Mari went back to work with a satisfied sniff. “He can stay alive for now.”
The loan shark in linen seemed faintly offended by how much he liked the food. I busied myself with the bar mat before I gave the man sent to take my bar any satisfaction.
I leaned closer across the bar, my voice low. “Here’s what’s going to happen, Mr. Torretti. You’re going to sit in my bar for five days. You’re going to watch me earn back what I owe. You’re going to see the receipts, the deposits, the whole ugly little miracle. Then you’re going to collect your money, take your nice watch and your emotional-support chains, and get out of my life.”
Nico stayed with me through every word.
The bar moved around us. Drinks traveled down the service well. Plates crossed the pass. The patio filled.
“I love Miami!” someone yelled behind him, and two glasses clinked hard enough to make me pray for the deposit.
Nico set the calamari cone down. “That’s a lot of confidence for a woman with a broken ice machine.”
“It’s not broken.”
The machine made a grinding noise like metal losing a fight.
He turned toward the back.
I planted my palm beside the bar mat. “It adds atmosphere.”
He smiled a little. “You’re giving me house rules?”
“I’m giving the loan shark at my bar a customer policy.”
“That’s generous.”
“It’s basic. You eat, you pay, you stay polite, and you don’t scare my customers.”
“I don’t scare tourists for free.”
“Good. I’m not comping intimidation.”
For half a second, he stopped smiling. He kept his shoulders loose, but the line of his jaw tightened.
Then he nodded. “That’s fair.”
I held out my hand. “Then we have a deal.”
He studied my hand for a long second.
Then he took it.
My hand disappeared in his. His skin was warm, his grip firm, and faint citrus clung to him from the cup. Dark cologne threaded through the fried garlic and lime, and underneath it was something that reminded me of ocean air after dark. My breath caught once before I could stop it.
He shifted his thumb against my knuckles, barely there. His focus dipped to my mouth.
Damn him, I understood that little glance.
I pulled my hand back first.
“The deal lasts five days,” I said.
“That’s the deal.”
“And after that, you leave.”
“If you pay.”
