Through You [Hidalgos #2]

Original Edition: 2. "Girls aren't only interested in sex."

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(2)

CLAUDIA

There are moments in life, especially when emotionally charged, that unfold in real time yet feel as if they are playing in slow motion. The door begins to open. The lights are turned on. And the sound of everyone clapping in unison echoes throughout the room.

It bothers me that my heart beats faster when I see him. Artemis. I can't help but notice how much he has changed. He's no longer the bright-eyed seventeen-year-old boy who held my hand on that long ago Fourth of July. He is a fully grown man dressed in a suit that makes him look older. His parents greet him, and a crowd of guests follows him around. He's changed a lot—he doesn't smile as much, and his gaze is cool and subdued.

I can't deny that he's more handsome than before. His features have matured, and he has a light, scruffy beard. I manage to take my eyes off him, and notice the redhead who stands next to him. She's beautiful—curvy, with very generous cleavage. I assume they're very close by the way she clings to his side. She places a lock of her red hair behind her ear and smiles at Artemis's mother.

And why should that matter to me?

I shake my head. I'm about to turn around when his gaze finds mine. His brown eyes, which I have always found beautiful, meet mine. I can't breathe. The air around me feels different. And I can sense a tension between us. It feels as if, in this crowded room, we're connected by a cord threaded with so many emotions. I turn away. I'm not brave enough to hold his gaze.

Gin is behind me. "He's even more handsome in person," she says.

I walk on by without replying. Jon greets me with a big grin at the minibar. "Why are you always so serious? Smiling isn't a crime, you know."

I give him a tray with empty champagne glasses that need to be filled. "I don't have a reason to smile."

Jon presents me with a fresh tray of full glasses. "You don't always need a reason." He leans on the bar. "You're really pretty when you smile."

I raise an eyebrow. "I told you before, your flirty lines won't work on me."

Gin comes to stand by my side. "But of course they don't work. Claudia prefers guys with beards."

Jon pouts. "I'll grow a beard just for you."

I'm about to speak when a pair of strong arms circle me from behind. I recognize the cologne, and can tell that it's Ares who is hugging me tightly.

"Thank you, you rescued me," he says quietly.

I free myself from his embrace and turn around. "That is the last time."