Page 21 of Mutual Discord

“My God—”

“Hey, Sofia, how’s it going?” Alex asked, coming to a stop before us.

Oof, I get it, Denise. It was easy to see why my friend had been taken by surprise. Alex hadn’t yet received the memo that Phoenix was a casual attire–type of city, because he was wearing a pair of black dress slacks that hugged his thick thighs and fine ass. Paired with a charcoal-gray collared shirt and his black hair styled just so, Alex looked like he’d stepped off the pages of GQ. And to really drive home his sex appeal, he was wearing his glasses. Fuck, a man in glasses made me weak in the knees. Alex’s lips stretched into a small smile, his dimple winking at Denise and me.

Tearing my admiring gaze from his face, I stood and quickly bussed his cheek. Ay dios, he smelled divine, and I gritted my teeth as I wrangled my senses under control. I pivoted sharply to Denise, extending my hand.

“This is my dear friend Denise,” I said, stifling a laugh at my friend’s dazed expression. “Denise, this is Alex.”

Alex stepped toward her, his hand outstretched. “It’s nice to meet you, Denise.”

“You, too,” Denise murmured, her dark eyes tracing over him unabashedly. “Of course you’re Cait—”

“Ms. Ortiz, I can take you to your table now, if you and your party are ready?”

Our trio turned as one to smile at the hostess, but it was Denise who responded. “Sí, gracias.”

We were silent as we followed the hostess to our table in a corner in the back of the restaurant. To my surprise, Alex not only pulled out my chair but also Denise’s. The look she shot me as she sat almost sent me into a fit of laughter.

Once we were seated and had placed our drink order, Denise crossed one leg over the other and propped her elbow on the back of the empty chair next to her, her sharp gaze fixed on Alex. I knew the look she wore. It was her “prepare for an inquisition” face.

I slid my eyes to the left, to where Alex sat. He was studying the menu intently, his brows stitched together. He had no idea what he was in for. Poor guy.

Chapter Seven

“So, Alex,” Denise began, “I understand you haven’t been in the valley long. A job transfer, right?”

He glanced up and nodded. “I’m working in the Scorpions front office, helping oversee the team’s print, television, and social media marketing.”

Denise let out a surprised chuckle.

“Do you spend a lot of time on social? Like on TikTok and Instagram?” I asked, arching a brow.

A tinge of pink touched his cheeks. “Sometimes, yeah.”

“That’s probably how you met Caitlin,” Denise added.

Alex shook his head, his gaze darting to mine for a quick moment. “No, actually. I had no idea who she was when we first met.”

“Really?” Denise pressed her lips together as we exchanged a look. “You’d never heard of Caitlin Wolf? Never saw any of her sponsored posts? She has a huge following.”

“I hadn’t.” He used his index finger to push his glasses up his nose. “Most of my FYP is WNBA and NBA content. Some educational creators”—Alex’s gaze touched on me for the briefest of moments—“or, my guilty pleasure, horse and cow hoof–trimming videos.”

Denise’s lip curled. “Hoof-trimming videos?”

“I’ve watched those,” I voiced with a laugh. “They make it look so easy.”

Alex turned fully in his chair to face me, grinning. “They do. One of my fatal flaws is my belief that I could trim a hoof and change the shoe on a horse.” He emitted a quick snort. “But the horse would probably just kick me in the face.”

“There’s something so satisfying about how a farrier’s tools cut through the hoof like butter.” I chuckled. “It’s a weird form of ASMR, but it works for me.”

“Me, too,” he said, his dimple punctuating his words.

Denise’s soft snort had me tearing my eyes from Alex to look at her. She was glancing between us with an amused crinkle in her brow. “You guys are so weird.”

“As if you don’t like ear wax–cleaning videos,” I shot back.

“Hey,” Denise exclaimed, “you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about that.”