BRUTAL DEFENDER by Maggie Cole: Release Blitz, Excerpt, Teasers & Trailer

I question, “You don’t drink wine?”

“It is,” I insist.

“I stick with whiskey and Guinness.” I raise my eyebrows. I’ve never met a man before who doesn’t drink wine. In my house, it’s at every dinner.

Selena laughs, and I tear my eyes away from Killian. She has a beautiful Greek accent. “You can’t get any more Irish than the O’Malleys.”

“Are you from Greece?” I ask.

She nods. Her eyes light up. “Yes. I moved to Chicago when I was barely in my twenties. If you want, I’ll take you around and show you the city when you have a chance?”

“Sure. That would be really nice.”

“Have you been there before?” she asks.

“No.”

Killian dramatically gasps. “You’ve never been to Chicago?”

“Now you’re acting like that’s a sin,” I tease.

“Anna moved from New York, too,” another Russian man across the table states.

The woman next to him smiles. She says, “It’s like a smaller New York but with its own charm. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Her husband beams and says, “Since you’re all here, we should tell you. Anna’s pregnant, too, so we’ll be staying in tonight.”

The room erupts in congratulations.

“Do you like yoga?” Selena asks.

“Yes.”

“Great. Us girls meet up for yoga and do brunch afterward on Saturdays. You should come.”

“I’d love to,” I reply, grateful I’ll have something to look forward to with some other women. I’ve never really had girlfriends. The private school Papà sent me to was full of backstabbing snobs. When I got older, several I was close to got mad at me for their boyfriends hitting on me. I didn’t even like their scumbag beaus. My best friend wanted Massimo. When he turned her down, she stopped calling me. One by one, all my friendships disintegrated. I decided it was too hard to meet genuine women and stopped trying. My wedding party consists of my cousins who are younger than me and I’m not even close to. I opted to meet them at the church and not even let them help me get ready.