I give a nod. “Yes. And yes.” I pinch my lips together. “Mark Whitlock.” The name feels bitter on my tongue. “I…knew him as a kid. He uh…” Shit, how do I put this? “We had bad history. I guess you could say he was my first.”
“Your first love?” she asks, her eyes huge.
“Oh, there was no love involved,” I mutter grimly. I don’t think I want to go into detail. “Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty. But for some reason, he wants to marry me. I managed to get away and—”
“I don’t know why you didn’t just come straight back to us!” Nikki interrupts, her expression pained. “When you called, we would have helped you!”
“I couldn’t, babe. I was on the other side of the country. The closest safe place I could think of was my brother’s old spot on the coast. I thought I could hole up there till things settled. That’s when Mateo found me…” I trail off for a moment. That first night had been something else.
“He called us then,” she tells me. “Let us know you were safe.” Manuel has returned with a trolley piled with drinks and snacks, and I reach eagerly for a wine bottle, not waiting for him to fill my glass. I pour my own and take a deep gulp before going on.
“Not for long,” I say. “Mark sent one of his guys to try to take me back.”
“Bastard,” she hisses, rubbing her arms. “I can’t believe you went through so much.”
“It was…tense,” I admit. Terrifying, more like, but I don’t want to upset her more than necessary. “I knew Mark wasn’t going to let up unless I had some way to stop him. So I asked Mateo to…um…” I fumble for the right words.
“You proposed!” she laughs out. “You asked him to marry you.”
I give a shrug. “It’s just so I can get some breathing room while I figure out how to get out of this shit.” Even to me, it sounds weak, but Nikki doesn’t point this out, aside from narrowing her eyes slightly. “Mateo took me back to his apartment in the city, and then I got hold of my father to try to figure out what the hell was going on. Over lunch, he admitted it was true. He’d done a deal with Whitlock.” I take another large mouthful of wine. I still can’t believe it myself.
“So, when he found out you were engaged,” she makes air quotes around the word, “he let up?”
“Hardly!” I huff. “He told me to end it! With Mateo sitting right there!” I shake my head at the memory. “He even told me to get rid of the baby!”
“Baby!” Nikki bleats then aims an accusing stare at my wineglass. “You’re pregnant? Exactly how long has this thing with Mateo been going on, Andz?!”
“No!” I say sharply. “No.” I give a weak chuckle as I repeat the word more gently. “My mother saw me drinking water and just assumed…” I roll my eyes. “She generally expects the worst from me. I just went with the flow since the engagement thing didn’t seem enough of a deterrent.”
“And after that, did they at least let it go?”
I give a snort. “I wish. Thank God for Mateo. He came in like the cavalry. Tore strips off both of them. I’ve never seen my father look so battered.” I grin at the memory.
“He’s pretty amazing, alright,” Nikki says, her eyes sparkling. “And I suspect you’re noticing that too.”
“Sure,” I say, taking a sip of wine to hide the way I can feel my cheeks tinting. “He’s handy to have around.”
“More than handy, Andz,” she says.
“Okay, he’s pretty hot too. Sexy as shit.” I give a shrug. “But you know me. Love ‘em and leave ‘em is my motto. Except there’s no actual love involved.”
“Really?” she gives me a hard look. “Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking like this.”
“Like what?”
“You’re glowing, Andy,” she says. “I think you have feelings for this man.”
“Bullshit,” I snap. “Never. That’ll never happen in a million years.” I put emphasis on the words. Because there’s no way I’m going to feel anything for the guy. I can’t. Falling for Mateo Ricci would be a disaster.
Chapter 11
Mateo Ricci
“What are you doing here?” Andy asks sharply as she opens her front door. She’s in a t-shirt and sweatpants, with her hair in a swinging ponytail. And, as always, she’s smoking hot. “You planning to answer or just stare at my tits?” she presses, then looks at my overnight bag and back up at my face.
“Came to keep an eye on things,” I say as I brush past her into her apartment. It’s spacious and stylish. A woman’s home – no doubt about that – but the crisp lines and bold accent colors reflect her outspoken personality.
I like it.
