Law #1: Never Bet on Love: A Sweet Billionaire Love Story (Laws of Love) by Agnes Canestri (i read book txt) 📕

of me now? That’s a change. I’m hoping your readiness to see the good in me will bring us to even friendlier waters soon.” He winks at me. His words are teasing, but they also have a secretive undertone.

I ignore how my belly warms at his deep baritone and say, “Maybe I’ll tell Murphy that he should ditch his shiny jacket. You think he will mind?”

“No. Murphy has a few flaws, but he isn’t touchy.”

When we arrive at the table, Nathan’s brother stands up and greets me with a bright, genuine smile. “Eva, what a pleasure to meet you again!”

Judy also jumps up and closes me into an embrace. When her thickly painted lips approach my ear, she whispers. “You need to find a way to leave. Pronto. I want to stay with Murphy. Alone.”

“But we just got here,” I protest in an equally low voice, while slanting a glance at the men. Luckily they’re chatting about some business deal Nathan signed off on, so they aren’t paying attention to our muttering.

“I know, but I just started working my charms on Murphy before you showed up. If I work him well, we might go home together tonight.” Judy puts a red-manicured finger to her lips.

My friend and I are close, but our ideas about how to approach relationships couldn’t be more different. We’ve already confronted our diverging views a couple of times and decided that each of us is better off sticking to her own values. Vive y deja vivir, as Abuelita tends to say so wisely.

“Will try my best, but at least let us grab a drink and maybe enjoy a few songs?” I whisper.

“Ah, right. I didn’t think of this secret weapon. Thanks for reminding me. Chicka-chicka-boom-boom.” Judy sways her hips in little circles. “Murphy won’t be able to resist me on the dance floor, I can promise ya that! So you and Nathan can stay if you want.”

“Great, thanks.” I turn to check whether the brothers are still absorbed by their talk or if they witnessed Judy’s sexy moves.

To my surprise, they’re staring at each other in silence. Murphy narrows his eyes at Nathan, and Nathan answers it with a glare—his brows furrowed and lips pressed together as if he wants to convince Murphy of something he doesn’t like.

The waitress arrives and interrupts their weird silence. “What would you like?” She sticks a pen behind her ear as if she’s sure that whatever we’ll order won’t be so complicated that she’ll need to write it down.

To be fair, Mamacita’s food offerings consist of three items.

We all sit down to check our menus. Nathan scans the laminated one-pager and I see his eyes stop on the spare ribs.

I lean close to him. “Don’t pick anything else but their nachos. Unless you want to spend the rest of the night in the bathroom. Trust me on this.”

His mouth twitches. “I’ll have the nachos and a Coke please.”

“Same here, but instead of a normal Coke, I’ll take a Diet Coke,” I add.

Murphy wiggles his eyebrows. “Wow, you two already coordinating what you order? That’s a good sign, right?”

Nathan throws him an it’s-none-of-your-business glance but doesn’t say a word.

Murphy’s nostrils flutter slightly at his brother’s reaction, then he shrugs and murmurs, “Way to take a compliment.”

What has gotten into these two?

Judy arches her brows at me as if she expects me to know why the brothers are behaving oddly. But when I shake my head, she shifts closer to Murphy. She lowers her chin and peeks up at him from under her lashes. “I could also take anything that you order, Murphy…if that’s your thing.”

Yuck, I forgot how straightforward Judy can be when she’s interested in a guy.

The waitress, who’s still waiting on their order, shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Murphy smacks his lips. “All right. Let’s make it four nachos then, two Cokes, a Diet Coke and a…” His eyes move to Judy who’s playing with her necklace in front of her abundant cleavage. “What would you like to drink, Judy?”

Judy purses her lips. “A glass of champagne, please. Dom Pérignon, if possible.”

I seriously doubt Mamacita has champagne, much less a Dom Pérignon.

The waitress snorts. “Okay, I’ll see what we’ve got.” She goes back to the kitchen.

“A Don Pérignon?” I mouth silently at my friend.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Judy order anything besides a Sprite or cheap wine. And I know for a fact that she’s only aware of this brand of bubbly because she’s a die-hard fan of Diamond Souls, a reality show dedicated to the rich and famous. What has gotten into her to splurge like a fool on a simple drink?

Judy shrugs, arching her brows as if to say, “Why not?” She pats Murphy’s arm and adds in a singsong soprano, “Murphy, dear, are you sure it’s okay that I chose such an expensive beverage?”

Murphy gives her a bright smile. “Of course. We can even take a bottle if that’s your heart’s desire. It’ll be on me, of course.”

I stifle a groan and press my feet to the wooden floor, trying to concentrate on something other than my instinct to roll my eyes. It would be unfair to complain about Judy’s behavior. It was me who turned our girls’ night out into a billionaires’ night. Judy is just taking advantage of it.

I see from the corner of my eye that Nathan is observing me with a smile tugging on his lower lip. He pokes me gently on the shoulder. “You still have time to switch up your Coke for something else. A 1858 Cuvee Léonie, perhaps?”

His voice is bemused, like he and I are sharing an inside joke. I don’t know what a Cuvee Léonie is, but the year attached to it and its fancy name tell me it’s probably more expensive than what my friend ordered. I give him an aren’t-you-just-cute-for-asking smirk and say, “Nothing can beat a good Coke in a steamy place like this.”

Indeed, just looking at Nathan’s kindly mocking eyes,