“No, I’m not.”
“Bullshit. If you weren’t, you’d be perfectly happy to stay with him, let him pay for all your expenses and have great sex until you figure out your next move. But you’re not. You want something more.”
I drop into the pool, keeping my arms above the water. The knot of dread tightening in my belly tells me she’s dead on. I want something more and Nico can’t give it. He’s made that abundantly clear. Although I’m not sure if he’s telling me the whole story.
After being lied to and cheated on more times than I care to admit, an alarm bell is going off somewhere in my subconscious. But maybe that’s just me being paranoid. Maybe I’m too damaged from my past mistakes to even know a relationship worth fighting for when it bites me in the ass.
“Well, something more isn’t on the docket.” I walk through the water, letting it cool my skin, warm from the sun.
“So you need to figure out what you want. If you need to protect your heart, you should go now. Or you could decide to just get everything you can out of this experience—great sex, resume building, publicity, a story to tell your grandkids—and ride it out until the museum’s set up, like he suggested.”
“Yeah.” I wish it were that easy. But my heart is totally in play. And it’s already showing signs of damage. And yet no part of me is willing to walk away yet.
I’m not sure why not—because it’s so intoxicating to be desired, I guess. And I might tell myself he’s all talk—this is the smooth-talking Romeo who has me under his spell, except I see first-hand how well he sleeps after we’ve had sex. He looks ten years younger afterward, the lines in his face easing, the light coming back into his eyes.
It’s egotistical to believe, but I think he needs me.
I climb out of the pool and wrap a towel around my waist. “I’m going to go work on the museum stuff.”
Corey pulls her feet out of the water and slips them into flip flops. “If he promised to make more time for you and he hasn’t delivered, you should demand it from him. That was the arrangement you had.”
Demanding anything from Nico Tacone is a big, fat laugh.
“Or you could just show up on the floor tonight in a sexy dress and watch him flip out.” A wicked grin plays around Corey’s lips.
I pause in the act of picking up my swim bag. Nico’s jealous enough that he didn’t want me dealing cards or cleaning anyone else’s room. It probably wouldn’t take much to tweak him into action. “That would guarantee a reaction.”
Corey smiles. “I have the perfect dress you can borrow. A slinky red wrap-around. Wear it with a pair of fuck-me pumps and he’ll forget all about work for the night.”
It’s a better idea than the one I’ve been trying—working as hard as Nico to distract myself from my thoughts of why this relationship is all wrong.
“Let’s go get the dress.”
Chapter 11
Nico
I’m an asshole because I promised to treat Sondra like a girlfriend and not a fucktoy, and then I haven’t had a goddamn minute during the waking hours to treat her right.
I pick up my phone and call Stefano, my younger brother. He and I are tight—close in age and of a similar mindset. He’s been in the old country, working with our great uncle.
“Nico, come va?” he answers.
I get right to the point. “I need you.”
Stefano swears. “What is it?”
“No, no. Nothing bad. My operation has grown too big. I can’t work enough hours in the day, and I need someone to share the load. I need you, specifically.”
Stefano’s quiet for a moment. “Tony’s not enough?”
“Tony can’t do everything. And he’s not my brother. I pay him well, but I can’t share the kingdom with him. Dad wouldn’t allow it.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to Zio. I’m sure he can let me go if you really need me.”
“I do. I need you to head up security. That way I can focus on continued growth. Call me back and let me know when you can come.”
“I will.” I’m about to hang up, when he says, “Nico?”
I put the phone back to my ear.
“What prompted this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sick? Did something happen?”
I blow out a breath. This is why I need Stefano. He’s fucking perceptive. “It’s a woman.”
Stefano lets out a surprised bark of laughter. “No shit?”
“Yeah. And I’m working twenty hours a day and she’s gonna walk.”
“You’re serious about this woman?”
Everything in my chest tightens because I know what Stefano’s next question will be. I try to head it off by saying, “I’m not sure.”
“Bullshit. You’re serious. What about Jenna Pachino?”
“Yeah, I don’t know. I need to cancel that contract, I guess.”