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I yanked my hand back. “There’s nothing to tell. He was just a waste of time.” Though truth be told, my dates did have a tendency to turn stalker. The guy last night had already texted me this morning, making me think he was going to join the club.
My phone buzzed and I glanced down at the screen, a feeling of dread lodging in my chest. I blinked at the name I saw and then bit back a smile.
“Who’s Shawn?” Nacio asked.
“You know, it’s rude to look at other people’s phones.”
He chuckled. “Then I have a very rude family. We’re always trying to butt into each other’s business.”
I shook my head at him. He was so right. We didn’t really have secrets in our family. We joked about Quinn and Orlando having secret relationships, but I was sure even if they were keeping secrets from the rest of us, they would have told each other. Just like I told Mamma everything.
“Shawn’s a guy I met at the club last night. He doesn’t know my real name or who my family is. I honestly didn’t know if I’d talk to him again.”
“Did he ask for your number?”
“Yeah…”
“Then you should have known you were going to hear from him again. Guys don’t ask for your number so they cannotuse it.”
“That’s not true.”
“All right, it’s not, but this is you we’re talking about. He was going to contact you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He stared at me like I was being incredibly dumb. “You’re gorgeous. Every man with eyes who isn’t already committed to someone else is going to want you. On top of that, you’re kind, smart, and rich.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Think. Has anyone ever not called when they said they were going to?”
I frowned at him. “Whatever.”
“You have more power than you realize. And someday you’ll find a guy who will make you glad you’re so irresistible, someone who won’t back down when Orlando and I threaten his life.”
“Oh my gosh. You’re impossible. Besides, I’m not planning on dating Shawn. He’s too sweet for this life.”
“Hey, listen to me. You are worth all the complications that come along with you.” Nacio’s voice was serious, but his eyes were so sad. He could pretend to be a rake all he wanted. I still knew that underneath it all he was as brokenhearted as he was the day Christina left him.
I forced a smile for his benefit. “Thanks.”
We stayed away from the topic of romance after that—talking about shows we were watching, books we’d read, and the next tattoo Nacio was going to get. Everyone always warns you that after you get your first tattoo, you’ll want more. Nacio was a shining example of that. His tattoo count was somewhere in the high teens now. They marked his hands, arms, chest, and back.
“Are you really never going to get more ink?” he asked, his eyes trailing up and down my bare arms.
I laughed. “One happens to be enough for me.” I wasn’t going to say I was immune to the desire to get more, but I wanted the tattoo I did have to be special, not just one of many.
“Sometimes I don’t understand you.”
“Maybe I just don’t want to look like a mob boss.”
“Is that supposed to be an insult? Chicks dig the dangerous vibe. I’ve been told the tattoos make me more sexy.”
“And I didn’t need to know that.” I shuddered, and Nacio laughed.
He stood and nodded toward my bedroom door. “You want to go get lunch?”
“You don’t have to work or something?”
“I took the week off.”
“Why?”
