Page 25 of Good Girl's Bad Lessons

“No.” Gurdish frowned, then plopped on the sand, sitting and looking at the ocean. “Do you do martial arts?”

Nico sat next to him. “Yeah. I have a brother, and we used to spar with each other when we were younger. Do you have any siblings?”

For the first time, Gurdish smiled, and his shoulders relaxed. His grip on the towel around him loosened.

“I have a baby sister. She’s two.”

“Nice. I’m sure you’re a good big brother,” he said, swallowing hard. Better brother than he’d been. God. Marco had been only six when their mother died, and his personal hell began—with their father blaming Marco for her illness, and mistreating him in ways no kid deserved.

Nico should have protected him. He should have tried harder.

He hadn’t.

“Mum says I’m her guardian,” the boy said, then he glanced at Nico with sadness flickering in his eyes. “I guess I did not do a good job. She’s with them, and instead of having fun, they must be looking for me. Worried,” the boy said, an edge in his voice.

“Hey, look at me.” Nico lifted his chin, acting fast so Gurdish wouldn’t start crying again. “I can tell you’re an awesome big brother. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re worried about them, and you thought ahead. You found us, and we’re helping you find them. You cried, dealt with your frustration, and then took care of business.”

Gurdish tilted his head, looking up at the sky, then regarded Nico again. “You’re right. Is your brother younger than you?”

Nico’s heart skipped a beat. “How can you tell?”

“Because you know just what to do. Like an older brother.”

Nico thinned his lips. Nothing could be further from the truth. He hadn’t known what to do…or rather, he had, but he hadn’t done it, and as a result, Marco’s childhood had been hell.

“Mister, don’t be sad,” Gurdish said. “They’ll be here soon.”

Nico let out a sad chuckle. He now received advice from six-year-olds? He ruffled the boy’s curly hair, and Gurdish smiled again. When he tilted his head to the side, he saw shadows in the corner of his eye.

Emma marched toward him, accompanied by a couple in their thirties, the man holding a toddler girl in a swimsuit. “I found them,” she shouted as she approached.

Gurdish squealed, getting on his feet then running with his arms open to meet them. Nico stood, relief washing over him. When Gurdish’s parents hugged him, Nico’s chest squeezed, and he mourned his own screwed-up relationship with his father. His father hadn’t been a good one and had made enough mistakes to inspire Nico not to follow in his footsteps.

Emma hugged Gurdish and erased the distance between her and Nico. “They want to thank you.”

Nico waved her off. “It was nothing. I did nothing.”

Emma nudged his elbow, a smile as warm as a slept-in blanket greeting him. “You kept him company and made sure he didn’t freak out. Come on, Nico. Thaw your cold heart for just a moment, then you can go back to being invincible again,” she said playfully, stretching out her hand to him, like she knew he needed the encouragement.

“Fine,” he said under his breath.

“It’s not every day you get to be the hero, after all.”

“Oh trust me, I’m no hero,” he said. And the more the two of them kept that in mind, the better.

…

Emma waved at the boy again as he walked away with his family. When she’d returned with his parents, Nico sat next to him on the sand, laughing, ruffling Gurdish’s hair like they’d known each other for much longer. Nico had put Gurdish at ease, and the image caused her silly little heart to beat a tad faster. Also, Nico had been at ease, or at least, that’s what she’d gathered. He hadn’t acted aloof or stiff around the child—instead, he’d cared for his well-being and done the right thing.

Why did Nico always downplay his good side? He was more comfortable with people thinking the worst of him. Maybe he just doesn’t care about what people think. He certainly had enough success not to worry about first impressions or sucking up.

Didn’t matter. He’d told her he didn’t want to spend much time with her other than to have sex or to meet Desmorais. She thought they were getting along better…better than ever, but it’d been a mistake. He probably dated high-powered women as well as top models and celebrities. He wouldn’t find a Plain Jane like her very interesting. Besides, maybe a part of him still didn’t trust her after she hadn’t been upfront about her working for Desmorais on the sanctuary project. Sure, he acted like things were cool, but she knew they weren’t.

Either way, she’d get a bad outcome from of this. Desmorais would say no to him, but possibly also would feel extremely annoyed because she brought Nico to him—and fire her from the project. When Desmorais had first offered her the position, she’d counted on that money to go toward the budget of her dream wedding to Simon.

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