His To Keep (6 page)

She raised her hands to hold onto him—and he released her.

One second, he held her tight against him, exactly where she’d wanted to be since forever. The next, he stood across the room with his back to her. Just as he had when she was nineteen and he’d broken her heart.

She heard him mutter something under his breath—something that sounded like, “Son of a bitch.” But she couldn’t be sure because her heart beat so loudly, she could barely hear over it.

She focused on his rigid back, forced herself to regain some semblance of control.

He’d kissed her, yes, but he obviously wasn’t pleased he’d done it.

And that hurt.

Okay, don’t think about that. Get angry. Tell him to go to hell. Tell him you don’t want him to touch you again.

Bald-faced lies, but she had to say something. She just couldn’t stand here and let him do this to—

“I’m sorry.”

His husky words stopped her train of thought faster than his kiss had.

“Sorry?” Sorry, he hadn’t asked her permission? Sorry he’d kissed her?

Damn it, he better not be sorry about that. Her chin lifted at the same time he turned back to face her, so the look on her face probably didn’t give him much reason to think he was going to be forgiven.

Still, he didn’t go cold on her. Instead, his expression took on that reserved look he saved for the few seedy-looking clients who made their way through the doors at DeMarcos. That look gave nothing away.

Two could play that game. She hadn’t gained a reputation for being an icy bitch for nothing.

“Sorry for what?” The bite in her tone was unavoidable.

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

She opened her mouth to throw his apology back in his face—until his words sunk in. Scared her? What was he—

She glanced down and saw her hands shake. So much so they continued to shake even when she’d clenched them in front of her. Her entire body trembled. Why hadn’t she noticed? How could she have missed it?

“Are you okay?” His tone softened as he spoke, so much so that she heard his concern. Concern for her.

She didn’t know what to say.

Finally, she forced words out of lips still tingling from his kiss. “I’m fine.” Then, with all her strength, she lifted her trembling arm to look at her watch. “I have to get going. I need to get home.”

“I thought you were going to your mother’s?”

Oh, God. Brad would be here to pick her up any minute. Blond Brad with his perfectly tailored suits and his Infiniti. He’d come in here, sweep the place with his discerning eye and find it lacking. He’d never said anything outright, but she knew he wondered why she worked at all. One look at her staring at Nic the way she was right now, and he’d know.

Know she wanted the man standing in front of her. Wanted him to take her in his strong arms and carry her upstairs to his apartment and—

Someone knocked on the door.

She drew in a sharp breath and blinked, more startled than she should have been. Then she closed her eyes tightly to refocus.

She opened them and realized Nic now stood next to her. They weren’t touching, but she could feel his presence like a physical caress against her skin.

“Annie, are you okay?”

She shivered at his tone. He never called her Annie. Such a tiny detail, but it meant so much. And his rough voice made her shiver deep inside. She couldn’t meet his gaze, but she nodded, just a short bob of her head.

“I’m fine.” Neither of them moved, but the door was locked so someone had to let Brad in. She felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

Brad knocked again and the spell broke. Her gaze lifted to settle on Nic’s face, all hard planes and angles, his mouth drawn tight. With regret?

He moved away, into the hall. She heard him open the front door and greet Brad quietly, calmly.

Move, damn it. Do something. Don’t just stand here like you’ve been paralyzed.

She took a deep breath, held it for a ten-count then blew it out. With a force of will that surprised her, she took her overcoat from the rack next to the door and pulled it around her shoulders. She remembered at the last second to pick up her purse. Then she walked to the front door, where the man who’d just kissed her senseless was making small talk with the man her mother hoped she’d marry.

“Hello, Brad.” Her voice was steady, thank God, but she couldn’t raise a smile. Instead, she forced herself to turn to Nic and say, “Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His gaze pinned her in place, making her feel as if she was blistering in the sun. Her skin remembered his touch. Her lips ached for his. She wanted to throw herself at him and demand he kiss her again.

Nic shook his head. “No, you won’t. I’ll see you Monday. Then I may have to go out of town.”

That’s right. It was Friday. They wouldn’t be able to talk until Monday. She felt cheated…and relieved.

She nodded. “I’ll see you then. Have a good weekend, Nic.”

She walked out the door, Brad’s fingers burning against her back.

* * * * *

At seven, Nic parked his truck in the lot of DeMarco Garage on Passayunk Avenue and checked to make sure everything was okay—no broken windows, bay doors closed tight, no suspicious types hanging around.

He hadn’t seen Toni and Mags all week. Since he was headed to his cousin Vinnie’s house for poker night, he decided to drop in at Mags’ first. Maybe the scolding he was likely to get from Toni would take his mind off of kissing Annie.

Why the hell had he done it? He must’ve been nuts. Temporary insanity. Yeah, temporary for the past eight years.

With a sigh, he knocked on the door of the neighboring brick townhouse. Toni answered in a matter of seconds.

“Hey, Nic.” Her offhand tone belied the smile on her face. Since she’d turned twelve a few months ago, hugs had been few and far between. He tugged on the dark brown braid hanging over her shoulder, surprised by the denim skirt and pretty white top she wore.

“Hey, Toni. How’s it going?” He moved inside as she shut the door.

She shrugged, a carbon copy of her mother’s “I’m fine, everything’s fine” shrug.

So, something had to be up.

“Got somewhere to go tonight?” He glanced from the comfortable living room straight through the dining room and the kitchen. He didn’t see Mags.

Toni gave him that shrug again. “Over to the church. There’s some dance or something Mom said I had to go to.”

“I did not say you had to go, Antonia. I said you could go. There’s a difference.”

Nic shifted his gaze to the stairway at the rear of the dining room, where Mags sat on the bottom step, looking at him with the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen. He’d never wondered why his cousin Nino had fallen so hard for her.

“Hey, Nic.” Mags’ voice was thick with south Philly. “You headed over to Vinnie’s?”

He nodded. “Hate to miss Sophie’s spread.”

That brought out her smile. God, the woman was gorgeous with her long dark hair and perfect body. He couldn’t believe she’d never remarried. She attracted men like flies. He knew because he’d been one of those pests before she’d married Nino. But Mags had only ever had eyes for his cousin.

A familiar knife twisted in his chest. “You letting the kid go to a dance? Does she even know how to dance?”

Mags’ eyes flashed with humor. “I don’t think you can call what they do dancing, can you? Looks like some pagan ritual to me.”

Toni huffed but came close enough to Nic’s side that he could put his arm around her if he thought she wouldn’t shy away. “Hey, at least I get out there. You won’t even try. At Uncle Bob’s wedding, four guys must’ve asked you to dance, but you turned them all down.”

“Yeah, well, you got your dancing feet from your father.” Mags spoke without a trace of melancholy. “Mine are both left feet.”

Someone knocked on the door. Toni turned and yelled, “Just a minute,” then ran to kiss her mom goodbye. On her way back through the living room, she stopped to give Nic a tight squeeze around the waist. He embraced her before she could get away, not releasing her until she looking up at him. “Have a good time, kiddo. But not too good.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “I got the speech a million times. Night, Nic.”

He watched until the door closed behind her then turned back to Mags, who came off the steps and sank into the couch with a groan.

“God, Nic, she’s gonna be a teenager in less than a year. Can you believe it?”

He fell into the recliner opposite the couch. “Not really.” He chuckled. “A dance at the church, huh? How’d you get her to go? And dressed like a girl, too?”

Mags flashed him a smile. “She asked me. Said she liked to dance. She’s more like her father every day.”

He let the knife sink a little deeper. “Yeah, Nino would’ve loved that. He could never get enough of it, even though he looked like a live chicken on a hot grill when he danced.”

Mags’ smile turned bittersweet. “We used to have a great time, didn’t we?”

Nic didn’t know if he should answer that question. Yeah, he and Nino and Mags had had a lot of great times before Nino had been killed. And Nic would never forgive himself for the fact that Nino wasn’t here to raise his daughter. And love his wife.

“So, you comin’ over tomorrow to work on the bike?” Mags deliberately changed the subject, her dark eyes knowing. “Toni’s been houndin’ me all week.”

“Yeah. Tell her around noon or so.” He got up to leave, knowing Mags didn’t want to talk about Nino. “I’ll see you then.”

Leaving his car at the garage, he walked the couple of blocks to Vinnie’s house.

His dad had grown up in this neighborhood, his mom only a couple of blocks away. Even so, they hadn’t known each other as kids. Their first meeting had taken place on a Paris side street where Frank, newly minted Army Intel, had decided that Grace, a CIA shadow operative, was a threat to national security.

The only threat Grace had been was to his single status.

After more than twenty years of marriage, they’d decided to settle in Philadelphia, close to both their families. Janey had been about to start junior high school. Jimmy had been at MIT and Nic had been a Ranger.

Correction. He and Nino had been Rangers. They’d gone to Fort Benning together: AIT, Airborne, RIP, Jungle school. They’d been best friends, inseparable.

Until—

Damn. He stopped, right in the middle of the sidewalk. He’d passed Vinnie’s. Taking a deep breath to clear his head, he walked back to the house and rang the doorbell.

He hoped Vinnie had at least a case in the fridge tonight. He needed a beer tranquilizer.

Chapter Four

“No, I don’t need time to think about it.” Annie turned to face Brad. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s best we end this now.”

Brad couldn’t hide his surprise. Or his anger. And that, more than anything, told her she’d made the right decision.

Brad had been in hog heaven tonight and now he looked like she’d taken away his favorite toy. As a junior partner in a downtown firm, the chance to mingle with some of the most-respected and well-known lawyers and judges in Philadelphia was a great opportunity for him.