No wonder he was a grumpy control freak.
And the poor man could not catch a break. If he thought a staid simple life as a bar owner would give him space to finally begin dealing with the traumas of his past, he should never have settled in the Southern Sanctuary. Although, to be fair, thanks to that decision he had his brother and sister back in his life, both hale and hearty physically and mentally.
Huh, perhaps that was the reason he was so insistent upon taking point on this mission of theirs. Gigi had a feeling Nico always paid his debts, no matter the personal cost.
Honestly, the man needed saving from himself. And he definitely needed to be reminded that he was not her big brother. And that he was in no way responsible for her. Senior partner! What a doofus. Did he even hear himself?
But clearly trying to reason with the man was futile. “You know what.” Gigi stood, gifting Nico a warm smile. “You’re right. I vote you in as team leader. Which means you get to be Darcy’s point of contact. Lucky you. Just tell me when and where I need to be when the time is right. And I absolutely pinky swear I’ll run away at the first sign of any danger, leaving you to save the day.” Walking away across the room, so not looking at the large mattress on the floor and certainly not thinking about Nico sleeping on it. Gigi headed for the antique firepole, she was dying for a chance to slide down it.
Nico was a little bewildered, they’d been fighting, which he’d weirdly been kind of enjoying and then suddenly they weren’t. Gigi was smiling. Agreeing with all his directives. It made him wary, it had been a little too easy. “So we’re good?”
“Absolutely.” Standing next to the antique firepole Gigi considered the logistics. She was going to have to hike her skirt up, there was no other choice, since she was going to need a fast exit. “Senior partner.” She pointed at him and then at herself. “Junior partner. I totally get it now. Well, good luck with that curse, Casanova. Sounds like you can totally handle it all on your own and don’t need any more help from me.” Giving Nico another warm smile, this time she added a wink. “Oh, and you might want to pack a brolly when you hit my sundeck later, they’re forecasting thundery storms tonight. Sleep tight.”
Chapter Seven
“Merciful Lady.” Gigi almost got hit in the face by the heavy metal fire safety door when she tried to open it. The storm winds had been whipped up into a frenzy. And thanks to the outside lights she had just turned on, she could see that large drops of rain were being driven sideways in a relentless torrent. “Idiot.” She muttered under her breath. Not sure whether she was referring to herself or the stubborn ass in the flapping water logged tent set up on her sundeck. Shivering as a blast of cold air bullied its way indoors, making her doubly glad she’d paused long enough to put on her dressing gown, the one covered in pink palm trees that matched her pyjamas, before coming downstairs.
Lightning had her blinking for a moment. Then an immediate crash of thunder had Gigi instinctively hunching her shoulders. Mule headed butthead, she couldn’t in all good conscience leave him out there. Reaching for the light switch she flicked it on and off, on and off. No way he could be sleeping through all this.
Really? She continued to flip the deck lights on and off. Did Nico actually intend to stay out there to prove… oh, she watched as the tent material bulged in several places, he was trying to fight his way free of the clinging material, plastered to him thanks to the driving wind and rain.
Finally Nico managed to free himself, instantly making a dash for the door. The tent abruptly sailing off into the darkness with him no longer present to anchor it.
It was a heavy door, and it took both of them to heave it shut. Both panting hard with the effort. Heavens, the man was a bedraggled, pissed off, leaking mess. Automatically Gigi handed him a tea towel from a nearby rack, and then had to bite her lipas he held up the small piece of fabric in sheer disbelief. Yeah, he was right, that probably wasn’t going to cut it.
“Wait here. Don’t move. I’m not spending the wee small hours mopping up my kitchen after your stubborn ass.” She sped through the industrial kitchen, ducking into the linen closet, grabbing two thick cream tablecloths intended for catered parties. Beggars and all that.
“You’d better strip.” Handing over the tablecloths. “I’ll put your clothes in the dryer.” With the back door closed the storm sounded a lot more muffled. And there were no picture windows to distract any of the kitchen staff with the view, so only the rumbles of crashing thunder could be heard.
Whilst Nico muttered expletives under his breath as he yanked off sopping wet clothes, Gigi moved around the kitchen, flicking on the more muted lights above the stoves, whilst turning off the bright overheads. It was just after three in the morning, any sane person would be inside, safe, dry and warm. Speaking of which, she was feeling a little chilled, and Nico must be feeling even worse.
By the time she’d poured out two Irish coffees, going heavy on the whiskey in both, Nico had encased himself in one dry tablecloth, wrapping it around his chest and draping it over his shoulders. His dark chocolate hair damp and curling riotously thanks to a hard rub down.
“Sit.” Gigi pointed at a nearby barstool, placing the Irish coffee next to him. “Drink.”
While he took a deep draught, Gigi whisked up his clothes and the now wet second tablecloth he’d used as a makeshift towel, throwing everything into the dryer located next to the linen closet just off to the side of the kitchen.
“Did you really think you could stay out there in this storm?” Settling onto a bar stool across from him. Making sure to tuck her feet underneath her, hoping he wouldn’t notice theywere encased in purple bunny slippers. Her sisters’ idea of an amusing Christmas present.
“It was only a little rain and wind to start with, then it turned into that.”
“And you were just going to what, ride it out like some kind of idiot storm chasing weatherman? You could have rung me, told me how bad it was getting. People die in storms like that, you, better than anyone, should know that.”
“I was perfectly fine. Granted I’m a little wet.”
“Enough. Are you even listening to yourself? I get why you keep trying to do everything on your own Nico. But guess what? I’m a grown ass woman. I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. I don’t need a keeper, a protector or a saviour. This senior / junior partner - you’d better run for it at the first sign of danger, little missy - shit.” Personally, she thought she did an excellent job of imitating his gruff slightly musical accent. “It ends here and it ends now. No. You shut up and drink your coffee. You need me. This curse you’ve got going on, it’s gaining momentum. The only thing standing in its way appears to be me. You know that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have spent the afternoon on my sundeck doing paperwork and riding out a killer storm on it, would you?”
“You know I was out there earlier?”
“Everyone in three towns knows it. Every customer who came in the store wanted to know what you were doing out there. So of course I told them we’re engaged in a torrid - strictly physical - affair and that you couldn’t tear yourself away from my side, waiting eagerly in the wings for my next booty call.”
Thunder crashing overhead mixed with Gigi’s loud burst of laughter.
“You should see your face. No, I didn’t say that. I told everyone we’re collaborating on several upcoming catering gigs and brainstorming a united approach. And let’s cross our fingersthat everyone at the bar yesterday was too dazed and confused by your curse to recall us kissing.” Savouring a large measure of coffee.
“I—”
“Nope. I haven’t finished yet. You need me, Casanova. If you want to stay sane and be able to sleep ever again, you’re going to have to change your attitude. And don’t forget it’s my curse muting ability that will keep the hordes of adoring clamouring women at bay. Who very soon may not be satisfied with just shoving their phone numbers into your pockets. There was a distinct air of potential violence accompanying that lot yesterday. Do you really want innocent women getting hurt fighting over your cursed ass because you’re too stubborn and scared to ask for my help?”
