Book 4 - Page 79 (1/2)

“Something is different,” he mused, pointing a finger at me. “You have a grin in your eyes just here.” He motioned to his own brow. “A twinkle. A little spot of suns.h.i.+ne over your head, I think.”

“Do I?”

“You get k.n.o.bbed in a New York City t.i.tty bar?”

His crudeness fell like a weight dropped in the room. “Honestly, Tony.”

He hummed. “Bang a Rockette?”

“Frigging h.e.l.l.”

He paused, giving me another once-over, then smiled. “Finally get a leg over on Ruby, then?”

I swallowed, caught off guard, pretending to focus on something on my desk. “Ah, no. That . . . I, well, that is to say, I didn’t. No.”

It was the truth, if we were being technical. I hadn’t technically had s.e.x with her yet.

Tony’s hands slapped down on my desk. “You old dog!”

I felt the blood drain from my face. This was exactly the reaction I wanted to avoid. “No, Tony, it’s not—”

“You banged the fringe off her, didn’t you? You had a go at my Ruby!”

I pushed back slightly from my desk, feeling a thunderstorm build in my chest. “ ‘Your Ruby’?’ ”

“So you did then,” he said, clapping his hands once, a violent crack that sliced through the room.

I glanced at the door, hissing at him, “Keep your voice down, you git.”

He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Tony enjoyed ribbing as much as the next bloke, but there was an edge to his tone here. “Oh, watching you b.u.mble around the office over this is going to make the wait for the next season of Game of Thrones much easier to take.”

“Cut the s.h.i.+t.”

His dark eyes went wide. “And look at the mouth on Niall! I dare say, she’s loosened you up, she has. Think I might step out and thank her.”