Dangerous Play

31 » in the lap of luxury

Finn stood by a table at the edge of the room, surreptitiously scanning the crowd for the waiter with the shrimp ceviche platter. He needed to pass that recipe along to his parents—he was sure it would increase their customer margin by at least 50%.

As he looked over the golden decor and high ceilings studded with antique-style chandeliers, he noticed Abby and Kieran chatting animatedly with Kieran's mother and a couple other well-dressed people. Kieran leaned down to whisper something in Abby's ear that made her laugh.

Finn found himself smiling as he watched the exchange, glad he'd been able to clear the air with both of them. If they were happy together, it wasn't his business to butt in and interrupt that.

A moment later, a flash of dark purple pulled his gaze to the side. His eyes traveled up the deep plum-colored dress, coming to a rest on the familiar raven-black hair, now elegantly coiffed, that belonged to none other than Eden Sayed.

Finn started in her direction, forgetting all about the ceviche platter. As if she'd sensed his gaze, she turned in his direction, and their eyes met.

Before he could call out a greeting, the crowd shifted and revealed the person standing next to Eden. He drew up short, nearly crashing into a waiter with a platter of champagne flutes.

Finn barely registered the waiter's stink-eye, distracted by the scene in front of him. He'd known Seth Al-Haroun would be here. He knew the other boy was technically Eden's date for this event. What he hadn't anticipated was how he would feel about seeing the two of them together.

Jealousy threatened to rear its ugly green head, but Finn refused to let it. He straightened his shoulders. Whatever the case, he was still allowed to say hi to a friend. And if Seth wanted to be a dick, well, Finn wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response. Even if he wanted nothing more than to just sock him in the face.

He snorted at that thought. He had definitely been spending too much time with Cairo if he was thinking about getting into a fistfight over a girl. But Eden wasn't just any girl, and his feelings toward her seemed to have intensified since he'd realized he wanted to be more than friends.

Bracing himself for the confrontation, he took the final few steps toward their party, putting himself within eyesight of both Seth and Eden. The other boy narrowed his eyes, but Eden said something that made him roll his eyes and look away.

Finn walked up to the two of them with a smile on his face. "Hi Eden, Seth. How are you two doing?"

"Fine until you got here," Seth said. "Although having the hottest date in the room doesn't hurt."

Eden's polite smile never wavered. "Oh, I don't know. Kieran might give you a run for your money on that front. Abby looks lovely tonight."

"Yeah, her and Marissa both," Seth chimed in, looking in that direction. Finn followed his gaze to see that Marissa had indeed joined the group beside his best friend and sister.

He deliberately stepped to the left, blocking Seth's view of the other party. The last thing he needed or wanted to see was Seth ogling his sister. Time to change the subject. "Have either of you tried the shrimp ceviche? It's amazing."

Seth snorted. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, waiter boy?"

Finn barely suppressed an eye roll. How many times was Seth going to bring up that tired joke? He was just trying to make conversation, but clearly the other boy wasn't willing to put aside his attitude for even a single evening.

Eden must have noticed his mounting frustration. "Actually, Seth, I'd love to try some. Would you get me a platter, please?" She gave Seth a sharp smile that even he wasn't stupid enough to ignore. With a huff, he turned and waded through the crowd in search of the delicious appetizer.