Shit. For once in her life she would have actuallypreferredthat he ask her about the money or Brock. She looked down at her food, wondering how she could answer that question. Or if she was even going to answer that question.
“Do you have a big family?”
She looked up at Niko, wondering why he’d subbed in that question. “What? Why? Why did you…?”
He finished chewing his bite and explained, “It was something my sister said.”
“What did your sister say?” Frankie had said something to Niko about her family? She didn’t have a family, what could she have said?
“Actually, no, it was something she didn’t say.”
“Are you speaking in riddles? Is this something I’m supposed to solve?”
He grinned, and she could see he liked being called out on his skirting around a subject. “I went to Frankie’s house to ask some advice about you and?—”
“Wait, you did? Is that a joke, or did you really?” Tiana wasn’t sure if this was a bit or not.
He cut another bite. “I really did, and you’ll be happy to know that her loyalty was firmly with you, which confirmed a suspicion I’ve long held.”
“A suspicion?”
“You are an alien, or an angel, or a goddess, or some kind of?—”
“Analien?” she repeated.
“Not like E.T., I’m talking Sil from Species, or Leeloo from The Fifth Element, or Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy.”
“Didn’t Sil impale victims with her tongue and strangle them with her breast tentacles?”
“I feel like you’re getting caught up on the wrong things.” Niko smiled. “She washot.”
“Got it, okay.” Tiana nodded and then pretended to write as if she was taking notes. “Murderous is fine as long as she’s hot.”
Niko picked up his glass of wine and tilted it towards her as if he was doing a cheer. “Hey, no one’s perfect.”
She laughed. “Right.”
He took a drink and set the glass down. “Mypointwas, I’ve always thought you were an other-worldly being, a goddess, an angel, analien, and you must be, that is the only way Francesca Lydia Costas would choose someone over her brothers.”
Tiana shook her head, sure that Niko was not being serious.
“She basically told me I have had my head up my ass?—”
“No, she did not.”
“She did, and I have. I don’t know you at all. I feel like I do because I have… let’s just say, for legal reasons,admired youfrom afar.”
Her brows lifted. “Legal reasons?”
“You were married.” His half-grin nearly had her reduced to a puddle on the ground. “And despite my reputation, I don’t fuck other people’s wives.”
Hearing him say the wordfuckwas as if she were a scarecrow and he threw her a lit match. It had her burning up. And that smile—her lady parts could see that smile. And from the look in Niko’s eye, he knewexactlywhat he was doing to her.
She picked up her glass of wine and sipped it.
“So, that’s why I asked if you have family. I realized I don’t really know anything about you.”
When she set the glass down, she debated what to say. Typically, she didn’t tell people much. No one really cared, but he had just opened up about himself. And he did seem to be interested.
