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My teeth clanged loudly at the disdain in her expression, but before I could respond, the door opened, and Sebastian poked his head out. “Come on in. You’ll want to hear this.”
Hearing the warning tone in his voice and knowing it was best to turn away from Clara, I entered the library.
Nicu waved me over as I stepped inside the gloomy, cluttered room, Clara close on my heels.
“We’ve come to a decision,” he cautioned. Holding my gaze with his glacial, light-colored eyes, he tugged the cuffs of his suit, covering his rose gold and diamond Cartier watch. He was antsy without access to his fleet of bikes and race cars to burn off his excess energy.
That didn’t sound promising. I paused mid-stride.
Resuming my walk, my gaze flicked over to Clara. A high flush stained her cheeks red, and green slivers still dominated her blue eyes.
I remembered the time I’d seen her eyes change color. I’d stopped by the house unannounced one evening and caught her sitting by the infinity pool, overlooking the hills, wearing a bikini the same sapphire color as her eyes.
Caught out, she threw on a sheer cover-up that did nothing to hide her killer curves. Her shapely body could bring a man to his knees, begging for the chance to sin, to do anything to get between those smooth, lithe thighs.
She turned her sharp gaze on me, and I was captivated by green within her blue eyes, a shade that’d make the Caribbean Sea weep in envy. The shift in color spoke of lust, with a dash of submission, a deadly combination for me. If I’d ever doubted it before, in that moment, I knew she was trouble.
Making my way back to my chair, I sat down smoothly, placed my elbows on the overly wrought arms of the chair, fixed my cufflinks and sleeves, and turned my full attention to Nicu. Clara resumed her seat in a big armchair to my left. Thankfully, Grigore hadn’t come back from his huffy departure earlier.
“Clara has agreed to spend four months in New York with us. In my mother’s house. To apprentice with the Lupu clan,” Nicu pronounced, giving me a warning stare.
My brows shot up. My entire body stiffened, adrenaline coursing through my blood as a roar rushed through my eardrums.
Nicu had a girl he was itching to get back to in New York and wanted to wrap up these endless negotiations as soon as possible. He was taking the helm, and that was new for him, but at the same time, what the hell had happened in the last five minutes I was absent?
Giving him an accusatory glare, I said, “I see. Would you care to explain further?”
Pressing his lips tightly in a flat line, he gave a slight shrug as an apology.
I don’t need an apology, brother. I need words.
“We’re not getting anywhere here,” he said in a clipped tone. “Clara doesn’t trust us. Until there’s trust, there’s no moving forward. She needs to give us an honest-to-God chance to prove we’re more than a bunch of dirty criminals. If, after spending time with my mother and grandmother, if after meeting our family and seeing how we work, she decides there’s no going forward, then I promise to defend her position to Alex.” He turned to her. “But it has to be an honest attempt, Clara.”
Clara’s beautiful blue-green eyes flashed.
And completely wasted on a woman like her, I know.
Her spine ticked up.
“Are you questioning my honor, Nicu?” she asked sweetly.
Sweet, with a side of salty.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. While Clara took out most of her aggression and frustration on me, he was getting a little taste of her whippy tongue. Good luck, buddy.
His face smoothed out. “Of course not. I’m simply making sure we’re on the same page.”
“We’re on the same page,” said Boian.
Aww hell. No wonder Clara was desperate. Her father agreed with this crack-pot plan. He wasn’t much of a talker, so when he did speak, his word was law. His support explained how this madcap scheme had come to fruition in my brief absence. Clara might be a pain in the ass. Clara might be mostly in charge. He didn’t tug the leash often. God knows, if he had, we would’ve been much further along resolving our issues.
But he’d tugged it now.
It was a done deal. My eyes flickered to her. Her high flush was present. Her eyes met mine, held, and glared, but I couldn’t be angry with her. Her earlier raging made perfect sense. She’d been right; there was nothing I could do. Not without undermining Nicu in front of rivals, not without insulting Boian for agreeing to said plan.
Clara was coming to Sunnyside, Queens. Two doors down from the brownstone where I grew up, and where my mother and little sister still lived. Between visiting the Dacia Café, where Alex had his office, and looking in on my mother and my sister, I was there daily.
All I could say was, thank God she wasn’t staying at my mother’s house. As consilier, I usually hosted in my penthouse in Manhattan. Since I was an unmarried man, she would’ve ended up living with my mother and sister, but Nicu had made sure to clarify she’d be with his mother and grandmother instead. Since I wasn’t accommodating Clara in my family’s home, I had little ground to fight this.
Grateful she wasn’t my charge, I spread my arms wide and gave her the kind of smirk I knew would get under her skin. What I was about to do would wound her, but after the slip I had outside, I had to fan her hatred for me. Christ, I could barely wrap my head around four months of her flittering around New York in my clan.
Widening my grin, I taunted, “Welcome to New York, Clara. I’ll do everything in my power to make you feel at home.”
When hell freezes over.
Dear God, the next four months couldn’t be over soon enough.
