His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 167

Olive’s POV

The club was loud, so loud I could feel the bass drumming through my entire body, the music vibrating in my chest as Paloma led us through the masses of bodies packed so tightly together I had to turn sideways just to squeeze through, while Brenda screamed behind us, singing along to some new Doja Cat single at the top of her lungs like she was auditioning for a concert.

We finally made it to the VIP lounge and the second we stepped past the velvet rope, everything changed, suddenly we were surrounded by leather couches and marble tables and lighting that actually let you see people’s faces instead of just shadowy shapes moving in the dark, the whole space screaming luxury in a way that made me feel simultaneously out of place and oddly thrilled.

“Oh my god, how the hell did you get access to a place like this?” Brenda screamed, her eyes wide as she took in the VIP section with its elevated view of the entire club below us, the regular crowd looking like ants from up here.

She was mesmerized, completely blown away by the exclusivity of it all, which was funny considering that thirty minutes ago she’d been founding it difficult to push past the fact that Paloma was a friend I’d met through some anonymous wandering gallery encounter that she was still bothered by, kept giving me looks that said we’re definitely talking about your questionable decision-making later.

But here she sat now, excited about the club in a way I definitely wasn’t expecting, all her concerns about Paloma’s origins apparently forgotten in the face of expensive bottle service and a bird’s-eye view of the dance floor.

“When you said we were going to fuck Italian men, I never expected you really did mean that literally,” I said to Paloma, looking around at the club and taking in the sheer number of attractive men who were definitely giving off Italian energy, dark hair, perfectly tailored clothes, that particular confidence that came from knowing you looked good.

Even from the VIP section where we were seated, I could see practically every other person below us, the entire club spread out like we were watching a show instead of participating in it.

“I told you,” Paloma screamed over the music, grinning like she’d just won something. “The only thing that can stop you from fucking them is your boyfriend. And since you’re currently not speaking to said boyfriend, I’d say your options are wide open.”

Brenda chuckled hard at her words, already warming up to Paloma instantly.

“Why don’t we order some wine?” Brenda suggested, sliding into the booth and immediately flagging down a server. “I believe you need something hard, Olive. You’ve been moody all day.”

Paloma nodded, chuckling at Brenda’s assessment while I tried to roll my eyes but couldn’t quite manage it because she was right, I had been moody, snapping at people for no reason and generally being miserable company.

“How were you able to convince the twins that you’d be going clubbing?” Brenda asked, accepting three glasses of wine from a server who appeared out of nowhere. “I thought you were babysitting them all week.”

My mind went back to earlier this evening, to the absolutely surreal conversation I’d had with Elijah and Eliana about my plans for tonight.

The irony of how I’d tried to explain to two five-year-olds that I needed to go out and would be back late, that they’d have the household staff to take care of them for the night, and their response had completely blown me away.

“We made research on your boyfriend and we found out it was Zane Mercer,” they’d said, both of them staring at me with identical serious expressions that made them look way older than five.

I’d been shocked, my mouth hanging open. “How did you know his name?”

They’d stared at each other like I was asking the weirdest question in the world, like the answer should have been obvious.

“We searched online,” Elijah had explained patiently. “You saved his name as ‘Zane Mercer’ in your phone and we saw it when you were making the call. So we googled him and found out he’s a really good hockey player.”

“So if you agree to take us to his next game,” Eliana had continued, “you can go wherever you want tonight. Deal?”

I’d stared at them in absolute shock, realizing with suddenness that these kids were my father’s children through and through …they’d inherited that manipulative negotiation gene that Walter had in spades, knew exactly how to leverage information to get what they wanted.

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