“Your family is wonderful,” he said in a tone she couldn’t quite define. She knew he didn’t have family, or he’d alluded that he didn’t anyway. It made her sad for him.
He deserved people who loved him as much as her family loved her. “They definitely are.”
He reached out and started to move her purse out of the way, but she snatched it up, nearly knocking over her glass.
“You think I’m going to steal from you?” Laughter laced his words as he watched her, curiosity in his gaze.
Her cheeks flushed hot. “No, of course not.” But she’d tucked her vibrator in her purse because the thought of it falling out of one of the moving boxes or somehow getting discovered by Lyosha or one of his friends had been something out of her worst nightmare.
Now he grinned at her. “You’ve got something in your purse you don’t want me to see?”
Instead of answering, she held it to her chest and hurried to her bedroom, tucking it into her closet out of sight. When she stepped back into the kitchen, he’d already put away most of her plates in exactly the place she would’ve put them. Because apparently he was a mind reader.
“How do you feel about takeout? I can order some beer too?” There was a local shop that actually delivered and it was amazing.
“Sounds good. And I’m totally going to find out what’s in your purse.” He didn’t look up from emptying out her boxes, just said it matter-of-factly.
She fought the stupid heat threatening to overtake her cheeks again. “Aren’t you nosy?”
He grunted slightly.
“Some of the women from work invited me out tomorrow night. I said yes, but I’m nervous.” She started unwrapping her wineglasses—a gift from Angel.
“Why are you nervous?”
“They all seem to have their lives together. They’re all a little bit older and have been with Red Stone for a while. They’re all really nice, and I don’t know, I just get nervous around new people.” She had a stupid insecurity complex she dealt with on the regular.
“You’re one of the nicest people I know,” he murmured. “Hey, are you volunteering at the shelter tomorrow?”
“Yeah, for a couple hours in the morning. How’s Nala?”
That earned a real smile from him, one that softened his normally hard expression. “She’s with Dominique today. I dropped her off because I knew I’d be here late helping you. Lillian loves that little beast and she loves her too. Nala’s never that nice to me,” Lyosha grumbled.
She snickered. “She’s such a doll, you have to bring her over here.” It was ridiculously attractive for a sexy man like him to dote on his pet.
“I will. So when are you getting a pet? I know you’ve been waiting impatiently.”
“I want to get settled into my new job first, and I honestly can’t decide if I want a dog or a cat. I love them both so much.”
“I could see you with either. Or both.”
“Yeah, me too. That’s the problem.”
His responding laughter wrapped around her, soothed her, and she couldn’t help but think that he looked way too good in her place.
Like he belonged here.
Chapter 5
Mila was glad that her nerves had finally eased off even as the music from the club thumped away in the background. This definitely wasn’t her scene but some of the women from work were really enjoying themselves, out on the dance floor and having a good time.
She had two left feet and would much rather be at home curled up with a book, or at a play, or…anything not a club. But she was forcing herself to do things out of her comfort zone this year.
She hadn’t been kidding when she’d told Lyosha that this was a new chapter of her life. New job, new condo, new stage of life. She’d spent the last decade finishing her degrees and working a string of crappy jobs because they’d had flexibility with her schooling schedule. She wanted to enjoy more now.
Except maybe not things that involved nightclubs.
“Mila.” Juan appeared out of nowhere, sliding up to the high-top table where she was guarding her friends’ purses and drinks.
She blinked. “Hey, fancy seeing you here too.” She raised her voice above the music to be heard.
“Lizzy told me about tonight, invited me and some of the guys out.”
Her gaze strayed to a table where she recognized some other Red Stone Security employees settling in. Unlike her table, theirs wasn’t covered in an array of sparkly clutches. She couldn’t remember their names to save her life, but she remembered a few of their faces.
“I stopped by to see your mom,” Juan said, taking a sip from his drink.
“Just my mama?” she asked knowingly.
To her surprise, Juan’s cheeks flushed. The guy was over six foot two, had grown into that once lanky frame, and carried himself well. “Maybe I wanted to see if your sister was there.”
She liked that he didn’t bother distinguishing which one—they both knew who he was talking about. It was definitely Angel, her oldest sister. Five years older than Juan, but he’d never cared. “Well, she is divorced now.”
His whole body straightened. “She is?”
“My mama didn’t tell you?”
“No, and I was too chickenshit to ask about her.”
Mila snickered softly and took a sip of her own drink—water for now, and probably the rest of the night. She’d had a glass of champagne and that was her max. No way was she getting even tipsy with people she’d just started working with. “Oh yeah, she’s single too.”
He cleared his throat, looked as if he might say more, but she could see the moment when he changed his mind. “So how did you like your first week?” he asked.
“It was amazing. Kind of a whirlwind of activity and learning stuff. I know I’ll ease into it and become comfortable eventually, but I definitely enjoyed it.” Her degrees were in marketing and design, and she was working across departments with different teams as the company expanded into international territories. Her role was something new the company was trying, which made it even more exciting.
“Have you tried any of the food trucks outside the office?”
“Not yet, but that’s on my to-do list this week.” There had been five across the street from the high-rise downtown, but she’d ended up having a couple working lunches and eating in the building’s restaurant. Which was a lot nicer than most of the places she’d gone to in college.
“I have a bunch of meetings on Monday, but do you want to grab lunch on Tuesday? We can hit up one of the food trucks. One has the best empanadas.”
“Sounds good.” Her eyes widened as Lyosha approached the table. It was jarring to see him in a nightclub, sort of out of their normal element. She hadn’t even known that he liked places like this.
Right now he was zeroing in on them like a heat-seeking missile. She smiled and gave him a half wave, then felt stupid for raising her hand like some kind of weirdo. Why did she have to be so awkward? “Hey!” She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice because she was excited to see him. Always.
Juan smiled at him as well and held out a hand. “Lyosha, right?”