Solving For Nic (29 page)

He kissed her back and started to move. Her arms collapsed beneath her and she turned her face until her cheek pressed into the mattress. She watched his hand digging into the mattress next to hers. She smiled to herself then eased her trembling fingers over. She hooked her pinky over his thumb, and held on while Nic drove them both wild.

Nic shifted in surprise when Lizzie covered his hand with hers to stop him from tapping the wooden armrest with his fingers. She gave him a reassuring smile which startled him more than her unexpected touch had. He turned his hand palm up and she slid her fingers between his and squeezed.

Nic couldn’t remember the last time anyone had tried to reassure him about anything. The warmth of her touch and her smile chased the churning sickness pumping through him and he relaxed. He was coming to terms with the way Lizzie affected him on such a visceral level.

“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered, turning her face away from the receptionist darting nervous glances at them. “I don’t care what they say about me.”

“I do,” Nic clipped out, squeezing her hand back when his voice came out sharper than he intended. He’d lost count of how many times Lizzie had told him he didn’t have to do what he was planning. It made him more determined to do it. He’d wanted to sever this tie for a long time. Lizzie gave him the perfect excuse. Nic shifted again in the uncomfortable chair, catching the brown envelope before it fell to the floor. “He’s not getting away with this. Not when I bailed him out of bankruptcy.”

“Bankruptcy?”

Nic nodded. “He’s only good at one thing and it’s not business.”

“It’s not decorating either.” Lizzie leaned in with one of her conspiratorial whispers. “This place is a total renaissance fail.”

His laugh drew the receptionist’s attention again. “Are you sure I can’t get you coffee? He shouldn’t be much longer.”

“If I asked you stay out here, would you do it?”

“Maybe.” She gave him a playful smile that made him want to forget the whole thing and make off with her. “Since you’re defending my honor and all.”

She stood when he did and wrapped her arms around him. He rested his forehead on hers. “Don’t disappear.”

He suppressed the sigh of pleasure as her hands brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders, then smoothed down his chest. She straightened his tie. “Don’t worry, Mr. Darcy. You’re stuck with me now that I’ve seen your penthouse apartment.”

He grinned, waiting patiently while she made sure he was presentable. His eyes closed when her fingers stroked along his jaw. He was starting to feel like a cat who wanted to be stroked all the time. He breathed deeply enjoying the lightness of his chest. When he opened his eyes he found her smiling up at him, all sorts of things shining through her eyes. Things he had never considered letting into his life.

“Go get him,” she whispered, then turned toward the nervous receptionist. “You know, coffee sounds like a great idea. Can you show me where it is?”

Thankful for something to do, the girl jumped to her feet and led Lizzie around the corner. Nic reached under the desk and pressed the door release. The double doors slid open, and Nic slipped into the person he never wanted to be again once he left this place for good.

“Nicolas, you can’t burst in here. I’m in a meeting.”

A meeting? Nic’s gaze swept the room, sizing it up in less than a second.

Red Baker rose to his feet. Baker had been Andreas’ attorney for years. He’d referred him to Winston Robicheaux when Andreas had decided to sue the De Santis Trust after Claudia took Nic out of boarding school. Nic ignored the older man’s attempted greeting. He had nothing for Baker.

He hadn’t expected to find Angie. The way she avoided his eyes told him Lizzie had been right. Angie had sent those roses and bracelet. It gutted him but he was too furious to feel it.

“You want to tell me what this is about?” Nic slid the envelope across Andreas’ desk like a shot of whiskey down a saloon bar.

Andreas stopped it before it careened off the slick desktop. “It’s an insurance policy.” Andreas straightened to his full height, but Nic could sense the defensiveness in the stance. He lifted the envelope and dropped it on the desk. “Now the swamp rat your sister made the mistake of marrying will stop contesting the divorce and give her full custody.”

“Except it’s a pack of lies,” Nic shot back at him. “If you think I’m going to let you drag Lizzie’s name through the mud like this—”

“What do you mean it’s not true?” Angie’s voice shook. “She’s in Orange Beach with him. What more proof do you need?”

“She’s with me, Angie,” Nic said impatiently. “How many times do I have to tell you he is not cheating on you with Lizzie?”

“How do you know?” Her hands clenched into fists and Nic realized she wanted to believe him. It was the first glimmer of hope.

“Trust me. I know.”

“Nic, you should read the file before…” Red Baker trailed off when Nic’s attention focused on him. Baker shrugged, sat down and got busy on his phone.

“It’s too late. Rogan’s agreed to give me full custody if I’ll agree to stay in New Orleans.”

“We’re going to fight that too,” Andreas inserted.

Nic ignored him, keeping his focus on Angie. “You should move to New Orleans.” As soon as the words left him he knew it was what he wanted. The plan formed in his head as he spoke. “I’m moving my headquarters—”

“What?” Andreas’ tone rose with indignation. “Houston is your home.”

Nic stopped ignoring him. Incredulous rage made it hard to speak as he turned on the other man. “My home?” He tasted the word, then spit it back out. “Home? You have some nerve tossing that word at me. Houston has never been my home.”

“What is? Florence?” Derision twisted Andreas’ too handsome features.

“No, you made sure Italy wasn’t my home either.” An eerie calm settled over him.

Andreas stepped back. “Well it won’t be in some backwoods Louisiana swamp.”

“You have no say in anything I do.” Nic kept his words calm, while Andreas’ temper grew with each syllable. “You never did. As soon as I leave here, we’re done.”

“You ungrateful…” He choked on righteous indignation when Nic’s expression cut him off. Then Andreas turned nasty. “Fine, Nicolas. I’m not surprised. You are just like your mother. You think you’re so superior, but you still like to chase after trash.”

The response blew out of Nic without warning. “I’m nothing like my mother but—” he paused for effect. He wanted to say it for so long, “—I’m very much like my father.”

Andreas went white. Then gray. The painstakingly preserved handsome features dissolved into a fury Nic had seen on him only once before but this time, Andreas’ fist came down hard on the desk and not on Nic. “Nicolas Maretti, you are my son. I raised you. Me!”

Nic’s head snapped back, almost laughing out loud at the other man’s gall. “You raised me? Seriously? Is that what you call it?”

“You sign my name when you put pen to paper. I’m your father and you’d better—”

“You are not my father.” Nic exploded without warning, oblivious to Angie’s shocked cry. The words ripped out of him, cutting his final tie to the lie this man and his mother’s family had forced him to live. “My uncle told me everything and if you continue using Lizzie to destroy your daughter’s marriage, I’ll make sure the whole world knows it.”

“You won’t. You don’t want to air your mother’s dirty laundry in public.”

Nic shook his head in disbelief. “My mother has been dead more than twenty-five years. I don’t think the scandal will hurt her but it will hurt you, Andreas. Claudia will see you for what you are.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I absolutely would. Leave Lizzie and her family alone or I will take you down piece by piece. Maretti may be your company but only because I bailed you out. Don’t forget who holds the paper on all your assets. Keep it up and I’ll sell every scrap of it to Mac Sellers for pennies on the dollar and I will make sure the whole world knows who you are.”

“You would risk everything for some no-name piece of white trash one generation out of a trailer park?”

Rage slammed hard into Nic. “You want to test your theory? Insult her again.”

Lizzie stood outside the office doors, listening to Nic and Andreas shouting at each other. She flinched at each harsh word. Oddly enough, hearing Andreas Maretti call her white trash didn’t bother her nearly as much as the raw fury straining Nic’s voice. Her stomach turned inside out as his anger set fire to her rare temper.

Her fingers tightened into fists as her side and she turned towards the receptionist who pushed the button under her desk without having to be asked. When the doors opened, Lizzie didn’t hesitate. She walked into the office then stopped short. Nic was pale and shaking with anger. His jaw was clenched so hard his teeth would shatter any minute. She looked from Nic to the pompous old man screaming back at him. They didn’t notice her.

Yeah, she was putting an end to this. No one talked to Nic like that. Not with her around. A strange wave of protectiveness swelled up inside her and Lizzie rode it all the way into the room. She caught Nic’s trembling hand, lacing her fingers with his and trying not to let go when he jumped.

He looked down at her, astonishment stopping him midsentence. His mouth gaped, his eyes widened. He couldn’t believe she was standing in front of him. She tried to smile, but the horror in his eyes was so intense instinct told her there was no way to soothe him. No way to make this better. There was nothing she could say to make up for the abuse he’d suffered from Andreas Maretti and it wasn’t helping his ego that she’d caught him at a weak moment.

Not knowing what else to do, she took a deep breath and decided to be the party girl one more time. The last thing she wanted to do was add to the melodrama in the room. She kept her face blank and her tone exasperated as she released a long sigh. “I’m bored, Nic. Can we go?”

He closed his mouth, then opened it again. Then Andreas exploded. “You brought the whore responsible for destroying your sister’s marriage here?”

Lizzie flinched then slapped both hands over her mouth so she wouldn’t burst into laughter. It was like a bad B-movie. All Andreas Maretti needed was a white cat and a tank of sharks with laser beams on their heads. He was absurd.

She stepped in front of Nic, turning toward the sputtering blowhard. Andreas stared at her, disgust rampant in his artificially smooth face.

“Are you for real?” She choked back more laughter. She glanced over her shoulder. “That’s the big bad?” She turned back to Andreas. The murderous expression on the old man’s face making even more determined to get Nic out the room. “Gotta say, I’m not impressed.”

“Get your whore out of my sight,” Andreas exploded and this time Lizzie giggled.

“Me?” She sputtered with laughter. “I’m not the one wearing guy-liner!”

“What?” Nic rasped.

She turned, grabbed Nic’s hand, and laced their fingers together. “He’s wearing guy-liner.”

Nic stared at her, then looked past her to Andreas.

“Bor…ing,” she sing-songed, dragging his attention back. She smiled up at him, resisting the urge to sob in relief as the painful edge of fury melted away from him.

His expression softened into wonder. “Guy-liner?” he whispered to himself.

“I know, right? That’s so over.”

Nic looked down and found Lizzie rolling her eyes and patting her mouth with her fingers to suppress a fake yawn. For a second, Nic had no idea who she was.

Andreas went ballistic behind her but she ignored it. She smiled up at him and Nic saw her. The real her. Mac Sellers’ daughter. An easygoing, light-hearted public persona concealed an exceptional intelligence and fierce loyalty. She was solid steel under her candy coating. She was ready to shred Andreas Maretti in his own office. She could do it too. Nic had no doubt.

He’d been so completely wrong about her, despite what he’d been telling himself and her. She’d been an amusing change of pace. An indulgence. An asset. An extension of himself.

He’d been a complete fool. The depth of his stupidity was extraordinary.

A future Nic had never considered played out in front of him. A shared life with this amazing, intelligent woman he didn’t deserve. She filled in all his gaps. She softened the edges of his world, creating a shelter around them that reduced the bane of his existence to background noise.