Chapter Twenty-Three
GAbrIELLA-ROSE
I'D HAD AN AMAZING morning with Nico. We had sat down for most of it just enjoying some movies and spending time together. Whenever he was with Hudson, they would play off of each other, but he only showed his kind and caring side to me. Throughout the movies, we were snuggled up together, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as though I was disrespecting my relationship with Hudson. It somehow felt right, as if this was what Hudson would want. I couldn’t tell you why, but with Hudson just saying that he wanted me to get to know Nico, I felt that this was what he wanted too.
I knew that Hudson had wanted to talk this evening, and I had decided that I needed to be honest with him and tell him about my feelings for Nico. I was way past the point of caring about him; I was head over heels in love with him. With both of them. I knew I was risking a lot, but keeping it to myself was only hurting all of us. I hoped that both of them would understand and would accept it, but I wasn’t sure if they would. We would just have to see tonight.
When Nico had suggested that I should go up and have a long, relaxing bath, I didn’t need to think twice. It would give me a chance to unwind and get ready for the evening ahead, whatever that might entail. I got undressed as the bath was running and then immersed myself into the hot, foamy water. The scent of the essential oils relaxed my entire body and cleared my mind of everything I had been through the past five years.
As I lay there, I went through in my head exactly what I was going to say to Hudson tonight. I wondered to myself if I should ask Nico to stay while I spoke to Hudson. After all, it affected him as well. However, how would Hudson take that when it was just meant to be the two of us this evening?
My head was awash with questions. Did I just come out with it and say that I loved Nico? Did I ask Hudson whether he would consider a relationship where he shared me with his best friend? Did I speak to Nico first to see what he thought?
The more I thought about the situation and tonight, the more questions came to my head, but no answers. There was no point in me dwelling on them. I had to just clear my mind and get ready for the evening. I finished my bath and I had just gotten out when Nico came to check on me, making sure I had not fallen asleep.
I heard him walk into my bedroom and stand outside my bathroom door before he spoke.
“You haven’t fallen asleep in there, have you, Rosa?”
I laughed as I wrapped myself up in the towel. “I just got out. So no, I haven’t fallen asleep.”
“Okay, bellissima. I will wait for you downstairs. There is no rush. We still have plenty of time.”
I listened as he walked out of my bedroom and closed the door. It hadn’t escaped my notice that he had called me beautiful again. Why did he keep doing that? It couldn’t be a term of endearment, because he knew that I was his best friend’s girl. I shook the thought from my head and carefully opened the bathroom door, just in case Nico hadn’t left the room. I wasn’t worried, but I really didn’t want to give him the wrong – or right, in my case – idea. Not yet, anyway.
When I was sure that he wasn’t in the room, I walked over to the closet. I had already planned what I was going to wear. Hudson had completely filled my walk-in closet full of dresses and clothes for me to wear. I had been well and truly spoiled. I’d picked out a gorgeous red dress with matching lingerie, gold shoes, and accessories. It was perfect and brought out my complexion and color of my hair. I laid my clothes on the bed and proceeded to dry my hair.
I knew that Hudson loved my hair in its natural form, so I dried it into its natural ringlets. I got myself dressed and looked at myself in the mirror. The dress he had purchased fitted me perfectly, accentuating my curves. I looked absolutely amazing, even without any makeup on. I was just about to sit down and start my makeup when I heard raised voices downstairs.
I couldn’t make out what was being said from inside my room, but I could tell that there were two men arguing downstairs. One was definitely Nico, but the other voice also sounded familiar. I couldn’t place where I’d heard it before, however. I walked over toward the door and opened it. Quietly, I stepped toward the top of the stairs, making sure that I was still out of sight. It was then I realized exactly who was downstairs arguing with Nico.
Vincent.
I rushed back to my room, hoping that I hadn’t been heard, and closed the door as quietly as I could, locking it behind me.
I could feel the panic rising inside me as the argument continued downstairs. I tried to hold back the tears as much as I could, but I couldn’t stop them from falling as my whole body shook in fear. I couldn’t understand how Vincent had found us so quickly. Why did he have to spoil everything again?
My anxiety was rising with every moment. Whatever they were saying downstairs, it was a very heated discussion. Part of me wanted to go back to the top of the stairs to listen, but the thoughts of what Vincent had put me through had me rooted to the spot.
The argument seemed to be going on forever when all of a sudden, it went quiet. I continued to sit on the bed, waiting to hear what was going on. There was nothing. Just deathly silence except for the sound of my heart beating fast ringing in my ears. I heard footsteps come toward the door and nearly screamed when there was a knock on it.
It was then that I heard the sweetest most calming voice from the other side.
“Rosa, it’s me, Nico. It’s okay. It’s just the two of us here.”
Without a thought, I rushed over to the door, unlocked it, and quickly opened it. I couldn’t help myself as I saw him standing there. I flung my arms around him; instantly, he embraced me, rubbing my back and sending shivers through my body. The relief of him standing there caused the tears to start falling again.
“It’s okay, Rosa. He’s gone. It’s just the two of us now.”
He continued to rub circles on my back, slowly eradicating the anxiety I was feeling. He continued to talk quietly, reassuring me with every word.
“He will never get close to you, Rosa. I promise I will always protect you.”
The tears started to slow, and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. I knew he meant every word of his statement, and that I would always be safe with him. I pulled out of his embrace and found myself looking at his lips. I was desperate to kiss them. He smiled back at me, took my hand, and raised it to his lips, pressing a delicate kiss to the back of my hand.
He met my eyes again as he stepped away from me. I couldn’t make out how he was feeling, he almost looked sad or disappointed as he spoke.
“We still have a little while before we need to leave, so you can get yourself sorted. Come downstairs when you are ready.”
With that he turned away and headed back downstairs. I stood there for a moment, wondering how I had upset him, but I knew that I had to get ready. Even if I couldn’t have a relationship with Nico, I still had one with Hudson, and I intended to keep it. I walked into the bathroom and washed my face, trying to remove the remnants of my tears, then went back into the bedroom, sat back down at my dressing table, and started to apply my makeup.
I had learned a lot from the auction. I remembered everything Scarlet had done and taught me that evening. I followed her instructions and looked at the woman sitting in front of me. Okay, I hadn’t done as good a job as Scarlet had, but it was pretty close.
I got up from my seat, grabbed my purse and coat, and headed downstairs, where I knew Nico would be waiting. I found him in the kitchen, drinking coffee as usual. As he heard me enter the room, he turned to look at me.
“Well? What do you think?” I twirled around like a little girl showing her best friend her new dress.
I saw a look of lust come over Nico’s face, one that I had never seen before. He got up from his chair and walked over to me, bowed his head, and took my hand in his and kissed it again.
“Assolutamente magnifico, bellissimo. Hudson is an extremely lucky man. Come on, it’s time to go.”
I could feel myself starting to blush at his actions and words. Him saying that I looked absolutely magnificent and calling me gorgeous again gave me hope. I went to follow Nico out of the kitchen when it suddenly hit me.
What if Vincent was in the parking lot, waiting for us to leave? He could follow us and then he would know I was here and that I was with Hudson. I stopped in my tracks.
“Nico, what about Vincent? He could be waiting for us and follow us to the club. Then he will know all about me and Hudson.”
I could feel the panic building inside me again as I watched Nico turn around and walk back over to me. He placed his hand on mine and held it.
“Don’t worry. We are going down to the private parking lot. He won’t be able to find us or follow us.”
I looked at Nico, confused. What private parking lot? I had only ever left from the parking lot below the building. Anyone could drive in there with a pass, and the entrance was onto the main road. He would only have to sit out there and would see us as we left.
Nico saw my confusion and spoke. “You have never had to go to that one, because up until now we didn’t think there was any threat. However, from now on we will use the private one that Hudson and I own. It has a private elevator down to it, which can only be accessed from this apartment. The exit is through a tunnel under the city and comes out nearly three blocks away. Vincent will never find us. Now, let’s not keep Hud waiting.”
I allowed Nico to guide me to a door toward the back of the apartment. I had wondered where this door went, but had never dared to go through it. To my surprise, it was actually an elevator, which opened when Nico placed a key fob onto the pad, and we entered together.
When we arrived at the parking lot, I was shocked to see the number of cars that were parked down here. I could see Nico smirking at me as I gazed in amazement at the vehicles.
“Who owns all these?”
“Some are mine, and some are Hud’s. There are a couple of my team that occasionally park here, but not often.”
We walked over to a large black 4x4 which unlocked as soon as Nico opened the door.
“This one is mine. It’s completely safe and bulletproof. Just in case.”
Why the hell would we need a bulletproof car? The shock I was feeling was clear for Nico to see, because his face dropped instantly.
“That would be a story for another day, Rosa. Please don’t worry. I don’t mean we will need it tonight. I just feel more comfortable knowing that should something happen, you will be safe. Now, do you want to ride in the back or shotgun?”
The thought of being next to Nico for a while longer made my heart skip.
“Shotgun.” I blurted it out without taking a moment to think.
Nico just chuckled and brought me around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for me. It was then that I realized that my choice of dress wasn’t really conducive to climbing up into a vehicle of this size, not that I’d known I would have to. I looked down to see where I could put my feet and immediately felt two strong arms grab me by the waist and place me into the passenger seat.
Blushing, I spoke. “Thank you.”
“Prego.” With that, Nico closed the door, walked around the car and got up into the driver’s seat. “Shall we go and meet Hud?”
I smiled and nodded as we drove off through the tunnel. All the while, the butterflies were going around in my stomach as I thought of what I was going to say tonight.