Page 4 of Blood Money
And I certainly wasn’t going to tell him.
A woman with light red hair passed me with a tote full of books, and I immediately checked her out. She was pretty in a girl-next-door way. And she had a fucking gorgeous ass.
Alessio laughed, and I ripped my attention from the redhead to stare at him questioningly.
“You and fucking redheads,” he muttered, then snickered.
I flipped him off, though he wasn’t wrong. They were my weakness, but I refused to acknowledge why.
Mom turned from the table she’d been at and handed three more books to Alessio. “Put those in the tote, sweetheart.”
He rolled his eyes the second she moved on to the next table.
“Knock it off. Don’t be a dick. She’s having the time of her life,” I chastised him.
“Easy for you to say. You’re not her pack mule,” Leo grumbled.
With a cocky grin, I patted the side of his arm. “Look what a workout you’re getting. Better than your usual one where you lift your drink to your mouth.”
“Fuck off,” he muttered.
The same redhead approached the table behind my mom. She glanced my way and gave me a shy smile.
“One of your favorite authors?” I asked her as I tipped my chin toward the table. The author’s banner read “Darlene Tallman.” She was an animated woman currently conducting an in-depth conversation with my mother regarding one of her books my mom evidently loved.
The redhead gave me a perplexed tilt of her head. “Are you talking to me?” she asked quietly and pointed to her chest.
My gaze dropped to said chest, but I quickly averted it because I wasn’t trying to be rude. Then I met her blue eyes and gave her my best grin. “Yes, I was.”
“Oh! Um, yes, I really like Darlene’s books. Have you read them?” She blinked up at me, and I stared back, unsure if she was joking or not.
“No, can’t say I have,” I finally replied as I slipped my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
She dropped her attention to the books she held, then back at me. Then she repeated the action. “Can I, uh, ask you a question?” she stammered.
“Sure,” I drew out almost like it was a question.
She held the top book up. “Is this you?”
I jerked my head back in surprise at both her question and the image on the cover of the book. It was titledColton’s Salvationby Kristine Allen, and there was a man on the cover without a shirt but with thick, heavy chains over his shoulders. I cocked my head and squinted at it. Crazy enough, it did look a little like me, but it definitely wasn’t. “Sweetheart, I like to think I’m pretty fit, but that guy definitely has a few muscles on me. But if I said it was, would you consider having dinner with me?” I teased.
Her cheeks went rosy, and she laughed. “That was pretty smooth, and if I was single, I’d totally take you up on that.”
My shoulders fell a bit. “Well, hell. Figures.”
“Sorry,” she whispered with an apologetic wince.
“Don’t be. Your guy is a lucky man,” I honestly replied.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I’ve been taking up all of Darlene’s time. I’ll move on,” Mom told the pretty redhead. “Come on, let’s move on to M. Merin’s table.”
Mom gave Darlene a wave, and we moved on. There was a strawberry blonde at the table wearing a leather vest with a bunch of patches sewn on it. With a slightly nervous smile, she asked my mom, “Have you read any of my books?”
Hell, if that didn’t start an intense conversation with my mother and the lovely M. Merin about how my mom had read every single one of her books. There was a gorgeous dark-haired woman with her, and she was utterly exquisite. Except she was staring past me, absolutely transfixed.
Turning, I realized she was staring at Gabriel, who was leaning against the wall at the end of the row. His phone rang, and he walked off. Pietro leaned in and whispered to him, and the beautiful brunette sighed. When she reached up and wiped her mouth, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
She jumped, and her face flamed. For a moment, my ego was appeased when she gave me the once-over with wide hazel eyes. I grinned and looked over my shoulder at Gabriel and Pietro as they disappeared into the crowd.