner of his eyes crinkling as he takes her in with a raised brow. “Coming right up.”

I’m about to take a swig of the club soda I’d ordered when the blonde twists in her seat, her sharp feline green eyes staring holes into the side of my face as she eyes me.

“You need a drink,” she says, eyes flickering between the glorified sparkling water in my hand and me.

“I have a drink…” I chuckle, side-eyeing her as I sip from the cup.

Georgia purses her lips, clearly unamused by my answer, as she settles in next to me. Without warning, she reaches out and grabs the cup as it grazes my lips and pulls it to her own. She eyes the contents of the glass, her eyes squinting as she swirls the cup before taking a sip.

My body reacts to her without warning, and I gulp deeply. My eyes are fixated on her mouth as she sips from my cup.

Snap out of it, dude.

The angel on my shoulder tries to tell me, but how can I? Georgia Adams is one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever met, and I’m not saying that just because she’s my friend.

We’re all in Vegas tonight for Sienna’s twenty-first birthday, and by “we,” I mean the golden crew of Summerfield University. Cleo, Ryan, and Sienna Jones, the cousins and children of my hockey coach, Clef Jones. There is also Blake Wilder, thecaptain of my hockey team, one of my best friends, along with Jace, as well as Sienna’s two friends, Denver and Georgia. In the short months our small group has formed, we’ve gone through a lot and grown closer.

Sienna and I, for one, hated one another’s guts.

Or… more like, she hated my guts, and I found her to be the most annoying pink-haired gremlin alive .

Now, she and I have a brother-sister-like friendship after I helped her with her relationship troubles, and she helped me take care of my daughter’s hair.

I’m not too close with Cleo, Ryan, or Denver since I keep to myself and stay out of the way with Delilah, most times, but Georgia Adams is different.

She and I have met and hung out together after learning that we were the only people who knew of Sienna and Jace’s secret relationship—long story. She’s a fun girl—outgoing and always down to have a great time. Georgia brightens every room she enters with her deep golden skin and blonde hair. She’s become a good friend of mine in our short time knowing one another, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s one of the most gorgeous women that I’ve ever seen…