“Put it on your list.”
By one thirty, Bite Me had survived an early lunch rush, the replacement limes had arrived, and I had eaten half a roasted pepper and provolone sandwich while standing over the prep sink like a woman making excellent life choices.
Nico found me there.
“You need more than that.”
I looked at the sandwich in my hand. “Don’t start a food fight with an Italian woman.”
“I wouldn’t win.”
“You wouldn’t survive.”
He leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, still too big, still too calm, still exactly the wrong man to want near my bar and inside my head.
The bite of roasted pepper turned sweet and smoky on my tongue. I swallowed and set the sandwich down.
“Upstairs,” I said.
Nico’s expression sobered. “For what?”
“Answers. Privacy. Possibly yelling. Don’t get excited.”
“I’m already excited.”
“Nico.”
“I’m also prepared to be yelled at.”
“Good. Hold on to that.”
I grabbed my keys, checked the floor one more time, and turned toward the service well. “Shay, I’m upstairs for thirty. If anyone needs me, they can wait unless blood, fire, or health department uniforms are involved.”
Shay looked between us. “That’s a very specific list.”
“I manage expectations.”
Mari leaned from the kitchen. “Do I need my knife?”
“Not yet,” I said.
Nico looked away for half a second.
I pointed at him. “Not a word.”
He followed me through the back hall and up the narrow stairs to the apartment-office above Bite Me.
The space was small because Miami believed square footage was a luxury item. A narrow bed sat against one wall under a window facing the water. My desk lived under a shelf stacked with invoices, menu drafts, and a framed photo of my motherholding a wooden spoon like a weapon. A rolling rack held emergency clothes, aprons, and one sparkly top I had bought after two margaritas and misplaced confidence. The air smelled like clean laundry, coffee, sun-warmed wood, and the ocean pushing in through the cracked window.
I locked the door behind us.
Nico watched the key turn. “You sure?”
“No,” I said. “I’m informed.”
He stayed where he was.
I crossed my arms, mostly so I wouldn’t touch him. “Say it again.”
