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All the wannabe gangsters were pale as anything, so that could totally be a factor.
I sucked my lower lip under my teeth. “Well, it doesn’t really matter why they’re doing it. I’m going to run them out of town either way, prove I’m no one they should have been messing with. And without stooping to the kind of brutality my mother would have expected me to.”
Rafael gave me a long, pensive look before beckoning me toward the ladder. This time I came.
“I’m not sure if that’ll be possible,” he said. “Guys like this…”
“Ithasto be,” I insisted. “Maybe we have to get more creative, maybe we’ve got to find the right pressure point—but I’m not going on a killing spree. I’m not a mafia princess anymore. I never wanted to be in the first place. I’m leaving all thatbehind.”
Rafael rested his hand on my shoulder, warmth washing through my body from his touch.
“Lo sé, Lou. I know you’re not that kind of woman. We’ll figure it out.”
I clambered down the ladder after him, wishing I could believe he knew that for sure.
NINETEEN
Luciana
“Forget the dinner,”Jasper said with a satisfied groan that did funny things to my internal temperature. “I’d eat here every night just for dessert.”
As he popped the last bite of his maple peach crumble into his mouth, Niko waggled his fork at the other guy from across the restaurant table. “You want maple on everything. I’m lucky you didn’t pull out that bottle you carry around and cover the whole plate with extra.”
Jasper shot him a baleful look. “Do you know how hard it was to track down anything with real maple syrup where my family was living in the US? I’ve got to make the most of it while I’m here.”
Niko chuckled. “I suppose it’s a good thing you’re indulging at dinner rather than breakfast, or you’d be lumbering around the skating rink tomorrow with all that in your belly.”
A different sort of twinge passed through my body, and the bite of apple pie I was chewing soured in my mouth.
We hadn’t exactly been lumbering today, but Jasper and I still hadn’t quite found our rhythm. How were we going to impress an audience and a bunch of judges if we couldn’t even pull the routine off smoothly in practice?
I had the niggling worry that we were going to make total fools of ourselves. And whose fault was that more likely to be—the renowned professional skater’s or mine?
Jasper hadn’t commented on our difficulties, but he was clearly still in a prickly mood, even after I’d cleared the air about Rafael.
“I have amazing digestion,” he informed Niko, continuing to glower at him, and then pushed back his chair. “Syrup does make a bit of a mess, though. I’d better wash my hands before I hand over my card.”
“You do that,” Niko said cheerfully. But the moment the other guy had disappeared into the restroom, he pulled out his own wallet. He set down enough money to cover all three of our bills and a generous tip.
I nudged my plate aside. “You don’t need to cover me, Niko. I’ve got plenty of cash.”
“It’s my treat today. You can give me the gift of accepting it without arguing.”
He winked at me and brushed his fingers back through his smooth hair, where the pink strip I could tell he’d freshly touched up seemed to wink too.
I grumbled under my breath but resisted protesting further as he motioned for me to get up. I did have a good nest egg squirreled away, but it wasn’t infinite. And skating necessities added up quickly.
As we headed over to the door of the cozy restaurant to wait for Jasper there, Niko rested his hand on the small of my back in a familiar, warm gesture that made my heart skip a beat. I still wasn’t used to having a guy act so sweet with me.
It hadn’t ever occurred to me that I’dwantsweet, but now that I had it, I could admit it was pretty addictive. At least in the gorgeous form of Niko Okabe.
By the door, he turned to me and lowered his voice. “I wanted to ask you about what you told us the other day—about your family. You don’t need to give me any details, but are you sure you’re safe now? Is there anything I can do that would help?”
My heart swelled with more emotion—gratitude and affection mixed with a little pang of pain that I couldn’t be as open with him as he’d been with me. “Everything’s good now. You don’t need to worry. I just had to get away—there’s no reason anyone would come looking for me here.”
At least, I sure as hell hoped that was true.
“I’m glad to hear that. It was obviously the right thing for you, seeing how you’ve bloomed on the rink without anyone downplaying your talent.” His dark eyes twinkled. “And maybe I’m a little selfish, to be thankful that leaving them behind meant you ended up where I am.”
