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I grunted, hating the fact that she had to deal with hers on her own.
“But Benito is gone now. And I had my friends growing up. They were there for me whenever I needed them. Please don’t think I was alone.” She grinned, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “Tell me about you. I want to know everything.”
I laughed. I wasn’t ready to share everything, but I would give her something. “From what Max told me, you should know it all from the private investigator he hired.”
Her smile fell away. “That’s different. It’s reading about your life, not experiencing it through you telling it.”
“It wasn’t all bad.”
She laughed. “I’m sure it wasn’t. Look at how successful you became.”
I chuckled with her. “Yeah, well. I have a good friend who’s been with me along the climb from college. John’s holding down the fort while I get this part of my life sorted.” I paused for a moment. She’d been so open with me; I liked her immediately—her quiet strength reminded me of Breanna. “The best part of my childhood was when Breanna and I met. She’s important to me, and I think you’ll love her, too, once you meet her.”
“I would like that.”
The sound of feet padding across the floor caught our attention, and both Lil and I glanced in its direction. Through the dense plants, Nicole appeared in our quiet corner not even a second later.
“I thought I would find you two out here. Max is looking for you, Lil,” she said, interrupting the quiet moments Lil and I’d shared. We hadn’t talked long, but it was enough to establish a foundation for a relationship.
“We can talk later, Luc.” Lil stood, and I followed her example. Then she hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I am too.” I returned her hug then followed Nicole as we weaved through the plants and out of the all-seasons room.
“I already showed Summer to her room. I thought you would want to see where you’ll be staying too.” Nicole winked at me. “It’s right next door to where I put her.”
It wasn’t close enough.
Though our time together had been short, I felt a growing connection with Summer. I heard when she slipped into the room next door and moved around to get ready for bed. The memory of her the night before was like a living presence tempting me. I wanted to lure her into my room, ignore the animosity between us, and lose myself in her softness. But she wasn’t comfortable with me, and I couldn’t blame her, given how I’d treated her. I never should have let Edward get into my head.
So instead of knocking on her door, I turned to my laptop and the hundreds of emails I needed to triage. Working was better than dwelling on the overwhelming news about my elusive mother being a Mafia princess and what that made me.
Hours flew by as I answered emails and read through the reports from my staff. I stayed up too late, and when my head hit the pillow, I was out in seconds. Morning came too soon with a loud rapping on my door then Enzo barging in. I was beginning to hate that guy.
Of course, he’d left Summer alone. She’d charmed them with her sweet southern drawl, and their wives already seemed to like her, at least for the most part. I’d noticed how Nicole had taken one look at her then sheltered her under her wing, and I had a feeling that was despite the request from Max to keep an eye on her.
Enzo said we’d get started after lunch, which left me not enough hours to go over things with Summer about what I needed her to do for the rest of the day. Not having worked with her before, I wasn’t sure how competent she was, but her skills had to have been decent enough, since she’d landed the temp job as assistant to the CEO.
After a quick shower, I threw on clothes, gathered my laptop, and knocked on Summer’s door. I heard her mumble, “I need this job, I need this job, I need this job” before she flung it open, dressed in another one of her pencil skirts and a silky blouse that looked borderline threadbare. I averted my eyes from the way the cream-colored material showed glimpses of her lacy bra beneath. But when I took in the bags under her eyes and the way her lips were pressed together, I couldn’t snap at her, frustrated with our new schedule, like I wanted to. I’d dragged her into this, and a part of me wanted to make the experience less stressful.
“I’m ready.” She shooed me back so she could exit her room then shut the door. I couldn’t help but grin at her bossiness. “Where are we working?”
“In one of the sitting rooms.” I hadn’t thought much about it, but she was right—the bedroom was a bad idea. “Nicole mentioned that she’d set us up in the east wing. We’ll head there.” I eyed her empty hands. “You don’t have a laptop, do you?”
Her shoulders stiffened, but she kept her gaze straight ahead. “No.”
I shouldn’t have asked. Given her clothes and where she’d been living, I knew she didn’t have money for anything extra. “I’ll have one delivered by this afternoon. For now, we can work off mine.”
We walked silently to the room Nicole had shown me before I turned in for the night. It was situated in the back of the house with a large window that looked over the winterized pool and landscaped backyard.
A carafe of coffee, creamer, and sugar sat on a tray. Another held a variety of fruit, bagels, and cream cheese. I handed Summer a plate then pulled the food closer to her. While she helped herself, I booted up my laptop.
Nicole popped her head through the open doorway. “Good morning, darlings.” She sat next to Summer, who gifted her a genuine smile.
“Morning, Nicole.” She shifted away from me as she laid a hand on Nicole’s arm. “If I didn’t say so before, thank you for all you’ve done. Your house is lovely, and I’ve enjoyed meeting everyone.”
“Aw, Sugar, it’s our pleasure.” Nicole handed Summer a laptop. “Max mentioned that he didn’t think you had your computer with you. I called my son, Tony, and he dropped this off earlier before he went to the club to oversee some deliveries.”
“Oh, I can’t accept that. Luc said he’d have one delivered later today.”
