“Speak of the devil,” she muttered.
My gaze followed hers down the sidewalk to see Allister walking toward us. His eyes were already on me, filled with a magnetism that made everything beyond broad shoulders and straight lines disappear.
“And who is he with?” Interest laced through her voice.
I finally noticed he had a companion. The stranger was dressed like a model in a magazine, in a charcoal suit and skinny red tie, but his eyes shone with the darkness only a member of the underworld could exude. He was handsome, but that was inconsequential compared to the intrigue that screamed with each step he took.
While walking past us, Allister pulled the cigarette from my lips and tossed it to the sidewalk before entering the hotel doors.
I sighed.
Valentina laughed.
The night of Elena’s bachelorette party fluttered through my mind. I got to my feet. “I need to gather some intel.”
She blew out a breath of smoke between red-painted lips. “You do that. And while you’re at it, find out the handsome stranger’s name.”
I caught up to Allister and sidled beside him as he and his companion walked to the ballroom. “Who’s your friend?”
Allister didn’t even look my way. “None of your business.”
“Name’s Sebastian.” The stranger winked at me, and I could feel it straight in my toes.
“Sebastian what?”
Christian’s shoulders tensed.
“Perez.”
I placed the light accent behind his voice. “Ah, a Colombian. Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Sebastian.” I held out my hand, but before Sebastian could shake it, Christian grabbed my wrist and pulled it to his side. “I’m—”
“Married,” Christian finished, and then shot the Colombian a look I couldn’t decipher.
A small smile pulled on Sebastian’s lips. “I’ll just go offer my condolences to the bride. It was my pleasure, Gianna.”
How he knew my name, I didn’t know, but the fact he did made my chest squeal with girlish delight.
Wait, condolences?
Oh, whatever.
“You too, Sebastian.” I tried to raise my hand to give a flirty wave, but realized Christian still had a tight grip on my wrist.
I brought my unimpressed gaze to him.
His eyes were narrowed on me.
“Who peed in your Raisin Bran this morning?”
He dropped my wrist, smoothed his tie, and eyed the room like he was on security detail. “I find your presence bothersome. Go put yourself somewhere else.”
“Fine. I do need to find out more about Sebastian.” I took a step in that direction, but he grabbed my wrist again. I frowned, looking down at where he held me. “I’m confused. I think this is called mixed signals?”
Something flashed in his eyes like he was going to spill with some other ridiculous command, but then a muscle in his jaw tightened, and he let me go and walked away.
Because he clearly didn’t want me to, I followed him.
“I didn’t expect you to be one to celebrate love,” I said.