Page 26 of Buying Angel

“Rosa, you are Hud’s guest. You are not expected to lift a finger this weekend. Well, except in the bedroom.”

He gave her a wink and then turned to go to the fridge. I saw her start to blush and couldn’t help the chuckle that left my lips. Nico may have been your typical hard man, but he also had a wicked sense of humor, one that most people didn’t know how to take.

“I’m sorry for Nico’s sense of humor, Gaby. He seems to be on form this morning. Nico, whatever you make for breakfast, I’m sure will be fine.”

I saw a smirk come across his face. Luckily, it was out of Gaby’s eyeshot. I knew what he was doing, trying to build up a rapport with Gaby, and from what I could see, he was doing a good job. However, I also knew he was trying to get me wound up. Again, he was succeeding, but I would never let him see that.

We both sat there chatting away, with Nico dropping a comment in every so often while he made breakfast. When it was ready, he placed our plates in front of us, picked up his own, and went to walk out of the room.

Gaby instantly spoke to stop him. “Please don’t go to another room on my account. Please stay.”

He glanced over to me, and I just shrugged my shoulders. If that was what Gaby wanted, it was fine by me. Internally, though, I was jumping for joy that she seemed to be accepting Nico so readily. I hoped that would make our relationship together as a threesome even easier when the time came.

Nico smiled at her. “Thank you, Rosa. I know he wouldn’t have invited me.”

I gave him a look and Gaby burst out into laughter. Hearing her laugh was such a sweet sound after she had told me about her time with Vincent. It gave me more hope for the future. I looked over at her as well, causing Nico to start laughing. After a while, I just decided to join in as well. If you can’t beat them, join them, as they say. We sat there in relative silence for a while eating breakfast until Gaby turned to Nico and asked the one question I had been waiting for since last night.

“Nico, if you don’t mind me asking, why call me Rosa?”

The trademark Nico smile came over his face, the one I had fallen in love with many years ago.

He took Gaby’s hand in his and spoke. “Well, as you have probably already guessed, I am Italian by birth. As your name is Gabriella-Rose and Hud calls you Gaby, I decided to give you a nickname of my own.”

Before he could continue, Gaby spoke.

“And as Rosa is Italian for Rose, you decided on that.”

He smiled, lifted her hand to his lips, and pressed a gentle kiss to it. Nico the charmer was coming next; I knew it.

“That and you are as beautiful as a rose.”

I coughed to remind him not to push things too far too fast. He let go of her hand, winked at her, and smiled at me. I just shook my head at the pair of them, but the look in Gaby’s eyes didn’t escape my notice. It was almost the same look she had given me many times last night: one of love and lust. I decided to break up this moment and spoke.

“So, what would you like to do today? We can do whatever you like. This weekend is all about you and taking care of you.”

She smiled. “As long as I get to spend it with both of you, I really don’t care.”

Chapter Sixteen

GABRIELLA-ROSE

THE WEEKEND WENT far too quickly, and before I knew it, we would have to head back to Club Lust. I’d had an amazing weekend, both inside and outside the bedroom. Hudson was so caring and attentive, and I could tell Nico cared for him deeply too. We’d spent most of yesterday watching movies together, with Hudson and Nico bickering most of the time about how things were wrong, or how that would never happen in real life. It was a far cry from what I was going back to.

I had fallen hard for Hudson this weekend. He was exactly what I wanted in a Dom, lover, and husband, but I wasn’t sure that was what he wanted from me. I was desperate to get away from Vincent and hoped that I could spend the rest of my life with Hudson. I really wanted to stay here, but I knew we had both signed a contract and I had to return to the club by midnight tonight. It was very Cinderella. I thought perhaps I would turn into a pumpkin and life would be all good again, because life really sucked right now.

In addition, I was disappointed that I hadn’t seen Nico at all today. He hadn’t been here this morning for breakfast and had been absent all day. Hudson had said he was making arrangements for them to go back to New York early tomorrow morning and not to worry because he was sure he would be around before I left. I didn’t know why I had a sinking feeling hearing this. My feelings for Nico should have been completely friendly, but I felt so much more. Maybe not as much as I felt for Hudson, but it wouldn’t take much for me to feel the same way.

Hudson and I were currently snuggled up together on the sofa, watching some movie on TV, not that I was really paying attention to it. What was going to happen when I walked back into Vincent’s apartment was going around in my head. I was so worried about what he was going to say to me, especially as Mikhail hadn’t been the winner of the auction. I was sure that he would have told Vincent by now. The only reason I didn’t know was because I had left my cellphone at home on purpose.

I felt Hudson move slightly beside me and start to stroke my hair before he spoke.

“What’s troubling you, Gaby? You’ve hardly paid any attention to the movie.”

I could already feel the tears starting to form in my eyes. I really didn’t want to go back to Vincent. I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life. But knowing that Hudson and Nico were heading back to New York after dropping me off, I knew it could never be. I tried my hardest to control my emotions as the sadness I was feeling flooded through me. I felt his strong arms come around me as he pulled me across his lap and held me to his chest.

“Shh, Angel. Tell me what is wrong.”

I sniffled slightly as I brought myself under control. I buried my head in his chest so I didn’t have to look at him as I spoke. I didn’t want him to see the disappointment and worry on my face.

---