Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 38276 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38276 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“There are always threats,” Niko says. “I need to be prepared and know that Emilia will be taken care of regardless. You know I’m not used to being responsible for someone else. This is important.”
“Bullshit,” I tell him. “You took me under your wing from day one in the orphanage and never had a second thought about it.”
“That’s different. We had each other’s backs. We survived that hellhole together.”
“True enough, but you wouldn’t let me follow your footsteps within the family,” I add. “You put me through law school. You did everything you could to ensure that the only person I would ever owe is you.”
“You owe me nothing.”
“You’re wrong. I do, even if you won’t let me pay you back.”
Niko waves me off with the flick of his hand. “I pay half of what you charge others, and don’t bother denying it.”
I shrug, knowing it’s true. Hell, charging Niko at all feels wrong. There’s no way he would let me get by with him not paying, however. I also know that if I hadn’t given him a bill, he would have paid triple what I normally charge clients.
“Do this for me and put a rush on it,” Niko says, sliding the folder back to me.
“We need Emilia to sign it, and then I can file the necessary paperwork. After that, I will keep the will and everything else to do with it in my vault. That way, her family will never have access to anything.”
“Good. I’m taking Emilia and her best friend out to dinner tomorrow night. We’re celebrating her graduation. Join us then. I have a reservation at Salsa at six. We can have her sign the papers then,” Niko suggests.
I can't tell by his stoic mask if this is good or bad. The slight crack of a smile in his usually somber face tells me he’s looking forward to seeing Emilia. The truth is, he would do just about anything that woman asked of him. I doubt she knows that and it’s probably a good thing.
“I hate Salsa. It’s a damn tourist trap, not a restaurant,” I tell him, frowning.
“It is, but it’s where Emilia wants to go, and she gets what she wants.”
“One day, you will have to admit that you care for your charge.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Niko says with a grimace, making us both chuckle.
“Eventually, you may even have to admit that you don’t have a heart of ice,” I warn as I get up with the folder. Niko’s grunt of denial follows me out.
I smile, hoping Emilia manages to break through my friend’s cold exterior one day and gives him happiness.
Chapter 2
Zoe
“Can you sit still?” I ask my best friend as I’m finger combing the curls I just put into Emilia’s long, dark hair. We already worked on her makeup, not that she needed a lot. A little lip gloss and mascara for her since she’s naturally pretty. She needed me to help with her hair. She’s so nervous that her hands refuse to stop shaking.
“I can’t. I’m a mess. I don’t want to do this. I’d rather spend the entire night with my annoying cousins or creepy Dante than go to dinner with Niko tonight,” Emilia whines, panic laced in her words. I know her nerves have built up all day. They’re so bad now that she can’t hide them anymore.
I smirk at her, trying to lighten the mood. “Is that why you’re making me join you?” I ask, leaning down so that we’re side by side in the reflection of her mirror. She gives me a sheepish smile.
“Yes! I need you. I never know what to say around Niko. My brain cells just die, and words refuse to come out—at least ones that make sense.
“Oh, my Lord! You better learn how to talk to the man. You’re going to be married to him in less than a year. You’ll have to be alone with him at some point, you know,” I tease her, wiggling my eyebrows. She reads the unspoken innuendo, blushing furiously as it sinks in.
“It’s not like I have a say in anything. He didn’t even ask me to marry him. My father showed me the contract one day, and it took me a year to even meet Niko after that. We have the occasional dinner and talk at business luncheons or parties, but that’s it. I have no idea why he signed the contract to marry me. I assume it’s to climb the ladder in the family. I’m so tired of the family,” Emilia says with a scowl. “Other than my father and Dante, I don’t think any of my family likes me.”
“I doubt that’s it. Niko doesn’t seem that type,” I argue. “If that was a reason he would actually get married, he’d go after someone like Alexandra. Her father has a little more power than yours, right?”