Subway Asshole. It’s fitting. Or as I refer to him privately, a Dead Man, if he even thinksabout bothering Sofia again.
He won’t, I’m sure. First, because he’s going to be in prison for a while. And when he gets out, he knows I’ll be watching him. “I run a security company,” I told him on the sidewalk that day,“so I can find you anywhere. And I can kill a man in seconds. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise. Remember that the next time you think about hurting a woman again.”
“Are we meeting with the realtor?” Sofia asks. She turns her gaze from the window to look at me. “Or are we having dinner out?”
“What makes you think we’re meeting with the realtor?”
She arches her brows in her classicare you trying to ask a dumb questionexpression. “Because we’ve been looking at places on the Upper West Side. And that’s where we’re driving.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I retort. “Lots of things are in this area. And anyway—” I kiss her cheek. “It’s a surprise. The point of surprises is you don’t know what they are until they’re happening.”
Sofia humphs. Then she leans forward and asks Kurt, our driver for the night, “Kurt. Canyoutell me where we’re going?”
He glances at her in the rearview mirror. With a smile, he says, “Sorry, Sofia. It’s a surprise.”
“I’ll bake cookies,” she replies cagily. “You liked those salted caramel ones I made last week, didn’t you?”
“Kurt,” I interject in a warning tone. “Don’t let her sway you with offers of cookies.”
“Heisthe boss,” Kurt tells Sofia. “And we’re almost there, so you’ll know soon.” He pauses. “Will you still make cookies, though?”
Another result of the altercation with Subway Asshole is that Sofia’s plans for her new office space got shifted to the back burner. She’s still been in contact with her existing clients, but she admitted to me that she’s a little nervous about setting up an office on her own in the city. “I’ll get past it,” she told me. “But I’m not sure if I’m ready yet.”
In truth, I’m in no hurry for Sofia to spend her days alone in an office where anyone could come in and botherher. I’ve broached the idea of having her join the investigative department at Fox & Falcon instead, but she’s still undecided. “I like meeting with the clients,” she explained. “Getting to know them. And I enjoy going out on jobs. I’m not sure I’d be happy sitting behind a desk all day.”
So, while she’s trying to decide her next steps, she’s been splitting her time between part-time research for F & F and baking enough cookies to keep my entire staff fed for a month, which my employees are over the moon about.
“I’ll make cookies,” Sofia promises. “Even if you won’t tell me where we’re going.”
Kurt slows as he makes a right turn onto W 104th Street. Sofia perks up. Glancing back out the window, she says, “Oh, did the realtor find another property around here? It’s so nice, being this close to Central Park.”
I take her hand in mine and give it a little squeeze. “You really liked the brownstone we saw, didn’t you?”
More than liked, really. From the moment we stepped inside the brownstone on Manhattan Ave, Sofia fell in love with it. And I couldn’t blame her. The four-story brownstone had everything we wanted—bright rooms with tons of light, original brick fireplaces, a huge kitchen with large windows and plenty of room for plants, and an enclosed outdoor space with a patio and good-sized patch of grass. And, most importantly, it could be modified to meet my security requirements.
That’s why I want a brownstone this time. No more condos with doormen who can betray me. No more ventilation systems intruders can sneak through. I want my own property so I can control who comes and goes at all times.
Sofia squeezes my hand in return. “I did like it, but we’ll find something else. I mean, there’s nothing we can do if the seller changes his mind.”
“Maybe,” I reply vaguely.
“Nico…”
“We’re here,” Kurt announces as he pulls to a stop. Turning around in his seat, he adds, “I’ll be right outside. Just text me when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll be ready.”
Sofia peers out the window. Her hand tightens around mine. “Nico. Why are we at a brownstone that’s not for sale anymore?”
I wait to answer while Kurt hops out of the car, scans our surroundings, then opens the back door. I get out before Sofia so I can check the street again, and once I’m satisfied it’s safe, I reach my hand out to help her out of the car. Once I have her tucked safely against my side, I say, “I thought we could take a look at it again.”
“Nico…” Her voice rises with suspicion. “What’s going on here?”
At the front door, I punch in the security code and lead Sofia inside.
My heart kicks into high gear, thrumming crazily.
Doubting thoughts swirl madly in my head.
What if this is a bad idea?
