“A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
“I’M GOING ON A RUN!” I yelled downstairs. A sleepy grumble sounded in the dark man cave before I slammed the door.
I liked to pretend I could leave the house and run in our gated community alone, but I couldn’t. So, I sat on the staircase and took my time lacing up my sneakers.
It was early—eight o’clock, maybe—and a couple servants were moving around, cleaning an already clean house. There was always someone here. When I married and owned my own home, I didn’t want servants. I wanted to walk the halls naked. Hopefully that would be enough incentive for my husband to agree.
A moment later, Dominic appeared, his thick hair mussed from sleep and his broody expression even broodier than usual. He wore a sleeveless t-shirt, running shorts, and shoes. I knew underneath there would be a gun strapped to his thigh.
Gabriella came around the corner, carrying some sheets. Her eyes brightened when she saw me. “Oh, good, you’re running! I’ll start with your room then. Your nonna yells at me when I go in hers earlier than ten.”
Her dark hair was in a messy pile on the top of her head, and her smile was infectious. I couldn’t help my own.
“Yeah, you’ll have to maintain a queen’s schedule with her.”
Gabriella had vivacious good looks and a coquettish personality. I’d wondered if the men in my family were taking advantage of it, but I knew I was wrong as she walked up to Dominic—who was texting, go figure—stood on her tiptoes, and whispered something I could only imagine was dirty in his ear.
He never pulled his gaze away from his phone, but a grin tugged at his lips. “Later,” was all he said.
She dropped back to her heels with a shy smile, and then excused herself as she made her way past me up the stairs.
Him, too?
“Unbelievable,” I muttered once she was out of earshot. “You don’t even have to look at a woman to get laid.”
I received the tiniest bit of amusement from him as he slid his phone in his pocket. “Let’s go, before it gets hot.”
We ran the entirety of the gated community. I waved to Tim Fultz as we passed, who was getting into his car for work at the law firm. The rest of the properties were quiet, the people who could afford them spending half the year on vacation, or still in their beds with a small hangover and an expensive prostitute. I noticed Ryan mowing one of their lawns and a bitter feeling ran through me.
By ten o’clock, as we were within sight of the house, the sun beat down harder than ever. Sweat made a lazy path down my back, and my lungs burned. Jumping into the pool sounded better than any idea I’d ever had.
“I’ll race you home,” I panted.
“No.” Dominic maintained a steady pace, but his shirt was soaked with sweat.
“Come on, chicken.”
“If I were five that might have worked.”
“I’ll tell Papà where your stash of pot is.”
He blew out a sarcastic breath, shook his head, and then sprinted.
“Hey!”
With burning thighs, I picked up the pace until I was side-by-side with him. I shoved his shoulder for cheating, managing to push him over a step. Though, I soon realized he wouldn’t return the gesture, considering Papà stood on the front porch with an unfamiliar man, their eyes on us.
Nicolas’s car sat in the driveway, and when he stepped his big body out of it my heartbeat faltered, which created a domino effect of flutters in my chest.
Dominic slowed, apparently thinking it wasn’t appropriate to race his cousin in company. I met him stride for stride until my feet touched our front lawn.
Dominic put his hands on the back of his head and sucked in deep breaths. “Son of a bitch,” he complained, panting.
“Too much smoking,” I told him, choking on air because I was trying to inhale it so fast.
He raised a brow, in a way of asking me what my excuse was.
“Mamma’s cookies,” I told him unashamedly.
He laughed in that quiet, thoughtful way of his.
My thighs were on fire, but I resisted the pull to drop to my knees. I would have made a show of falling to the lawn any other day, but unfortunately, we had company. I believed if I told myself Nicolas’s presence was unfortunate, it would eventually feel that way. Grasping at straws was all I had.
My hair stuck to my sweat-soaked face, and my heart pounded without a pause. I rested my wrists on the top of my head, trying to catch my breath while my eyes unwillingly coasted to Nicolas. He wore a gray suit, white undershirt, and black tie. He looked like a million bucks, just as he always did. I had the sudden desire to wipe some of my sweat on him.
He flicked a gaze to me as he strode down the walkway. His expression wasn’t very nice for the half-second it landed on me. There wasn’t a kink in his step, and, from a distance, he didn’t appear to have been in a table-smashing fight last night. Tony was probably still sleeping downstairs, recovering. He’d spent the night, and I could only hope it was because he was thinking about his relationship with Jenny.
Papà’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Elena, come here.”
I groaned internally. That was the classic “Come meet this man” tone. Glancing at Papà, I tried to convey that I wasn’t dressed to meet someone, but he only gave me a blank look, his demand withstanding.
Dominic rounded the house to the back door and I burned with jealousy.
With a sigh, I headed to the porch and closer to a certain soon-to-be brother-in-law. My sweaty skin became a live wire.
I stood next to my father and his guest, but only vaguely heard my papà’s introduction because Nicolas was a few feet away. He leaned against a porch column with his hands in his pockets, his gaze warm against my face. A red mark marred his cheekbone, and it looked like he had a cut on the edge of his bottom lip.
That gentleman look went up in smoke . . .
I turned my attention to Papà’s guest. “It’s nice to meet you, Christian.”
I had the uncanny ability to subconsciously take in information, especially when it came to my father’s introductions.
I glanced at Christian’s face and then paused.
Because holy handsome.
Dark hair, piercing blue eyes, with soft yet angled features that were the epitome of masculine magnetism. But there was something cold about him. Maybe it was how his watch fit his wrist, how straight his tie was, how his suit was pressed, and how confident his stance was. The man was a perfectionist—I’d bet money on it. When he smiled, the cold look transformed into charm, if not a bit indifferent. He was so unbelievably handsome I found a blush warming my cheeks.
“I should have come a little earlier and gotten my workout in with you. Looked like you were giving your cousin a run for his money,” he said.
The wheels in my head spun. This man was charming, had a cultured if not slightly cavalier tone, and was a real Adonis.
I smiled shyly. “Well, Christian, I run at eight in the mornings.” It was an invitation and, surprisingly enough, Papà didn’t even blink. His expression stayed appeased. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
Christian laughed, running the thumb of his right hand over the watch on his left. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.” His gaze warmed, remaining a sliver detached. “It’s been a pleasure, Elena.”
Papà said something, but the cogs were turning in my head too loudly to hear. As Christian and my father headed inside, I turned to watch them go.
Christian was going to snuff out the flame I held for Nicolas.
He was the first intriguing man I’d met since my sister’s fiancé, and I was going to do everything I could to get to know him better. Hopefully, my crush would transfer over like a bad transaction—which it would be, if that dangerous perfectionist vibe was anything to go by.
Flicking my gaze to where Nicolas had stood, my attention halted on him when I realized he was still here.
He was giving me the rudest look I’d ever seen, and for him, that meant something. “Since when do you run every morning?”
How did he know I didn’t?
I blinked. “Since right now.”
His jaw ticked, and he flicked a dark gaze toward the side before focusing it on me. I realized that was Nicolas Russo’s way of rolling his eyes in disgust.
What the heck was his problem?
“He’s a cop.”
I couldn’t help the little nose wrinkle.
Well, not ideal, but I guessed I could work with it. He didn’t look like a cop and I could usually tell. Even when they were crooked, they still didn’t fit. He was FBI, maybe. No way he was a street cop. They never came to the house, and the fact that Christian had must mean he was high-profile and didn’t fear getting spotted by any surveillance. Only the dark side of the world knew how corrupt the government was. Maybe it was why I was so interested in politics—my life was immersed in it already.
After a moment, I lifted a shoulder. “Okay.”
His gaze sparked. “Stay away from him.”
I paused, not understanding his sudden temper. Maybe this was about last night. Was he that mad about the phone incident?
“I didn’t tell Tony about the photo, Nicolas.”
“I know,” he said with heat. “I did.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why would you do that?”
“I wanted to beat the shit out of your brother.”
I blinked, not expecting such a candid response, and then let out a half laugh. “Well, was it as satisfying as you had hoped?”
“No.” The word was dark, full of meaning and underlined with something magnetic that tingled in my breasts. He glanced at my hand by my side and then back at me. “Not very faithful, are you?”
I was taken aback, even though I didn’t understand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Instead of answering me, he pushed off the column and ran a hand down his tie. “He’s not fucking Italian. There’s no chance for you and him.”
Back on the Christian kick, were we?
Nicolas took a step toward the open front door, apparently done with this conversation.
My papà hadn’t seemed to have an issue with what I’d said to Christian. Why was Nicolas making such a big deal of it? Frustration swelled in my chest and the words slipped from my lips before I could stop them.
“Who said I’m thinking about marriage?”
He halted, his dark gaze practically assaulting me.
Wrong thing to say.
“I swear to God, Elena, if I find out you’ve let some man touch you, I will deliver his hands to you in a box.”
I swallowed.
“And I do not. Fucking. Bluff.”
He slammed the door behind him.
