Loving him was so easy. Why did everything else have to be so complicated?
“I want you to have your independence, and if you feel you need to make your own money, I’ll support that decision." He squeezed my hand. “But it’s going to be something you really want to do, and if that’s working at an insurance agency, so be it, but maybe there are other options for you.”
“I’ve never had options.”
“You do now, Sweet Sable.” He raised my hand to his lips and pressed them to my wrist. “I’ll always take care of you. I’ll support whatever you want to do.”
“I want to take care of you too.”
“Then come back to work with me and keep me grounded. If I know you’re safe, I can focus. You’ll be saving me from danger, because if I’m not worried about you, I can’t let my guard down and be caught by surprise.”
“Okay.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to work at the dealership. I liked it there, with the exception of Angela. Perhaps the way I felt about her had more to do with my insecurities and less to do with her odd obsession with Nico. “I can come back today.”
“Actually.” He led me across the foyer. “My father has requested to see you.”
“Why?” A wave of anxiety came over me. “What could he want with me?”
“Relax.” He rubbed my arm before resuming down the hall that led to Nico’s study. When we arrived at the door, Milo turned to face me. “I have some errands to run.”
“Wait! You want me to go in there without you.” I shook my head, feeling even more distressed than before. “Why?”
“That's what my dad wants.”
“I can’t.” As if on cue, my stomach twisted and my hands trembled. “What does he want?”
“You’re going to be fine.” He knocked on the study door. “I promise.”
“Come in,” Nico said.
“Milo! He’s scary.” My eyes widened, pleading with him not to throw me to the wolf.
“Trust me.” Milo opened the door and nudged me in. “I’ll see you later. You’re going to be fine.”
“Don’t leave,” I whispered as Milo hurried down the hallway.Shit!
“Hello, Sable.” Nico got up from his desk when I faced him. “Come in and have a seat.”
“Thank you, Mr. Accetti.”
“You’re living in my home.” He pointed to the black leather couch in front of the huge picture window that overlooked a stream in the backyard. “You can call me Nico.”
“Okay.” Even if I called him by his first name, I would still be terrified of him.
“Would you like some coffee or juice?” he asked. “I could have Antonella bring you something.”
“Thank you but I’m fine.”
When he moved toward me, I instinctively dropped onto the sofa, sinking into the soft leather, feeling small and vulnerable in the presence of such an intimidating man.
I had never been alone with him, and I couldn’t remember saying more than a few words to him.
“You look anxious,” he said.
“Can you blame me?”
When he smirked his features softened and I caught a glimpse of Milo in his expression. His custom gray suit accentuated his tall frame and solid muscles. And just like Milo, everything about him screamed perfection. From his manicured fingernails, down to his black, perfectly polished shoes. Knowing what this man did for a living should have repulsed me, but therewas something in his eyes that drew me to him. As if I were in the presence of greatness.
How did the Accetti men do that? Killers through and through but they had a way of making me feel safer than I had a right to be. When Nico sat next to me, my hands stopped shaking and a strange calmness fell over me.
