Something was wrong.
Not just with Rosa being far more flirtatious than I'd expected her to be given that she had a boyfriend, but with Sarah too.
When I told her I would marry this chick and solve all our problems with dad, she wasn't happy like I thought she'd be.
She cried.
For the longest time, I thought maybe I was a real dick 'cause crying women never bothered me much. The only ladies who I really cared about were mom and Macy. If some fling from the bar started bawling over me dancing with someone else, so what?
But when I saw her wiping away tears, it felt like somebody plunged a knife through my heart. Metaphorically, I mean.
Three hours had passed, and the feeling still hadn't gone away.
“So, does she have any cute friends?”
Jared, one of my old buddies I'd met in college, helped himself to the beer in my fridge. He tossed his shaggy hair out of his eyes and gave me a hopeful look.
“How should I know? I've only just met the girl.” I pawed through my closet for the right outfit to wear tonight. “Macy introduced us. Knows her from school.”
Jared chugged his Heineken and belched so loudly that the windows shook in their frames. No wonder he had such a hard time attracting women. Poor idiot was always whining about it and complaining that I stole girls away from him whenever we went out.
“But dude, your sister's barely twenty one. Her friend can't be much older than that – hell, she could still be a teenager for all you know. A little young for you, maybe?”
“I'm only meeting her for drinks.”
Honestly, I was beginning to feel a bit queasy about tonight. Every time I thought of saying “I do” with Rosa, a quiver of worry ran through me.
I ignored it and got dressed. If this had to be done to save the business I'd worked so hard to build up, so be it.
“How about that Sarah Masters, eh?”
I froze and dropped the clothes I was holding. “What's that supposed to mean?”
Jared flopped on the couch with a dopey grin. “She runs that old shop across from you, right? I saw her at the grocery store the other day. Never noticed what a sweet ass she's got.”
My jaw clenched. I glared, hoping he'd get the hint. Clueless as ever, he didn't.
“She was in the produce section buying grapefruit, so I thought I'd try my hand with her. Showed her how you squeeze it to find the ripest, juiciest one. She gave me this look like I was a serial killer.”
Rage boiled in me at the mere thought of Jared hitting on her. I charged at him with a scowl and thrust my finger in his face.
“You stay away from her, do you hear me?”
He backed away from me, shrinking into the couch cushions, a look of fear on his face. He was right to be scared. Guy had a knack for getting on my nerves, and we'd settled our problems with fist fights on more than one occasion.
I hadn't lost once yet.
“Whoa, man! Calm down. I didn't lay a hand on her.” His eyes narrowed. “What's it to you, anyway? She another one of your conquests? You ask me, you ought to save a couple scraps for the rest of us mere mortals, dude.”
I owed him no explanation – which was good, because I didn't really have a sensible one anyway.
Never in my life had I felt so freaking possessive over a woman before, especially one I hadn't even slept with yet.
This was all I could think of on my way to the club. I should have been focusing on the charity drive – they expected me to make a speech to drum up donations. Normally, I was well-prepared for such things.
Now here I was, playing dirty movies in my head of Sarah and me. That, and wondering what it'd take to get such a woman in my bed.
Club Neon's parking lot was packed when I arrived. Lucky for me they'd reserved a spot for vendors, so I wouldn't have to haul this box of toys very far.
“There's the star of the hour,” said Harry, the club's owner, when he saw me coming. “You can put your donation up there, front of the stage. What's it gonna be this year?”
“Some remote-control toys, bunch of video game consoles, phones, laptops. Stuff like that.”
His eyes widened as he peeked into one of the boxes. “Very generous of you. The kiddos that get this stuff are gonna have a very happy Christmas.”
Inside, the music was loud and the dance floor full of people bouncing to the beat. Several other store owners had beaten me here. There were toys and games piled across the stage, so many that the place resembled Santa's workshop more than a smoky nightclub.
Harry hurried after me and helped me unload my boxes where he wanted them.
“This event is awesome for business. We've sold more in drinks tonight than I have in the past three combined.”
“I'm just glad to help those poor kids. Waking up on Christmas morning to no presents under the tree? I can't even imagine how they'd feel.”
Not that I understood, not really. My family had been wealthy for decades, so Macy and I never went without anything. There were so many presents piled under our tree that it took hours to open every one.
“We're still missing a few folks.” Harry gestured to an empty table. “Sure hope they show up. I'd hate to have to rearrange the display at this hour.”
The table nearly escaped my attention – except for the sign on it.
It said “Hazel's Curiosities.”
Shit, Sarah was going to be here? And I was supposed to be
