“Why would anyone investigate it now, after all this time?”
“I don’t know, but I received an anonymous letter last week from someone who said if I didn’t pay them twenty million dollars they were going to leak the original accounting records, along with an accusation that I was somehow involved in the original disappearance of the money.”
Nick silently absorbed the enormity of what Gio was saying, even as his brother continued to explain. “Nick, our stocks would plummet if such an accusation became public—especially if it sparked an investigation. Cogent is doing well, but we’re extended pretty thinly right now. We could lose everything.”
“We won’t,” Nick said, and as he voiced the words his confidence grew. “You’re not alone this time, remember? I know people who could help us solve this. We’ll find out who wrote that letter.”
Gio’s house phone rang. He picked it up, listened, and looked across the room at Nick with an odd expression on his face. He hung up and said, “Kane’s on his way up. He wanted to know if you were here.”
Oh, shit.
As Nick often did, he made a joke in the face of something unpleasant. “Did he sound homicidal?”
Gio’s eyes narrowed, and he took an aggressive step toward Nick. “Should he?”
Shrugging, Nick said, “I did have one other topic I wanted to discuss with you, but it can wait until after breakfast—if I live through it.”
“Tell me you didn’t sleep with Rena,” Gio growled.
“There was no sleeping involved, ever,” Nick said then, instantly regretted not answering more seriously when Gio’s face turned bright red. “Gio, it’s not what you think. Well, it’s pretty close to your worst fears, but I really care about her.” Gio took another angry step toward Nick, and Nick backed away while continuing to voice the thoughts that were coming to him. “I really care about Rena. I think I love her. Oh, my God. I think I love her.”
Gio grabbed Nick by the front of his shirt and hauled him forward onto his tiptoes. The doorbell rang, but both ignored it. “Get that fucking stupid smile off your face, Nick. I can’t believe I trusted you with her.”
Julia swept into the room, paused beside them, and said, “Gio, put your brother down, someone is at the door.”
Gio released Nick with an audible snarl.
Nick suddenly didn’t care that Gio was upset with him. He couldn’t stop smiling.
Julia opened the door and looked from Kane to Nick.
Nick pointed at Kane for emphasis and said loudly, “I love your sister.”
Kane strode up to Nick until they were nose to nose. “That will not save you, Nick. Gio, I am not allowed to tell your brother how much I want to wrap my hands around his scrawny little neck until he turns purple. I promised my sister I wouldn’t get involved, so I’m not here. I am not threatening to rip your brother limb from limb if he doesn’t find a way to stop your mother from leaking photos of him with Rena to the tabloids.”
Unfazed by Kane, Nick waved a hand at Gio. “Shit, the photos. That’s the other reason I came here. We have to stop Mother. I don’t know what exactly she has photos of, but Rena and I have done some pretty wild things that you wouldn’t want made public.”
“I don’t care what I promised, I’m going to kill him,” Kane declared.
Julia linked arms with him and cheerfully said, “Let’s have breakfast first. Everyone’s in a better mood on a full stomach. I made plenty. It’s already set out. Come on.” When no one moved, she looked across the room at her fiancé and prompted, “Gio, ask everyone to join us in the other room.”
Gio threw an angry hand up in the air and started walking toward the kitchen.
Julia put her other arm through Nick’s. With a smile on her face, she threatened both him and Kane. “I am not above throwing either one of you out. You’re not animals. You’re grown men, and you will act like gentlemen when you’re in my house. Am I clear? Gio has had an awful week, and he doesn’t need whatever drama the two of you brought here this morning. You’re a family. Work it out.”
Gio turned as he approached the kitchen door. His expression changed as he caught the tail end of his fiancée taking his brother and best friend to task. He actually smiled.
The doorbell rang again. While Gio strode off to answer it, Nick smiled down at Julia. “Whatever you say, Julia. You’re my favorite sister-in-law.”
Julia blushed. “Gio and I aren’t married yet.”
“You will be soon enough,” Nick said.
Kane grumbled. “If you think being nice to her will save your—”
Nick dropped Julia’s arm. “Kane, I understand how you feel. I’ll admit I sometimes make light of things I probably shouldn’t. It’s part of my charm. But I was serious when I said I love your sister. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it’s from my own family.”
Kane held Nick’s eyes, obviously not won over yet.
Nick continued, “And I’ll stay away from her, not because you want me to, but because I want her to be happy. Whether she dates me or not is her choice. Not yours. Not mine. And if she doesn’t believe I’m the man for her, I’ll respect that. But don’t threaten me. Don’t ever threaten me again.”
The newly arrived Luke followed Gio into the penthouse and gave Julia a kiss on the cheek. “Gio called and said Nick was looking a little ragged around the edges.” Luke looked Nick over and whistled, “He was right. Now he says you’re making breakfast? Mind if I join you?”
Once they were all seated around the kitchen table, Nick shared what Rena had told him about their mother and reiterated the threat she’d made to expose them. Nick slammed his hand down on the table beside his plate. “I’ve been thinking about it all night, and I can’t figure out a way to stop her. She won’t listen to any of us.”
“We can’t kill her,” Gio joked darkly. When Julia kicked him beneath the table, Gio said, “I said can’t.”
Julia rested her chin on her hands and said wistfully, “It’s too bad you don’t have anything you could threaten to expose her for.”
All three men looked at her in surprise and Julia shrugged. “I’m nice, but I’m not that nice. Your mother is bringing this on herself. I’ll turn my cheek. I may even turn a second cheek. But if you threaten someone I love, you’re going down.”
Kane, who was finally beginning to relax, said, “Gio, marry this one fast.”
Gio took one of Julia’s hands in his and brought it to his lips. “I intend to.” Then he turned to Nick. “Trust me, if I knew of something I’d use it. I threatened to cut her out of my life, and she escalated instead of backing off.”
Luke sighed. “I would usually encourage open dialogue as a way to resolve an issue, but with what I’m learning about our mother, she won’t care what any of us say. You can’t reason with someone who has left all reason behind.”
Nick thought back to something Rena had told him. “We don’t have anything on Mother, but we may know someone who does.”
Gio raised an eyebrow.
Nick said, “Rena said Uncle Alessandro warned Maddy to stay away from our mother. Rena said Aunt Elise suggested it was time Alessandro told us something. That something could be what we need.”
Gio nodded. “It might be. They’ve known each other a long time.”
Kane added, “I’ll see if I can find out how she got pictures of Nick and Rena in the first place. She had to have hired someone. Maybe we can cut her off there.”
Luke shook his head. “Did you ever think when we finally grew closer it would be over something like this?”
Nick drawled, “A family who plots together stays together.”
Kane shook his head and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Nick shook a finger at him. “See, you’re starting to get my sense of humor.”
Kane opened his mouth to say something, but Julia interrupted, “More coffee anyone?”
Gio took a gulp out of his cup, then said, “I’ll go see Alessandro tomorrow.?
??
“No,” Nick said firmly. “I will. Rena is my . . .” He stopped when he realized that she wasn’t his anything. Not anymore. “Responsibility. I’ll handle this.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rena had just walked by Nick’s office for the third time Monday morning when she finally broke down and opened the outer door. Janet was sitting at her desk, typing on her computer.
“Is Nick in?” Rena asked.
“No, he’s out of the office this morning,” Janet said, then looked up. “Oh, hi Rena. Yeah, Nick’s not here.”
Rena hovered beside the young woman’s desk. “Is he actually not here, or did he tell you to say that if I asked?”
Janet grimaced with sympathy. “He’s not in there. Are you okay? You look upset. Did you two have an argument? Tell me you didn’t break up.”
Rena pulled back in surprise. “No. No. We couldn’t break up because Nick and I have never been together.”
Janet rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure.”
Rena knew she should leave, but curiosity kept her there. “Why, did he say anything to you? About me? About us? Not that there was anything to say because—”
Janet waved one hand in the air for comical emphasis. “It’s okay. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. The two of you are pretty obvious. You come here to moon over him. He goes up there to moon over you.”
Rena blushed. She thought she was more sophisticated than that, but apparently she wasn’t. “Well, thanks anyway.”
“Did you want to leave him a message?” Janet asked.
“No.” God, no. Rena thought. I don’t even know what to say when I see him. What would I put on a Post-it Note? “I’m sure I’ll see him around.”
“Rena,” Janet called out.
Rena turned at the door.
“I didn’t know what to think of Nick when I first met him. He has quite a reputation, you know? But underneath all that, he’s a good guy. Don’t give up on him too easily.” Janet ended her pep talk with a wink.
Rena spun around and walked into the doorjamb. She stumbled back and made a hasty second retreat. Once around the corner she leaned against the wall and caught her breath.
The idea that Janet was cheering them on from the sidelines shook Rena. Janet thought their relationship was real. Which made her face the ugly realization that Nick might have thought the same thing.
Rena couldn’t breathe each time she entertained the possibility that Nick might have feelings for her. Nor could she breathe when she asked herself how she felt about him.
Love and suffocation—who knew they could feel so similar?
Rena covered her face and repeated the scary realization to herself. I love Nick. I should have told him that when he came to me, upset and confused. I know his family well enough to know how bad that day was for him. But I was so afraid of admitting how I felt—even to myself—that I wasn’t there for him when he most needed me.
What kind of love is that?
Pushing off the wall, Rena headed back toward her office. If she truly had ruined her chance of being with Nick, her time at Cogent was over. Every window reminded her of a time they’d stopped beside it to tell each other about their days. She couldn’t look at the elevator outside her office without thinking about the first time Nick had kissed her.
Rena sat at her desk and stared at her computer monitor without turning it on. She refused to start crying again. She thought back to how concerned her mother had looked when she’d rushed into her house on Saturday. Rena had cried and cried in her mother’s arms until she had no tears left to shed.
She’d tried to explain, both to Kane and her mother, that she wasn’t upset with Nick; she was disappointed in herself. She’d always blamed others for holding her back from doing what she really wanted to do. She’d had this fantasy version of herself she’d clung to for years, telling herself if she had a chance she would be bolder, braver.
In the end, she hadn’t even been a good friend to Nick, and that was what she regretted the most. She’d told his brothers to have faith in him, but she hadn’t. She would never forget the look in Nick’s eyes when he’d walked away from her. Once again he’d been made to feel he wasn’t good enough, and this time it was her fault.
Kane had been furious with Nick at first but then, surprisingly, he’d promised to remain neutral. Rena guessed it was because he feared if he didn’t say so Rena was going to start crying all over him.
“Rena.”
She looked up quickly at Gio’s face, then cursed when she realized her cheeks were wet with tears. Angrily, she wiped them away. “Sorry,” Rena said as she fumbled to find a tissue in her desk drawer. “Allergies.”
“Come into my office.”
“Sure,” Rena said and followed him. She took a seat in one of the chairs before his desk, expecting him to sit behind it as he normally did. Instead, he paced back and forth beside it. Rena braced herself in anticipation of another lecture on why she and Nick didn’t belong together. Gio continued not to say anything until Rena couldn’t hold back her thoughts anymore. She burst out, “Gio, I know what you’re going to say. You’re angry because you found out Nick and I have been seeing each other and lying about it. You’re probably going to tell me you don’t think I should work here anymore, but before you do that, there is something I need to say.” Tears misted up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. “Nick is an amazing man. He’s honest. He’s funny. He never did a single thing wrong with me. In fact, he was better to me than I was to him. So if you’re going to be angry with anyone for this, I want to make sure you’re upset with the right person. Me. Nick wanted to tell you about us, but I convinced him to keep it a secret. He didn’t let you down, I did. You have your brother in your life again. Don’t let something I did take that away from either of you.”
Gio’s face tightened. “Is the Lyndon report complete? I gave it to you on Thursday.”
“Oh,” Rena said and choked in surprise at his question. “Almost. I was adding your final notes from Friday.”
“I need it finished by noon.”
Rena stood. “I’ll get right on it.”
“Your personal life doesn’t belong at work, Rena.”
Well, that’s a slap in the face if I ever felt one. “I understand, Gio.”
Gio walked around his desk and sat down. He sorted through the mail on his desk while he spoke. “Now, if you want to have dinner with Julia and me on Thursday night, we could make sure Nick joins us.”
Rena swayed where she stood. “Did you just say what I think you said?”
Gio looked up from the mail. “My brother would be one lucky son of a bitch if he ended up with you, and our family needs all the sanity we can marry into. I was wrong to tell either of you who you could be with. Let’s leave it at that.”
Rena rushed around Gio’s desk, threw her arms around him, and burst into happy tears. “Thank you. Nick and I need to figure this out on our own, though. I don’t think surprising him at dinner would help.”
He awkwardly gave her a pat on the back and said, “You know what would help, Rena? Work. I need that report.”
Rena stepped back and laughed, drying her eyes on her sleeve. “Yes, sir.”
“And, Rena, it’ll go a lot faster if you turn your computer on.”
***
Nick sat on the stone railing of his uncle’s patio and looked out over acres of manicured lawn. He’d traveled halfway around the world to attend an Andrade wedding, but this was Nick’s first time at the Andrade family home in New York. He marveled at the blend of old-world wealth and modern-day tricycles. The area closet to the enormous home was dotted with gym sets and sandboxes.
Alessandro stood a few feet away, gazing out over his land along with Nick. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Elise and I wanted our piece of the American dream, and this is where we found it. You came on a quiet day. Every Sunday that lawn is full of generations of Andrades. Maddy’s husband is a world-renowned French chef, but on
Sundays he cooks Italian for us. Do you remember all those cousins you met on Isola Santos? Half of them live around here. You should come by and get to know them.”
“I may take you up on that offer.”
“You’re always welcome here, Nick. You always were.”
Nick met his uncle’s eyes and saw only sincerity there. “Do you know my father’s second family in Venice?”
A sadness entered Alessandro’s eyes. “I know of them.”
“I knew about them long before I had proof. Even when my father was with us, part of him was somewhere else. That’s why I was the daredevil I was. He said he worried for me. I suppose I thought if I gave him enough to worry about he wouldn’t forget me when he went away.”
Shaking his head sadly, Alessandro said, “Your father loved you.”
“My father didn’t know what love was. He said he loved my mother, but you tell me what kind of love allows a man to lie to his family as much as he lied to ours?”
Alessandro walked over and laid a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Love is a funny thing. It can bring out the best and the worst in people. I don’t agree with what your father did, but that doesn’t change how much I miss him. It’s okay to be angry with him, but it’s not okay to use him as an excuse to be less than the man you should be.”
Nick whipped his shoulder away from Alessandro’s hand. “What do you mean, less than I should be?”
In an authoritative tone, Alessandro said, “I don’t agree with how you’re treating little Rena. I met her. You should give her more respect and not hide what you’re doing. She deserves more than what you’re giving her.”
Nick folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not giving her anything anymore. We’re not together.”