Page 34 of Nico
"I don't intend to just walk away." He plucked her off his lap. "Just giving you fair warning."
He rose and stood in front of her. Cupping her face between his palms, he stroked his thumb over her cheek. "Not again. I was a fool to have done so in the first place." He kissed her roughly before stepping back and walking out of the office.
She had to sit on the edge of her desk before her knees gave way. Pressing her hand to her galloping heart, she took several deep breaths and still wasn't composed enough to leave the room.
When the door opened again, she gave Andre a wilting look which he ignored.
"If I'd not seen it with my own eyes, there would be no doubt what you two were up to in here. The gorgeous Nico's face was flushed and his hair even more disorderly than usual. And honey, you look..." He gestured with one hand as he leaned against the door. "Well rumpled. And lips swollen. I suggest you go into the restroom and try and do something about it before stepping back outside. The cute and staid Robert might be a banker, but he has eyes. You might also want to tell him as gently as you can that the relationship or whatever it was, that it's over."
"Oh, go to hell." She stormed out of the room and left him staring after her with a smug smile.
*****
He drove around aimlessly. And had to resist the urge to go back there and drag her out. He had driven for half an hour before pulling off the side of the road and sliding into park. He needed a clear head and a damn plan. If she thinks he was going to just disappear from her life, she had another thing coming.
He wanted her and she wanted him. His heart turned over inside his chest as he wondered if she had slept with the son of a bitch. And knowing her, he doubted it very much. What they had shared had been too significant for her to just take another man to her bed. She wasn't like that.
He pressed his forehead against the steering wheel, exhaling sharply. The memory of her touch, the fire in her eyes, lingered with him. With each passing second, his resolve only grew stronger. He wasn't giving up, not this time. Whatever obstacles lay between them, he was determined to find a way through. For the first time in a long while, hope flickered inside him, stubborn and bright, refusing to be extinguished.
*****
She was exhausted, emotionally and physically. The gallery had not emptied out until almost midnight and by that time, the emotions swirling inside her had weakened her knees and devastated her mind.
She eased off her boots and recalled the conversation with Robert earlier.
"You're in love with him." He spoke quietly, a patient look on his attractive face, which had made it much worse.
"No. I'm..."
He shook his head. "I saw the way you two looked at each other and how you were when you came out of the office. Even as dense as I tend to be sometimes, I could realize what had transpired." He touched her lightly on the cheek. "You're so beautiful and way out of my league. Even if that were not the case, your heart belongs to someone else. Work things out Sadie. I'm willing to be your friend as I've been for the past several weeks."
Stripping off her dress, she hung it up carefully. She did not want to think. He had warned that he was not going anywhere, but she had no idea how it would work between them.
There was a little girl involved. He was a father for God's sake. That little girl's mother left her in his care and wanted nothing more to do with her.
Nico was not thinking or he was thinking with his damn glands. She had to be the sensible one. She could not just jump back into bed with him. This time she would not be dealing with him only. There was his little girl as well and... Walking into her closet, she hung the dress up and just stood there looking at the rows of shelves. But oh God, she missed him so much, she actually felt the pain blasting through her and knew without a doubt that she was in love with him.
Chapter 9
He sat a few feet away from the gate and contemplated. Last night had been a restless one for him, tossing and turning in the bed where he had spent so many nights with her.
He spent time with his daughter, helping to set up her suite with dolls and stuffed toys and enough books to outfit a library. And of course, an easel.
He was growing to love her. In just a short time, he was growing to really love her. And she loved him without question. She clung to him and begged for stories. But he wanted the woman he had come to love. God, how he loved her.
So, here he sat in his car, a few feet away from her gate and wondered what kind of reception he would receive.
With an impatient flick of his wrist, he started the vehicle, traveled the short distance to the gate, and drove in. Parking behind her car, he killed the engine and stepped out. The wind was biting, the air icy with the promise of a bitter winter.
Mounting the steps, he rang the bell and waited for her to open the door.
And knew when she stood there staring at him through the peephole.
"You might as well let me in," he called out mildly. "I have no intention of leaving."
He waited a few more minutes and then he heard the locks turning. When the door swung open, he had to bite back a smile at her blazing eyes. She propped her hands on her hips and stood there glaring at him.
"You should have waited; I would have helped you with the cleaning." When he lifted a hand to wipe a smudge of dirt from her left cheek, it was slapped away.
