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He didn’t want her on those terms.
“Hell, admit it, you want her on any terms,” he muttered aloud as he walked out the back door of Santori’s that night. He hadn’t even realized anyone else was there until he saw his brother, Joe, who’d just parked his pickup in one of the empty spots in the alley. Fortunately, Joe hadn’t heard Nick talking to himself and so wasn’t dialing for the rubber-walled wagon.
“Hey, where you off to?” Joe asked as he hopped out and pocketed his keys. “I was going to take you up on that pitcher you owe me.”
“I’m not very good company right now,” he admitted.
Joe, who was the best-natured of all of the Santori kids, threw his arm around Nick’s shoulders. “Then what better time to share a beer with your brother?”
He had a point.
“Okay. But not here,” he said, looking back at the closed door to the kitchen. “I really need someplace quiet.”
Joe’s smile faded and he immediately appeared concerned. “Everything okay? Is there a problem?”
“No problem. Just a case of family overdose.”
“I hear ya. Come on, let’s go across the street.”
Following Joe into a neighborhood bar on the corner, Nick ordered a couple of beers and paid the tab. If Mark had been sitting across from him, Nick knew he’d be getting one-liners aimed at making him say what was on his mind. Lucas would be doing his prosecutor inquisition. Tony would throw his oldest-brother weight around and try to browbeat him into talking. Lottie would jabber so much Nick would say anything to get her to shut up.
Joe just watched. Listened. Waited.
“Thanks again for pointing me toward the job,” Nick finally said, filling the silence. The bar was pretty empty-it was too early for the weekend regulars, who’d be drifting in for a long night of drinking and darts before too long.
“How’s that going?”
“Pretty well. I’ve only worked the past two weekends but the money’s good.”
“You still haven’t told the rest of the family?”
Nick shook his head. “Just Mark.”
Joe nodded. “Probably just as well. I know Pop and Tony are talking nonstop about you coming in on the business.”
Yeah, they had been to him, too. Nick couldn’t prevent a quick frown. Because managing a pizzeria was not the way he saw himself spending the next six months, much less the rest of his life.
“It’s okay, Nick. Nobody can force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Guilt goes a long way,” he muttered.
“Don’t I know it. But guilt didn’t stop you from enlisting. It didn’t stop me from picking up a hammer and learning construction. Didn’t stop Mark from strapping on a gun or Lottie from…well, from doing whatever it is Lottie does.”
“Like marrying a man who killed someone?” Nick asked dryly, still not having gotten used to the idea that his new brother-in-law, Simon, had killed a woman, even if in self-defense.
“Let’s not go there,” Joe said with a sigh. “She’s happy, and he’s crazy about her.”
True. Lottie and Simon’s recent marriage had contributed to the 95 percent marital success rate in the Santori family.
“The point is, you can live your life the way you want to live it, and nobody will try to stop you.” As if realizing he’d left Nick with one major argument, he added, “Except for Mama’s crying. Which we’re all used to and you can get past. You just need to figure out what you want to do, and go after it.”
Good idea. And lately, Nick had been figuring out what he wanted to do, especially since he’d been working at the club. “An old buddy of mine from the service is putting something together with a couple of the other guys. They’re talking about opening up a protection business.”
“Professional bodyguard?” Joe asked, looking surprised.
“I have the military background for it and I like what I’m doing at the club.”
Joe smiled. “Especially when the people you’re guarding are very easy on the eyes.”
“Like you’d ever look at another woman.”
The twinkle in his brother’s eyes confirmed that. “Hey, I’m not you. You’re the single one. Have you met anybody, uh…interesting?”
Nick felt heat rise up his neck. Because that was a loaded question. He had definitely felt interest in the Crimson Rose. But now that he’d had Izzie-tasted her, consumed her, made love to her-he knew he didn’t want any other woman. But he couldn’t very well explain that to Joe…without hinting about what had happened with Izzie. She’d never forgive him if that little tidbit became common knowledge. “I guess.”
