Anika blinked, smiling at me. But there was no warmth in that smile. I got the feeling that she thought I was overstepping in a big way.
Mirella came down after her shower and pried Lidiya from me, but the little girl didn’t want to let go. After she started to fuss, I offered to put her to bed for the second time that week. Mirella was evidently grateful. She clearly didn’t want to put Lidiya to bed in a state of distress. I didn’t blame her.
I made it up the stairs as Lidiya started to doze. Mirella silently reached for her and I handed the chubby princess over. I waved silently, and Mirella returned it. I headed downstairs and entered the kitchen just as Anika commented, “So Mina’s here a lot.”
Neither Lev nor Nas felt the need to explain, and neither did I, quite frankly. Rather than telling her she was being obvious in a hideous way, I smiled. “Who’s ready to make tonight their bitch? I am. Let’s go.”
Playing host was interesting.
Nas was right about the flirting. The bachelor boys couldn’t have been more generous. I’d screwed up a couple of times, but had the grace to laugh at myself. My excuse for the order mix-ups being, “Well, if you guys weren’t so handsome, a girl could work without distraction, you know?”
With common excuses like that, my charming party upped the tips at an alarming rate, leaving more for me than what they’d actually spent on drinks.
My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but it was worth it when I learned that I’d earned a little more than $400 in tips.
Lev kept a close eye on me, getting up to check on me every now and again. I wondered what he actually did here at the club. From the looks of things, all he did was watch the show every night.
After one of the boys had grabbed my wrist and pulled me close, I panicked. But when I reminded myself that they’d had a lot to drink and getting grabby came with the territory, I pasted another wide smile on my face, leaned in close, and listened to the array of compliments the man wanted me to hear. After he was heard, he let go of me and relief went through me. I blinked up at him through lowered lashes, walked backward, and blew the man a kiss.
I don’t know why I was so against this. This flirting stuff was easy. I had it down.
Walking backward, I walked straight into a wall. I looked up to see that wall glaring at the man who wanted to tell me how beautiful I was. I turned and smiled up at him. “I’m killing it!”
But Lev, looking dangerously handsome in his gunmetal grey three-piece suit, kept his glare level on the man. “He put his hands on you.”
Warning bells went off in my head. My smile faded as I placed a hand on his chest. “Hey, it’s okay. They’re just having a bit of fun.”
His glare faded as he looked down at me. “You looked frightened.”
Oh. Had I?
That meant he had been watching me. I couldn’t even think about that right now. I had to calm a murderous looking Lev.
His eyes fell to the ground as he asked a hesitant, “Were you frightened?”
My shoulder jumped in a small shrug. “I’m not used to people touching me, is all. It freaked me out for about a whole second, but I thought about it and I’m okay with it.” I felt the need to defend the grabby man. “He didn’t hurt me, Lev.”
“I don’t like them touching you.”
That was a bold statement if I ever heard one. His eyes, blazing, went over my head, back toward the man. My hand still on his chest, I turned to see the group of men watching Lev, all looking tense and uneasy.
Lev fisted his hands and went to step forward, toward the men.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Sweet Lev getting all riled up over some random guys? I didn’t get it. This wasn’t the man I’d seen over the past week. This was someone else. Someone scary.