He pulled her closer, his breath fogging the air between them. He held her hands between his, squeezing warmth back into them. How was she cold already? She laughed, inching closer to him. “I haven’t adjusted to the weather here.”
“I should have thought of a better way to get there.” He wished he would have at least thought to bring her some gloves and a scarf.
The wind whipped around them, and she flinched, moving her face closer to his chest to block the blunt force of it. “Hot chocolate.” Her nose snuggled against his chest. “Please tell me this party is going to have hot chocolate. And bourbon.”
She shivered and Austin threw his arms around her before he knew what he was doing. She moved her hands under his coat without a flinch.
Maybe this was a good idea.
“I’ll find something to warm you up.”
The light flashed back to green. Austin rushed them across the street before turning down another. The smart thing to do would be to keep to the back streets, but that would take longer. They were only three blocks from the party if he stayed on the main street. The way she clung to him, her frigid fingers never leaving his body, he wished it was more like ten blocks. He enjoyed being close to her. The more she allowed, the more he craved it. The more he craved her.
Then he paused.
A wig.
It wasn’t purple. Tonight it was cotton candy pink, but it was her. The thief.
He couldn’t see her face, but he recognized the knee high leather boots. She stood outside the entrance to the Plaza, the ritziest place in town. People buzzed in and out the door that was blocked off with a velvet rope and five security guards. The thief argued with one of them.
It made sense now. It was her M.O. Sneak into a fancy party or an elite club in search of someone recognizable, and then she’d make her move and steal their shit. It made him furious.
Magnolia paused too, her fingers shaking in his hand. Her eyes rounded as she gasped.
Did she know? There was no way. He hadn’t mentioned his guest.
Magnolia shoved him sideways, pushing him toward the door of a coffee shop. “Ferocia!”
Austin looked over her head. Sauntering down the street away from the open door of a blacked out sedan was Midtown’s Lucifer. Adorned in a black fur coat, Ferra Dencantur resembled Cruella De Vil, if Cruella had eaten the one hundred and one Dalmatians.
Austin hurried inside the door behind Magnolia. They pushed past a couple blocking the aisle to get to a window. Austin cautiously peeked through the tinted glass to watch the scene.
Magnolia sucked in a breath. “Please tell me that isn’t where we were going?”
Her teeth chattered, and her cheeks were a rosy red. Austin felt guilty. He shouldn’t have gotten Magnolia involved in this. What would she think if she knew the truth? If she saw the picture?
Fear engulfed him. What if that girl took a picture of him before she left, and sold it to Ferocia to plaster on the cover of The Whisperer for the world and Magnolia Cross to judge?
“No, that isn’t where we’re going, but I should have known better than to choose such a busy street to take us down.”
Ferocia talked to the girl now. The girl in the wig, whose face was still too far away to get a good look at, was bantering between Ferocia and the security guard. They all looked upset. Well, the security guard looked annoyed.
“Who is that girl?” Magnolia tiptoed now, trying to see over the heads of the people darting by the window.
“Uhh…I don’t know.”
Technically it wasn’t a lie, but if felt like one.
It wasn’t the first time he’d lied to a woman, but it was the first time he’d lied to Magnolia, and if felt wrong.
The girl threw her hands in the air, and Ferocia motioned for the town car to pull forward. They both got in, and it disappeared. Austin’s stomach sank at the reality of the situation. The thief hadn’t stolen his phone and sold that picture to Ferocia for a quick buck.
She worked for Ferocia.
He’d been a target.
“Where do you think they went?” Magnolia looked up and down the street as if the car might make a startling reappearance.
“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to know. They were gone, and that was all that mattered right now.
Her features set straight and she huffed. “Well, there is one way to find out.”
His head popped up. “What?”
“Stay here.”
He grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to interrogate that security guard.” She said it matter-of-factly like she’d do anything for him. “Now, stay here in case they come back.”
“I can’t let you do that.” What he actually meant was he couldn’t risk her finding out about the girl, the entire embarrassing predicament, and leave him.
Her smile was soft, the thawed tips of her fingers tender as she brushed them over his hand. “Stay here. It’ll be fine.”
Austin watched her walk out, too frozen in his own fear to go after her. Magnolia crossed the street and rushed up to throw the security guard a grand smile. She shoved her hands in the front pockets of her jeans while she talked. The man’s face, which had been turned down in a scorn, lifted, and his expression evened out. Magnolia had that effect on everyone. She held up her hand, a silent thank you and goodbye, and made her way back across the street. She came to the window and motioned for him to come out.
“Let’s go.” She held out her hand, and he took it.
They rushed down the street, Magnolia’s pace quickening with each step. He turned them down a less crowded intersection. Magnolia still didn’t say a word. Her hand gripped his, and she hurried their pace along. Once they made it three streets over, he finally stopped in front of the large, blinking lights of a movie theater. “What’s going on, Magnolia? What was Ferocia looking for?”
Magnolia looked up, her pupils dilated with fear. “You. She was looking for you.”
Austin shattered into her arms.
Chapter Fifteen
MAGNOLIA’S BET
Magnolia managed to move Austin to a bench in front of the ticket booth of the theater. He held his head between his knees in an attempt not to hyperventilate. She no longer felt cold, her fingers and toes long numb from the relentless chill. The vision of Austin in pain caused a sharp pierce of something new and horrible in her chest. He looked vulnerable. This statuesque of a man who made grown men wince at the mere sight of him, trembled.
“Austin.”
He refused to look at her. His hands covered his face and wouldn’t budge, despite her effort to pull them away.
“Austin.” She shook his arm this time. “Tell me what’s going on. Why would Ferocia be looking for you?”
His fingers slowly dragged down his face, and his features fell flat. “It’s just the party.” He spoke the words, but his tone was too even and his emotions too dull to be the truth. Even his voice sounded fake. “Ferocia has always been desperate to get a spy inside our holiday party.”
“The guard said the girl specifically asked for you. She said your name.”
Austin jumped up. “I don’t know, Magnolia. Like I said, Ferocia will do anything to find this party, which is why we should get inside.”
She wanted to argue. She wanted to beat the truth out of him. “Are we close?”
He cocked his head to the side, and for the first time a little piece of his smile returned. “We’re here.” He turned her around to face the doors behind her.
“But this is a movie theater.”
His lips were at her ear now. His breath in her hair. “Good eye.”
Again he took her hand. Apparently that was their thing now. Holding hands. She had never been big on the concept in the past. It was different with Austin. The simple gesture felt important, almost intimate.
Austin pulled out a key with the other hand and unlocked the door. She followed him silently inside and waited while he locked the doors ag
ain. “So, they just give you guys a key?”
He smirked over his shoulder at her. “We pay a lot of money to rent the place out for the night. Plus, we go through a lot of back channels so they don’t know exactly who is paying the bill.”
She eyed him. “You know eventually someone is going to blab.”
Austin shrugged. “Then we’ll change the venue. It’s not about the place. It’s about the people. The right for us to have a night of fun with our friends without the press sticking their noses in our business the whole time.”
She squeezed his hand, and he returned it. He was right. They deserved one night.
Austin opened another door, and music erupted. A very horrible rendition of “Ice Ice Baby” echoed off the tall atrium of the theater’s grand hall. Magnolia spotted the source immediately. A karaoke station on the opposite wall from the concession stand with a projector and small stage. The stage was full of what appeared to be half-drunken hockey players. All with microphones.
It sounded like someone gave a bunch of tone deaf screech owls cocaine.
“Get used to it.” Austin laughed at the face she made. “The more they drink, the better they think they sound.”
“Austin! Magnolia!”
Henrik waved from across the room. Tables were everywhere. Xbox stations and beer pong set-ups. Was that a keg next to the popcorn machine? It was like Christmas Vacation meets Animal House, if you added snacks and movies.
“What took you guys so long?”
Austin’s smile dimmed. Magnolia didn’t like it. She wasn’t sure why she cared so much about his smile, but she did. Not long ago she would have relished Austin’s misery, but that anger and resentment she had felt faded. Now something new and flowery bloomed in its place. It made her feel different. Not whole, because she’d never felt like she’d lacked anything in her life. She just felt happy. Content.
“Later,” he said simply. He gave Henrik a serious look.
Henrik must have caught his meaning because he instantly let it drop. Then he turned his attention to her. “Disappointed yet?”
Another player at the table spun a wheel like you’d see at a casino, but it was outlined with shot glasses. “Are you kidding me?” Magnolia pulled her coat off to reveal her hideous lopsided sweater. “This is so much cooler than some stuffy, black tie affair.”
The guy across the table, who she recognized now was Callen Copley, took the shot glass the spinner landed on and choked the contents down. “That one was definitely vodka.”
“What is this?”
Austin stood behind her, his hands brushing the side of her hips. “Shot roulette. You get either vodka or water. You don’t know which.”
“Want to take my turn?” Henrik motioned for her to join. “I promised Leila I’d sing a duet with her, and we’re up next.”
Magnolia knew it was a test. This wasn’t her first go-around. Meeting Austin’s friends in a setting like this meant she would be expected to impress them. They would be checking to make sure the girl their friend wanted to hang with so much was worth his time. “Only if you two will play a round of beer pong with us afterward. Loser buys the winner coffee and those little creamy éclairs from Crumbs Bake Shop for a week.”
“Deal.” Henrik gave her a very enthusiastic fist bump. “Meet at beer pong in fifteen.”
Then he gave Austin the nod. The ‘I officially approve of her’ nod. Magnolia hadn’t realized she’d been hoping for it.
Turned out she was horrible at shot roulette. After three shots of vodka for her and Austin, she realized someone had totally missed the point of the game and put vodka in every glass. She laughed against Austin’s arm as they walked toward the beer pong table. They weren’t tipsy, but Austin was already handsy, though he wasn’t overstepping customary first date boundaries. Yet. He held her hand, played with her hair, and brushed elbows.
The wall she built around her heart crumbled. She tried so hard to keep her distance from Austin, to block him out. He’d chipped it away, though. Piece by piece. Each smile caused an earthquake, each touch of his hand a missile to the foundation. She was vulnerable now, an open target waiting for the final blow.
They were inseparable. Beer pong with Henrik and Leila, and karaoke with Jiri and his wife. Austin was right. They all deserved this night. A night without cameras or coaches. One evening without the rest of the world watching them, judging their every move. Magnolia stood at the karaoke stand, flipping through the book. Strong hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her backward. She fell into Austin’s chest, already laughing. “Hey, I haven’t found Callen’s song yet.”
“Cali can find his own song.”
Austin lifted her off her feet, turning her around in his arms. “No, Austin—your knee.”
“My knee is fine. The brace is just for precaution now.”
He pulled her closer. She felt blush tint her cheeks as she looked around and found everyone in the room staring at them.
He intentionally leaned in, his breath brushing across her neck. “I have plans for you.”
They all smiled. It reminded her of the night at the bar, the way her co-workers watched her, waiting to see what happened next. She wanted to struggle out of his arms, scream at them all that they weren’t some reality show. Austin’s hands were too gentle, though, his voice too soft in her ear. She wanted what he offered too much to ruin it. Besides, these were his friends. They weren’t reporters.
Austin sat her down in front of the doors to one of the theaters. He opened it, picking up a small duffle bag sitting next to it. Magnolia studied the opened door for a moment, and Austin laughed. “Go on,” he insisted.
The theater was small and the lights dim. A movie, a scene of whirling, stark white snow, engulfed the giant screen in front of her. It was familiar. “Is this what I think it is?” Magnolia asked, already smiling. She’d recognize the opening for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe anywhere. The book was one of her childhood favorites.
Austin grinned next to her. “I have connections.”
She eyed him a little closer. “But how did you know?”
His smile grew until he laughed. “You can’t befriend my friends on social media and not expect a guy to exploit it and obtain confidential information.”
“Samuel.” She accepted Samuel O’Dell’s Twitter friend request randomly one day at the office. She hadn’t even thought twice about it.
“I can’t reveal my sources.” Austin’s amused sideways glance told her she was right. His hand ran down her wrist until his fingers wrapped around hers. He pulled her forward. “Besides, I don’t plan to let you watch the movie.”
Magnolia’s brow rose. It was a little accusatory, and a lot not-happening-bucko, but Austin laughed again.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
She pursed her lips. “Sure, you didn’t.”
“I’m serious.” He pointed behind her, up to the window of the projection room. “We have an audience.”
Magnolia spun around, her eyes training to the small window upstairs. Four sets of eyes watched them. When she turned back around, Austin’s middle finger was in the air. He mouthed a very readable profanity toward the window.
“Is that Henrik?”
Austin unzipped his duffle bag, the scowl still on his face. “It’s his form of payback.”
“For what?”
Austin pulled out a couple boxes. Pictionary. Scattergories. The bag was full of board games. “Let’s just say that Henrik spent a lot of nights playing Scrabble with my sister because of me.”
Magnolia smiled. The thought was sweet. She could tell Austin loved his family, especially his sister and niece. It eased her fears. She wasn’t scared of him, but rather the way he made her feel.
She liked him. A lot. Her chest tightened every time he looked at her. Every fiber inside of her swooned when he smiled. Austin pulled a ratty green hat out of his back pocket, then put it on backward. His hand was steady. Precise. It was the same way he
put on his helmet before a game. He suddenly looked very serious. “Are you ready for this?”
“What? Pictionary?”
Austin quirked a mischievous smile before revealing the last box hidden in the bottom of the bag. He pulled it out slowly, flipping it over to reveal the top.
Magnolia gasped.
Monopoly. And not just regular Monopoly either. It was The Lord of the Rings version.
Damn Samuel O’Dell and his big mouth.
She hadn’t posted that Throwback Thursday family photo of her epic twelve-hour Monopoly battle with her sisters for Samuel to share her weakness for Elves and market domination with his sneaky, yet adorable friend.
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Austin Blakely.” Her voice held warning, but it was also sultry. Magnolia was competitive, almost to a fault. She could never resist a true challenge, and Austin Blakely understood that. He was the ultimate trial of self-control. She’d prepared for a tux and fancy dinner. She might have turned a tad dreamy-eyed if he’d whisked her across a dance floor in some high-rise ballroom while they sipped champagne. She would have recovered, though. She could have convinced herself it was all nice, but ultimately not for her.
Beer pong. Butchered karaoke. Tumnus and dorky board games.
Austin offered her everything she didn’t think existed. Everything she suddenly wanted to keep.
“Oh, but I do know, Magnolia Cross.”
They eyed each other, a full-on standoff in the middle of the aisle, and Magnolia found herself biting her lip. They had an audience, she reminded herself. Keeping him, better yet, taking him right now could only be a fantasy. So, she would give in and play his game. For now. “Name the terms, then.”
“Terms?” Austin’s smile grew. “You’re confident enough for a bet?”
The Girl With Diamonds (Midtown Brotherhood Book 2) Page 12