Page 16 of Nico
"How do you feel about him?"
"I care about him."
"Care? That's it?"
She gave up trying to word the damn message and sat back. "Okay fine. I might care a lot, and I'm enormously attracted to him. But I have no intention of jumping into marriage."
He clucked his tongue. "You're thinking about that stone cold mother of yours. You're not her."
She shrugged. "I hope not. But I'm still being cautious."
"What does he have to say about it?"
"He wants me to move in with him." She shook her head at the pleased look on his face. "The answer is a firm no. Not yet."
"Darling you're killing me." He eased off the desk and dusted off an invisible speck of lint from his slacks. "Careful you don't string him out and lose him in the process."
"If I lose him because I want to wait, then it wasn't worth it."
"Don't say I didn't warn you. Men like Nico Coulter can pretty much get any woman they want." Blowing her a kiss, he drifted from the room and closed the door behind him.
Getting back to the email wasn't happening and she sat there pondering. She was afraid. She would only admit that much to herself, but she was scared that if she gave into her emotions, there would come a time when she was so lost in them, she would lose herself in the process.
It frightened her how much she cared about him. Nico was the first man who had sneaked through the armor she built up and gotten to the core of her. After the disaster of what had happened to her before, she was extremely careful. And Nico was different very different. He was a very rich and powerful man. Rubbing the back of her neck, she forced herself to get back to work.
*****
In the end, she gave in and decided to accompany him to the function. It was a charity event where they were trying to raise money for dementia research. She admired the fact that his family was actively interested in trying to end that ugly fight against the debilitating illness. They were not just opening their checkbooks; they were trying to make a difference.
She was also swayed by Nico's persuasive arguments. She told him he was clever, having caught her when she was weak her mind dulled and dazed from sex.
"Anything to get my own way." He murmured. It was a pleasure watching her get ready. He had also convinced her that it made better sense leaving from his place and had assured her that his mother was not going to pop on over unexpectedly.
"I already told her I was going. She picked out my suit."
She gave him a droll look which had him wincing a little bit.
"I hate to shop and was actually going to rent a tux."
"Rich people don't rent tuxes."
"This one does. I'm not going to wear it again. She did not trust me to pick one up and it's a black-tie event." He grabbed herhands. "Which explains why I need you with me, desperately. I would be out of my depth."
"I'm pretty certain you are used to functions like that, considering you grew up in a household like yours."
"But it's been so long since I attended one." He pointed out.
Now he stood with his suit on, his tie unknotted and not wearing shoes as he watched her transform from cool and confident gallery manager to stunning and spectacularly beautiful date. He felt the pride shimmering inside him as he stared at her. The dress was stunning a kind of dull gold shimmery figure-hugging number with a scooped neckline and barely any material at the back. He knew she wasn't wearing any underwear at all and had no idea how he was going to go through an entire evening with that information.
Her hair, glossy and healthy looking, tumbled down her back. She was wearing discreet diamonds in her lobes and some chunky hammered gold necklace around her neck. And she smelled divine. Like sex on feet.
When she walked over to help him with his tie, he grabbed her around the waist. "We could get married. Just run off to Vegas and do it in one of the gaudy chapels with an Elvis look-alike as a priest. We're dressed for it."
She spared him a glance and continued knotting the tie. "First of all, if and when I get married, it would be in a chapel with lots of flowers and the dress will be ice blue or champagne colored. Second, we're dressed for a charity function." Patting his shaven jaw, she stepped back to stare at him critically. "You look good in a tux."
Even though he was only half joking, he was disappointed at her response.
"File it in your mind darling. This is not happening again."
