THIN ICE |BOOK I |BWWM|

•ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2•

•SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA•

Julia's POV

"One Apple Martini," Olivia, my best friend, confidently ordered as she drummed her finger nubs on the marble counter.

"What about you Roe?" she tapped my arm.

I pulled my absentminded stare away from the crowd of dancing women and men and turned toward Olivia.

"I'll have a Cosmo!" I smiled, raising my voice against the blaring hip-hop music.

"Got it." The bartender said as his jade-colored eyes lustfully ran over Olivia's delicate curves.

Olivia turned her back toward the bartender and ran her fingers through her platinum blonde curtain bangs. We both sat quietly together as my eyes lowered to my phone again to check my notifications.

Olivia side-eyed me and smacked her teeth, "Monroe, we just got here. Would ya' calm down, please?"

Her words only stung my nervous system causing my leg to bounce. Olivia always came with me to meet Andres. We grew up together and she had been there from the beginning—through my father's death, my college years in the UK, my marriage, and the birth of Nicolai. I liked to call her my silver lining.

I took a cleansing breath.

She was right; we had just stepped into the building only minutes ago, but Andres was always there to greet me. He was never late, and it made me all the more nervous. What if something happened? What if 'he' got wise to the whole operation?

The bright neon lights bounced from glass surfaces to glittery outfits, exposing a few already flushed faces. I watched as a couple of girls in silhouette hugging dresses danced closely with various men who were clinging to their size two waists.

A deep sigh escaped my lips. I had been doing that a lot more lately. Maybe this whole situation was finally wearing me down instead of saving me. I checked my phone one more time as I heard the bartender call out to us.

"Here you are ladies."

I carefully wrapped my thin fingers around the stem of the glass as I felt a weight on my shoulder accompanied by a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"Mi dispiace sono in ritardo." Andres's warm voice graced my ears while his pink pepper and saffron scent filled my nose, and my broad smile from before returned.

I spun around, slipping my hands around his torso. "I was worried."

Andres wore a smile larger than the sun as he replied, "I'm sorry. I got caught up with some business."

He knocked on the counter and snapped for his regular.

Olivia waved politely and Andres threw his arm over her shoulder. "Good to see you again Liv. How's the family?"

"They're fine." She nodded, a smile barely curving her lips.

Olivia knew about my past life with the Maniscalco crime family, and she hated it. She called them savages that did nothing but take advantage of the honest and hardworking because they were too afraid to have less like the rest of the world. When I first came to her about leaving, she was all too eager to help me plan my escape.

The only reason Andres found out was because I had started stealing money from the joint account I had with my ex. He told me he'd help me, but I had to stop stealing. Even back then Don Franco was sick and started handing over responsibilities. If word got back that I had been stealing from the family, no doubt I'd pay with my life.