“I thought you didn’t have time for” —she makes air quotes with her fingers— “‘wooing’?”
“Some things are worth making time for.”
That catches her off guard, making her words stumble. “Well I…don’t…date.”
“Good God, why not?” I ask, horrified. “That’s a bloody sin.”
“A sin?”
“You’re stunning, obviously clever—you should date often, and preferably with a man who knows how it’s done.” I rest my palm on my chest. “Coincidentally, I happen to be fantastic at it. What are the odds?”
She laughs again, quick and light. And it feels like when I pull myself up the last peak of a rock formation. Satisfying. More than a bit victorious. Before she can answer, a furry headache on four legs appears beside her, making a yapping, snarling sound.
“Ellie!” she yells over her shoulder. “Bosco can’t be down here!”
“What is that?” I ask.
“It’s my dog.”
“No. No, I have dogs. Dogs are descended from wolves. That’s descended from a rat.” I look again. “An ugly rat.”
She lifts the little monster into her arms. “Don’t insult my dog.”
“Not trying to—just telling the truth.”
For once. And it feels fucking grand.
But the barking has to go. I make contact with its beady little eyes and snap my fingers, ordering, “Shh!”
And blessed silence fills the air.
Olivia looks from me to the animal. “How—how did you do that?”
“Dogs are pack animals; they defer to the leader. This one is smart enough to recognize that that’s me.” I step closer to her, detecting a clean, lovely scent—like fresh honey. “Let’s see if it works with you.” I snap my fingers. “Dinner.”
She cocks her hip, annoyed and yet entertained against her will.
“I’m not a dog.”
My eyes—filthy, deviant things that they are—slide over every beautiful inch of her. “No…you definitely aren’t.”
Her cheeks go pink, making her eyes appear almost violet. It’s lovely.
But then another ball comes bouncing into the room—a small blond one, wrapped in a fuzzy teal robe with SpongeBob SquarePants slippers on its feet.
“Awwww, yeah…school’s closed again.” She does The Whip. “Ooh-ooh…”
Until she sees us—then she freezes.
And she definitely knows who I am.
“Hiiii. Wow.” She points to Logan and says in a thin, mortified voice. “I like your tie.”
He glances down at the tie in question, then nods his thanks.
And she seems to want to dissolve into the floor. But she takes the “dog” from Olivia instead, and confesses in a hushed voice, “I’m gonna go hang myself in my closet now.”
After she’s gone, I ask, “Is she joking?”
“She’s seventeen. It depends on the day.” Then she wipes her small hands down the front of her skirt. “Well, this has been fun. Thanks for stopping by.” She waves to Simon. “Enjoy the pie.”
He already is. He smiles, mouth full of peach crumble.
“See you around…I guess,” she says to me.
I step forward and take her warm hand in mine, before brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Count on it, love.”
“COUNT ON IT, LOVE.”
Wow. What the hell just happened? Walking up to the apartment, I feel like a James Bond martini—shaken—but also stirred.
Most of the guys I’ve known, Jack included, were laid-back and easygoing. Passive. What do you want to do tonight? I dunno, what do you want to do? I dunno.
But Nicholas is…different. Decisive. A man. A man who’s used to being listened to. Seeing him sober, I can tell the difference. It was in the way he carried himself—wide shoulders back, long spine straight, his presence almost like gravity, pulling at everything in his orbit, making us all want to let him take us where he will.
Jeez—even Bosco listened to him, which definitely makes the little beast a traitor, but I get it.
It was fucking hot. I can still feel the press of his lips on the back of my hand. Who does that—kisses a woman’s hand? No one I’ve ever met, that’s for damn sure. The spot he kissed feels warm and tingly. Branded—but not in a skin-sizzling, gross, torturing way that happens on cable television shows. The good kind of branded. Marked.
“Do you know who that was?” Ellie shrieks, practically tackling me in the living room.
“Shh! Dad’s sleeping.”
She asks again, this time in a whisper-yell.
“Uh, a rich asshole with a friend who really likes pie?”