Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Diana

When I get back to my place, my phone finally dings.

I heave a sigh of relief when I see Dragon’s name.

At the diner.

At the diner?

That’s it?

Nothing about how he got off the roof? Nothing about being sorry he worried me?

Christ.

“You’re totally serious,” I say out loud.

I press on his name, dialing him.

“Yeah?” he says into my ear.

“It’s me, Dragon. Diana.”

“I know. I see your name on the caller ID.”

“For crying out loud,” I say. “Everyone was worried.”

“If you were that worried, you would’ve answered your phone when I told you I was stuck on the roof.”

“My phone was in my purse, which was in Teddy’s bedroom. It’s not like I carry it around at parties. I was trying to be social, not buried in my phone.”

“Most of the people there had their phones out.”

I ball my hands into fists. “For God’s sake, this isn’t about me, Dragon. It’s about you. You could’ve let me know you weren’t coming back to the party once you got off the roof. Teddy and I were looking for you.”

“You didn’t look that far. The diner’s about a block away from Teddy’s place.”

“That’s not even the point.”

“That’s exactly the point, Diana. You’re not my keeper.”

“You texted me saying you were stuck on the roof,” I say through gritted teeth. “That makes me your keeper. You were asking for help. I came to give you help.”

“Not quick enough, so I found another way.”

“Didn’t you think you should have let me know? Didn’t you realize I would eventually get your text and wonder if you were freezing your ass off up on the roof?”

He says nothing then.

Good. Maybe I knocked some sense into that hard head of his.

Until—

“I don’t have to tell you where I’m going.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, here we go again. It’s just common courtesy, Dragon. I came to let you off the roof, and you weren’t there. You didn’t end up back at the party, so it was common courtesy to let me know where you were so I wouldn’t worry.”

“You weren’t really worrying anyway.”

His words should be the truth. He’s a grown man, and I’m not his keeper. He’s right about that. So yeah, I shouldn’t have been worrying.

But I was.

I mean… If something happened to him, Jesse and Brianna would never forgive me.

“Look,” I say. “We’re going to have to come to some agreement. If we’re somewhere together, and you decide to leave, let me know. It’s common courtesy. That’s all I ask.”

He sighs. “I didn’t exactly decide to leave, Diana. I got locked up on the roof, and no one came to help me. So I helped myself. That’s a good thing.”

Yes, it’s a good thing. I’m tempted to yell at him some more, but he probably learned all that shit in rehab. That you have to help yourself.

I don’t want to fuck up his rehab or his therapy.

Maybe it was too hard for him to be around the booze and the pot tonight.

Maybe I need to be more understanding.

“Fine,” I say. “I’m heading back to Teddy’s. That’s where I’ll be if you need me.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you when you get home, then.”

“I guess so. Bye, Dragon.” This time I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans. It’s on vibrate, so I should be able to feel it if he calls.

This shouldn’t drive me as crazy as it does. I shouldn’t feel responsible for him.

If I’m being honest with myself, I’m feeling something more than just responsibility because of Brianna and Jesse.

And I don’t like it.

I don’t like it one bit.

So I’m going back to the party.

I’m going to have a drink. Maybe even two drinks.

And if I find a nice warm body to cuddle up with for the night? All the better.

I haven’t had sex in nearly a year, and I think it’s time.

I have to pound hard on the door for Teddy to let me in. The party is raging strong—the number of people here has tripled—and the smell of pot is more pungent than ever.

I’m not a beer drinker, so I head to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of whatever red they’re pouring.

Then I shake my head.

It’s the Colorado Pike red blend, made by my brother-in-law’s family.

They won’t have any wine releases for the next few years since a fire destroyed their winery and vineyards a year ago.

The Pikes make table wines. Easily drinkable wines that don’t cost an arm and a leg, unlike my uncle Ryan and my brother Dale. They make top-of-the-line wines.

I take a sip.

It’s good.

I don’t know much about wine—my brother has tried to educate me, but I’m a lost cause because I’m just not really into alcohol—but this is quite delicious. It’s easy to drink. It tastes of red fruit with just a touch of vanilla.

But other than that? It just tastes nice. It’s easy on my tongue, goes down my throat smoothly.

It would be good with food. With pizza, actually.

We don’t have any pizza here, but I can remedy that in a moment. Normally I wouldn’t be so presumptuous, but I know Teddy won’t mind.

I pull up my food delivery app—unconsciously checking to see if Dragon has texted; he hasn’t—take a look around the room to assess the number of pizzas I need, and then order six large pizzas—three pepperoni, three cheese—to be delivered to Teddy’s place.

It’s Saturday night, so I pay the extra fee for rush delivery.

Excellent. Twenty minutes and they’ll be here. I sip the wine slowly so I’ll still have a nearly full glass when the pizza gets here.

In the meantime, I take a look around. The two friends of Teddy’s who are in town—Tracy and Bud—are deep in conversation with two young women.

Teddy is talking to a handsome young man, and there are a couple of other groups of women and men chatting about, and then I see him…

A man by himself in the corner checking his phone.

He’s tall with light-brown hair, and he’s wearing faded jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. So not my type.

Which is why I take another sip of my wine and walk toward him.

He looks up at me as I draw near.

“Am I interrupting you?” I ask.

“No. I was just returning a text.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Antonio, by the way.”

I shake his hand. “Diana.” I look him up and down. “You don’t look like an Antonio.”

He cocks his head. “I don’t?”

“Antonios are supposed to be the dark Latin type. Dark hair, dark eyes, tanned skin.”

“I’m Italian,” he says. “Northern Italian.”

“What’s your last name?”

“Carbone. What’s yours?”

“Steel.”

As usual, I get the wide eyes at that. “Not the Steels?”

I bite my lip. “Guilty.”

My family is well known in Colorado. They’re pretty much known nationwide. But Steel isn’t an uncommon name, so it always boggles my mind that people just assume I’m one of the Steels.

“So I assume you work for your family?” Antonio asks.

I shake my head. “I’m an architect.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “You mean your rich family doesn’t dabble in architecture? They have their hands in just about everything else.”

I decide not to take his comment the wrong way because I don’t think he means it to be rude. He’s right. The elders of my family are way more than just ranchers. You don’t become billionaires simply by ranching.

“They do not have their fingers in the architecture game,” I say. “I’ve gotten there on my own.”

“That’s cool.” He smiles. “Good for you.”

There’s something patronizing about what he just said, but again, I don’t think he meant it that way. Sometimes people just don’t know how to act when I tell them who my family is.

“What do you do?” I ask him.

“I own a music store,” he says. “It’s right on the outskirts of downtown. I sing and play guitar nights and weekends, but I’m off tonight.”

My interest is piqued. “A music store? Do you offer instruction?”

“Yeah, of course. You looking to learn to sing or play an instrument?”

“God, no,” I laugh. “I have no musical talent at all. But my roommate is a drummer. I know he’d like to get some students.”

“Really?” He strokes his chin. “Percussion is very popular. We can always use new instructors. What are his qualifications?”

“He’s a member of the band Dragonlock. They just went on tour with Emerald Phoenix.”

This time his jaw drops. “No shit? Yeah, have him call me.” He pulls a card out of his pocket and hands it to me. “I wouldn’t mind if you called me either, Diana.” He gives me a smile.

“Maybe I will.” I smile back at him. He’s quite handsome, with broad shoulders, narrow hips. I’m so used to guys from the western slope. This guy has yuppie written all over him, despite his flannel shirt.

I’m about to open my mouth to ask more about his music store when Teddy comes strolling up.

“Hey, Dee, I see you met my cousin.”

This time I widen my eyes. “You guys are cousins?”

“Yeah,” Antonio says. “Guilty. Our mothers are sisters.”

“How have I not met you before now?” I ask. “I interned at Teddy’s architecture firm.”

“I’m not one for parties,” Antonio says. “But my good cousin here convinced me to come to this one since Tracy and Bud were coming into town.”

“So you know Tracy and Bud too?”

“Oh, yeah. We all went to college together.”

“So much I don’t know.” I twirl a lock of my hair and give Antonio a slight smile.

Teddy looks at me and then at Antonio, and then back at me. “Something going on with you two?”

“Of course not,” I say, my cheeks warming.

But then Antonio looks at me, and I see the color of his eyes. They’re not brown as I originally thought, but greenish brown.

Hazel, like Dragon’s.

Except not anything like Dragon’s. I don’t see flecks of gold or…

Why am I thinking of Dragon Locke’s eyes?

“That’s too bad,” Antonio says. “I thought we were getting along pretty well.”

“Never say never, Dee.” Teddy turns at some pounding on the door. “I wonder who that can be.”

“Those are the pizzas I ordered,” I say.

Teddy raises an eyebrow. “Pizza?”

“Yeah.” I swirl the remaining wine in my glass. “I had a craving for pizza to go with this wine. I figured you’d be okay with it. I ordered enough for everybody.”

“Of course it’s okay, but you didn’t have to do that, Diana. I have more stuff in the fridge for another charcuterie platter.”

“Oh, Teds,” Antonio says, laughing. “We all love your charcuterie, but come on. There’s no substitute for pizza.”

Teddy chuckles lightheartedly as she goes to the door, grabs the pizzas, takes them into the kitchen, and sets them out on her small counter.

“Hey, everyone,” she yells over the music. “We got some pizza!”

The pot smokers descend like vultures, which I expected.

I manage to grab a piece of pepperoni for myself before it’s gone. Then I find an empty chair in the corner, sit down with what remains of my glass of wine, and take a bite of the pizza.

The creamy cheese and the spice of the pepperoni…so good. Then I take a sip of the wine.

Mmm, delicious with the tomato sauce. It must be made of an acidic grape. That’s what Dale says. A wine that has a high acidity goes well with food, especially tomatoes.

Whatever. All I know is it tastes damned good, and once I’m finished with my pizza and I’ve drunk the last of my wine, I go to pour another glass.

And who should be getting a glass himself? Antonio Carbone.

“The pizzas didn’t last long,” he says.

“I know.” I wave the stench of marijuana away from in front of me. “All the pot smoking. They all have the munchies. But I only wanted one piece of pepperoni, and I got it.”

He scratches the side of his head. “You paid for all those pizzas and only got one piece?”

I shrug.

He presses his lips together. “Oh right… You’re an heiress.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not just an heiress. I’m a human being. My own person. I’m an architect.”

“Yes, you are. An architect who bought six pizzas so she could have one slice.” He chuckles as he takes the bottle of wine and pours some into my glass. “Teddy tells me you’re starting a new job.”

“First thing Monday morning.”

“Congratulations.” He clinks his glass to mine.

“Thank you.” I take a sip of the wine. There are a few straggler pieces of pizza left, all cheese. I pick up a napkin and grab one, despite the fact that I may pay for it tomorrow. “Now I’m an architect who bought six pizzas so she could have two slices. Much more economical.” I smile. “You’d better have another while you can.”

“Oh, I don’t eat pizza. I’m a vegan.”

I drop my jaw.

“Never met a vegan before?”

“No, of course I have. You just don’t run into too many vegans where I come from.”

He nods slowly. “Not in a family whose company is based on beef, I suppose.”

Christ, can we stop talking about my family? I’m trying to flirt here.

“Tell me about your veganism,” I say. “What made you make that decision?”

He smiles. “I just love animals.”

“I love animals too.”

“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to be a vegan to love animals.” His smile vanishes. “I just really hate the food industry. The inhumane way they’re treated.”

“Our animals have a really good life,” I say. “My dad and uncles pride themselves on that. They’re grass fed, and they graze freely.”

“But they still end up on someone’s plate.”

I frown. “They do.”

I take another sip of my wine. I need to find someone else if I think I’m going to get laid tonight. I like Antonio well enough, but since he seems to have a problem with everything my family does for a living, he’s probably not the wisest choice.

I take one more sip of wine. “It was great meeting you, Antonio. Excuse me.”

He grabs my arm gently. “Does it bother you that I’m a vegan?”

I shake my head. “Of course not. Does it bother you that my family makes a living raising beef?”

“No.” He looks at the floor. “I’m sorry if I came off as judgmental. This is just my personal choice. I don’t look down on anyone who eats meat.”

I smile then. Maybe he is a nice guy after all. “I certainly respect your decisions, and I’m glad you respect mine.”

“I do. So…” He glances around the room. The party has begun to die down. “You want to get out of here?”

I’m feeling something. Definitely a little bit of horniness. Probably because I’ve had two glasses of wine, which is a lot for me.

And he is attractive.

“Sure,” I say. “What did you have in mind?”

“My place is up north, in Westminster,” he says. “Where’s your place?”

I swallow. “A few blocks away. But I have to warn you. I don’t keep any alcohol in the house.”

“Did I ask for alcohol?” He smiles.

“No.”

“We can just talk.”

I roll my eyes at him. “I’ve heard that before.”

He puts a hand up in front of him. “You’re a friend of Teddy’s. And I don’t use women. So we go to your place. We talk alone. If something happens, great. If nothing happens, great. Maybe we’ll see each other again. Maybe we won’t. There’s no pressure, Diana.” He shrugs. “It’s just two people who met and want to get to know each other a little better.”

When he puts it that way…

“Okay, why not? Let me just tell Teddy I’m out of here.”

“We’ll go together,” he says.

And I smile.

I feel okay about this.