Page 23 of Crossing Lines

“Fine.” An uncomfortable tightness fills my gut at the thought of Nina and Zeki meeting, and I’m not sure why.

“Do you have a map?” Zeki asks Nina, holding her hand in his for far longer than is polite. “Because I just got lost in your eyes.”

Nina snorts and I hit the back of Zeki’s head. We found her painting the master bathroom in zigzags of yellow, pink, and green. Her overalls, and her black tank top beneath, are covered in streaks of the colors. There’s even some in her dark hair that’s piled on the top of her head.

“Well, aren’t you a charmer,” she says and glances at me. “Much more than your older brother.”

Zeki laughs, still holding her hand and I’mthisclose from ripping it out of hers.

“See?” Zeki says. “We’re a match made in heaven.”

Nina snorts and extracts her hand. “You’re too sweet for me.”

“Is that a thing?” he asks.

“Definitely.” Nina leans against the bathroom counter. “What brings you here?”

“This and that,” Zeki says, giving her a wink. “I’m a man of mystery.”

“Like an international man of mystery? Are you…Austin Powers?”

I hold in my snort and Zeki just looks confused as he asks, “Wait, who’s Austin Powers?”

“Apparently you,” Nina says with an evil grin.

Zeki whips out his phone and his keyboard clacks while he types in the name. He whistles and glances at us. “You think I look like him?” He flashes his phone toward us and points to the picture on it.

“I mean,” Nina says, “maybe you should think twice before claiming to be a man of mystery.”

Zeki laughs. “Damn, you’re a ballbuster.”

“And? Is that a problem?”

I cover my building smile with my hand. It’s fun to not be on the receiving end of Nina’s barbs. It’s even better that it’s directed toward Zeki, who can do no wrong in Mom’s eyes.

“Not at all.” Zeki gives her his smile that normally causes women to run toward him.

“Is that”—Nina waves toward Zeki’s face—“supposed to be endearing? Or attractive? Because news flash,it isn’t.”

Zeki’s mouth gapes, and this time, I can’t hold back my chuckle. Nina’s head whips in my direction and I shrug, trying to play off what I’m going to claim is a cough.

“What?” I ask. “You resisting my brother’s infamous charm is surprisingly entertaining.”

“Interesting,” Nina says, still staring at me with an expression I can’t decipher.

My phone pings with a notification from my security team that the food delivery driver is on his way up to the door now.

The doorbell rings less than a minute later and I give Zeki a look that saysyou get it. He sighs and goes to pick up the food while I ask Nina, “Do you want to eat with us?”

She frowns, and it’s clear she’s going to decline. “I’m sorry about last night. I was annoyed about something and took it out on you. You didn’t deserve that.”

“What were you annoyed about?”

“A work issue I can’t find a solution for. When you called, I was working on it.” It doesn’t help that I was more annoyed at myself, at my lack of friends to have fun with if I wanted to go out. “Please join us for dinner. If you don’t come, Zeki’s going to make us eat in the bathroom with you.”

“Fine.” She sighs and follows me down to the kitchen.

Zeki unloads the containers and adds a serving spoon to each. Tonight, I ordered Italian since it’s his favorite.There’s chicken marsala, Tuscan-grilled sirloin, different pastas and sauces, bread, and salad.

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