Someone he really didn’t want to call.
But at the end of the day, he didn’t see any way around it. He sighed. “I know someone who might be willing to help,” he admitted. “But I have to go home and lock up my watch first.”
She frowned at him. “Why?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he grumbled.
Nico’s expert on rich people was the most gorgeous woman River had ever seen in real life.
Describing her beauty was easy. Stormy gray eyes, a thick cascade of wavy red hair, skin that made porcelain look coarse. Tenley Taylor was objectively stunning.
But what really made Tenley stand out was her energy. She didn’t just walk into a room—she stormed it and claimed it as her own. She was smart, observant and cunning, with the confidence of a man twice her size.
A force of nature. That’s what she was. A five-foot-two hurricane in stilettos and a designer pencil skirt that could either be your best friend, or a living nightmare depending on what kind of mood she was in.
Fortunately for River, she seemed to be in a good mood today.
And while part of her was a little envious of the woman’s obvious attributes, the smile Tenley was giving her wiped all the negative feelings aside.
“So,” Tenley said, ignoring the couch to sit on the corner of Nico’s desk. “What’s the job?”
River raised her index finger. “That’d be me. I need a new wardrobe.”
Tenley shot a severe frown at Nico. “Why would you tell her that? She looks great.”
He raised his hands in supplication. “I agree! She’s gorgeous in whatever she’s wearing. But if we’re to convince the Russian mafia that she’s my fiancé, they’ll expect her to look the part.”
Tenley shifted her scrutiny back to River. “And you want this, right? You swear he’s not forcing you?”
The intensity of Tenley’s scrutiny was daunting. River would bet her life savings (which, sadly, was about forty-two cents at the moment) that if she lied, Tenley would know. “I mean, marriage to a stranger isn’t ideal, but it’s better than death, which is the most likely alternative in this scenario. Nico is just trying to protect me, and I appreciate that.”
Tenley’s frown got even frownier. “I’m not sure I like the idea of a forced mafia marriage.” She turned back to Nico. “And why did you agree to this instead of, like, pawning her off on one of your lieutenants?”
Nico had the strongest grip on his emotions—and his poker face—of any person on the planet. Of that, River was sure. He was the coolest of the cool. She’d seen him stare down Alexi (who looked like a nightmare from the deepest pits of hell) without so much as a flicker of unease. But the look he was giving Tenley?
Terrifying.
“She’s mine,” he said through obviously gritted teeth. “Anyone who even thinks of touching her—including any of my lieutenants—will die screaming.”
River gulped. Son of bitch. That was intense. Possessive in a way that should’ve have had her inner feminist wanting to let loose the dogs of war. But also…
It was hot. So fucking hot she considered excusing herself for a quick wardrobe change.
Starting with her panties.
Tenley didn’t seem scared or turned on, though. She just slow blinked at Nico for a few seconds until her face split into the widest grin River had ever seen. Then, she chuckled and said, “Okay, mafia boy, I see how it is.” She clapped his shoulder in a very dude-bro way and added, “I’ll take your girl shopping.”
He frowned at her. “I have no idea what you think you see, but?—”
“You think she’s gorgeous,” Tenley sing-songed in a shockingly good impression of Sandra Bullock’s character in Miss Congeniality. “You want to hug her. You want to love her. You want to smooch her...” she trailed off, making kissy noises that had River biting her lip to stifle a snort-laugh.
“You know no one likes you, right?” Nico deadpanned.
Tenley grinned at River. “Notice how he didn’t deny it?”
She had indeed noticed that. He’d admitted to being fascinated by her, but she’d kind of assumed his fascination stemmed more from curiosity than lust. And she’d assumed the sexual interest he had expressed was more generalized. As in, he was a hot-blooded guy who could and would have sex whenever asked.
But was he truly attracted to her? Her? The whole thing made her feel very…confused. And warm. Was it especially warm in here? Good grief, she was starting to sweat. She’d been kidding about the wardrobe change, but it might not be such a bad idea after all.
