Page 12 of Naughty and Nice
“I’ll come check on you tomorrow. If you need anything, call me. I’ll drive you.”
“You don’t need to—” She looked up at the building. “I guess this will be my home for a while.”
“I’ll find you a new bodyguard, one I trust.”
“Thank you, but it’s not your responsibility.”
An absurd idea hit me. Before I could give it more thought, I spoke, “Fuck, I have a crazy idea. You can tell me it’s crazy or that I’m crazy.”
She looked up with puffy eyes. “What?”
“Marry me.”
Liliana blinked rapidly. “Definitely crazy. Besides, you’re right. I don’t want to marry again.”
“It won’t be like that.” I let out a long breath. “Ever since Em and Izzy married, he’s been after me to marry. Recently, Jano entered the discussion. Being married makes me more stable. El Patrón’s giving Em and I more responsibility…you get the picture?”
“Nick, I’m sure there are hundreds of women who would say yes.” She scoffed. “Celeste is one.”
“I don’t think el Patrón envisioned his top lieutenant marrying a” —I remembered Liliana’s chastisement— “sex worker.”
“He also didn’t envision you marrying a widow.”
“He did.”
Liliana’s eyes widened. “Not the same. Mia wasn’t married to Jano’s uncle.”
“If I could, Liliana, I’d erase every fucking memory of that pig from your mind.”
She pressed her lips together. “I wish you could.”
“Let me try. Think of it as a marriage of convenience. We marry. We can live in your apartment. You can take your classes and work at the apartments. You won’t be stuck here until another bodyguard is found.” My lips twitched. “I can trust a guard who knows you’re mine.”
“What about…?” She looked down at her lap.
Liliana was hardly a scared virgin. She knew what marriage usually entailed.
“Sex,” I replied. “We can sleep in different bedrooms. It will get Em and Jano off my ass and help you at the same time. We like each other. Only the live-in bodyguard will know our arrangement, and I’ll pay him to wisely keep that information to himself.”
“I’ve been in one loveless marriage.”
“Don’t think of it that way. We have years of friendship. You didn’t have that with Uncle Gerardo.”
“I’m already Liliana Ruiz.”
My cheeks rose. “So you won’t need a new nameplate.”
She shook her head. “This is crazy. El Patrón will never allow it.”
“He will if you tell Mia it’s what you want.”
Liliana turned in the seat to face me. “Nick, don’t you want to marry for love?”
“I don’t want you stuck in a tiny apartment with sex workers day and night. Jano wants me to marry, and honestly, I’m too fucking busy to fall in love.”
She patted my arm. “Talk to me tomorrow. Maybe this is a crazy dream, and we’ll both wake tomorrow with clearer heads.”
“No, Liliana. I thought it was crazy when it popped into my head, but it’s not. Fuck, you said it yourself. If you would’ve moved back with your parents, you would already be married. Your family wants you married to a lieutenant. I’m a lieutenant. I’m not a stranger. I’m not Gerardo. This can be symbolic only.”
