“Dante, I run Moonbeam; how am I supposed to get donors after—”
“Donors are not going to be a problem,” he assured her.
Angry with his nonchalant response, Nadia went for the door.
“I’m sorry.” Dante grabbed her arm, stopping her from taking another step. “I’m sorry I dragged you into any of this,” he apologized sincerely, bringing her closer to him and resting his head on hers.
Nadia’s breath hitched. It was the closest they had been since …
She took a deep breath, trying not to go back to that night on the yacht. She needed to keep her head straight enough to leave.
“Listen, this is a lot. I just need to go home and clear my head, okay? I can come back tomorrow, and we can talk about this after a good night’s rest.” She emphasized the word this for whatever the hell was happening between them. They had yet to talk about what they were or if there was even a possibility of them. But she was sure Dante didn’t even know himself yet.
Slowly, he nodded his head against hers then pulled away to let her leave. “Good night, Nadia.”
She thought watching Leo tell her goodbye was hard, but this was excruciating, and they weren’t even saying bye; it was just for one night. “Good night, Dante.”
* * *
Waiving Amo goodbye, she unlocked her apartment door, only to be tackled as soon as the door was closed.
“I’ve been worried sick.” A familiar, sweet woman squeezed her to death for an eternity before she pulled away and started hitting her. “You scared the shit out of me, Nadia!”
“I’m sorry.” She laughed, trying to dodge the love hits. “I sent you a text saying I lost my phone, but I was all right!”
“You’re supposed to be the responsible one. How could you lose your phone?”
“Yeah, well, it’s surprisingly not hard when you’re getting shot at.” The smart comeback slipped through her lips.
“What?” Haley suddenly stopped hitting her. “You were shot at?”
“Yes—”
Nadia got the breath knocked out of her when Haley grabbed her for a hug again. “But I’m fine,” she assured her best friend that she didn’t even get a scratch on her.
“Thank God!” Haley cried then pulled herself together. “What the hell happened?”
Nadia was able to answer simply, “Dante Caruso happened.”
Her friend’s mouth dropped open. Then, seeming to remember something, she went to the coffee table and picked up today’s paper. “Oh, I know.”
Going over, she slipped the paper from Haley’s hand and took a seat on the couch, staring down at it ominously. “Yeah, well, he gives Tony Montana a run for his money.”
“Spill,” Haley said, sitting down next to her.
Knowing Haley would go to her grave with what she would tell her, she spilled everything that had happened since she had walked into the hotel casino on Friday to today, letting her know that the rumors about Dante Caruso were true.
There were several moments of silence after she got done with her story while Haley took in everything she had said before she spoke. “Do you know what you’re going to do or say to him tomorrow?”
Nadia shook her head, staring down at the black and white photo again. “I think I really like him,” she finally admitted, more to herself than to Haley. “But I don’t think he’d ever care for me the way I feel myself beginning to care for him.” It was true and blatantly obvious that the man she was falling for in a mere weekend had already given his heart away to another woman many years ago, his heart that was now buried along with her.
“You sure about that?” Haley asked softly, pointing at Dante’s face in the photo.
As she let her eyes drift, her heart skipped a beat. She had been so focused on herself in the bathtub, as it was humiliating to be undressed on the front page of the newspaper in her city, that she hadn’t really gotten a good look at him.
The way Dante looked at her was the way any woman would dream to be looked at. There was so much care, tenderness, and … love in a single look that it had Nadia wanting to run back to the casino hotel right now.
“By the way, you forgot to mention how hot he was in that folder of yours that you made of him. I would have picked him if I kne—”
“Desmond!” Nadia gasped, remembering Haley had had her own meeting. “How did it go?”
“Well …” Haley started, not knowing where to begin, “I think I might have gotten you more than just a donation.”
“What?” Nadia screamed in excitement. “Spill!”
“I will, but not tonight,” she told her. “Your story is enough for one night, so we’ll save mine and Desmond’s for another day. Now, I’m going to bed before you make me spoil it.” Haley laughed, quickly starting to leave. She knew if she stayed there, Nadia would have it out of her in five minutes, and they needed to get some rest.