The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(10)

Carina unrolled her silverware and fidgeted with putting it in place as their waitress walked up.

“Hi, my name’s Nancy. I can take your order if you’re ready. Sorry for the delay. We’re on a light crew. They’re having a party down at the cellar.” The waitress put waters in front of them. “Where are y’all from?”

“New York,” Brianna said as she studied the menu. “Can I just have a salad? Maybe with grilled chicken and some lemon juice.”

“Order real food,” Carina snapped. “You’re gonna lose your job anyway.”

“Oh, thank you, Carina.” Brianna glared over the edge of her menu. “’Cause my nerves aren’t already frayed.”

“I think I want fried chicken and biscuits and gravy.” Carina looked up at Nancy with a smile, because Carina was one of those irritating women who could eat whatever she wanted and still have a body to die for. “Is it really good? Like sinfully good? Better than sex?”

“It’s so good,” Nancy assured her. “You know, we got some fellas here who’re from New York.”

“No kidding,” Carina said conversationally, her eyes wide in mock surprise. “What’re they’re names? Maybe we know them?”

“That would be a coincidence.” The waitress laughed. “Romeo Wellings. He’s famous. He used to be a big deal in MMA.”

“Wellings.” Carina looked at the ceiling, as if rolling it over in her mind. “He sounds sorta uptight. Probably not my kinda crew.”

“He’s got a brother, Tino Moretti. He’s a fighter too.”

“Oh, well, with a last name like that, he’s probably unnaturally good-looking and charming.” Carina batted long eyelashes at the waitress. “I heard things about Morettis.”

“Honestly, he is one to look at.” The waitress giggled. “You don’t even know.”

“She’s messing with you. We actually know them,” Brianna said as all the fine hairs on her arm stood on end in long-dormant jealousy she didn’t like at all. “She’s Tino’s sister.”

“No kidding?” The waitress stared at Carina in surprise, her light eyes narrowing critically. “You do look like the other one. What’s his name? He stops by sometimes and—”

Brianna laughed. “Nova?”

“That’s him,” the waitress agreed as she looked at Carina again. “I can see the family resemblance.”

“Annoying,” Carina mumbled under her breath as she went back to looking at her menu. “Yeah, I want the fried-chicken-biscuits-gravy thing that’s the special. I need it after that.”

“I want grilled chicken,” Brianna said as she handed the menu back. “With a side salad. Olive oil and vinegar is fine. Lemon if you have it.”

“Do you want mashed potatoes with your chicken?”

“What’s your vegetable?” Brianna asked with a wince.

The waitress raised her eyebrows. “Mashed potatoes.”

“That’s fine,” Carina answered for her as she handed her menu back too. “I would hate my life if I had to eat like you.”

“Well, when I get a Moretti metabolism, I’ll let you know,” Brianna huffed. “Besides, I like salad.”

“Weird.” Carina went back to playing with her silverware. “How cool is this town, though? Everyone knows everyone. Like outta a movie. She knew right away that we weren’t from here, ’cause she knows everyone who lives here.”

“Maybe she knew ’cause we look completely out of place,” Brianna suggested with a laugh.

“She knows Tino. And Romeo.”

“Romeo’s famous. Most of New York knew him too,” Brianna said with a pointed look. “And Tino’s still Tino.” She looked away and mumbled under her breath, “Obviously.”

“You’re married. Bri, you didn’t expect—”

“What if he has a girlfriend?” Brianna burst out with her darkest terror. “There’s no reason for him not to have a girlfriend and—”

“I talk to him all the time. He does not have a girlfriend. I would know.”

“What if he didn’t want to tell you?” Brianna pressed, feeling her cheeks heat with the clash of fear and embarrassment. “What if—”

“Look, he’s Tino. He’s been around since you broke up. You both went to extreme measures to stay away from each other, but—”

“He’s got a girlfriend,” Brianna whispered miserably. “And we’re gonna show up here and ruin his life.”

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Carina assured her. “I promise.”

Promise or not, Brianna ended up eating half of Carina’s fried chicken out of nerves. It did taste fantastic and was certainly more enjoyable than any sex she’d had in the past few years.

Tino really had been such a long time ago, a different life, hazed in the smoky glow of nightclubs and the hot, sticky press of bodies colliding in the dark. Their love had been wild, unpredictable, and so unbelievably raw and sensual it would likely never stop haunting her.

Together, they were like a firework.

Beautiful in the night.

A dusty smear of ash in the morning when reality crashed in and ruined the high. They just weren’t ever meant to be more than one brief, amazing explosion of memories that should’ve been enough to sustain them.