He hurries out of the car, then comes to the passenger side and opens my door.
“You were here once,” he says as he pulls me up out of the car and leads me to the door. “And I certainly didn’t trust you then, either. It irritated the hell out of me that you found me here.”
“Oh, that was certainly the point,” I reply with a laugh. “I wanted to frustrate you that day.”
“You succeeded. But today, I’m inviting you.”
“So, this is your home. And I see that it’s not far from your grandmother’s.”
“No.” He unlocks and pushes open the door and then leads me inside. “I loved spending time with her there. And I came to learn that I liked keeping my personal time separate from work. I like our building downtown, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not home.”
I take in the expansive living space with new eyes. The style is very different from the home we just left, but it’s no less opulent or beautiful.
“The kitchen is gorgeous,” I say as we walk through it. “I enjoyed going through your fridge while you fumed.”
He chuckles and leads me past, showing me guest rooms, a workout space, an office, and finally, his master bedroom.
It’s big, but he’s a big man, so it suits him. “More views,” I muse and walk to the door that leads out to a patio and a lush garden.
The master bathroom and drool-worthy walk-in closet are nothing less than what I’d expect of a man like Carmine, someone who definitely enjoys all of the finer things in life. It doesn’t escape me that all of my clothes and personal things are in the closet, hung neatly.
“You have a lovely home,” I say as he pulls me to him. My voice is sincere. It is lovely. “And it suits you.”
“Thank you.”
“You weren’t kidding. All of my things are in that sexy-as-fuck closet. My shampoo is even in the shower.”
“We won’t be living at the penthouse,” he confirms. “I hope that doesn’t upset you.”
Upset me? No. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little confused as to where this was going.
Then again, maybe I’m just overthinking things. It doesn’t have to go anywhere.
He kisses me, long and slow, as we stand in the middle of his bedroom. “We have time for a nap.”
I smile at the suggestion. “Do we have time for more than a nap?”
His brown eyes narrow with lusty mischief. “Oh, yeah. We can manage that.”
* * *
The drive into the city doesn’t take long. With an hour of sleep and a round of lazy sex behind us, I feel surprisingly rejuvenated.
And I’m excited to see my father.
I’ve been in constant contact with him since the incident at the casino in Cannes. He accepted Carlo’s invitation to meet in Seattle—much to my surprise and delight.
Carmine parks in the underground lot of his building. Rather than hitting the button for the penthouse in the elevator, he pushes the one for the tenth floor.
I raise a brow.
“This is the office.”
“Your father’s office?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “That’s on the twentieth floor. Don’t worry, you’ll see. It’s more comfortable. Less imposing.”
When we arrive at what used to be a condo but is now a beautiful office space, I see that he’s right.
Rather than a large desk where an authority figure might sit, there are sofas, tables, and workspaces throughout. Someone stocked the kitchen with everything a person could ever need or want.
The decorations, in muted colors, are perfect for making someone feel comfortable and at ease.
Less than a minute after we arrive, Carlo walks in with Rafe right behind him.
His face lifts into a smile as he shakes Carmine’s hand. “Welcome home, son. Hello, Nadia. You look lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, she does. She’s the spitting image of her mother,” my papa says from the doorway. “Hello, little one.”
“Papa!” I run over and kiss him on the cheek, then take his hand and lead him into the room. “I’m so happy to see you. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“For you, I would fly to the end of the world.” He cups my face and gives me a wink, then turns to Carlo and his sons. “Hello, my friend. Thank you for inviting me into your city.”
“Thank you for coming,” Carlo says as the two men shake hands. “My son made it clear that what he and Nadia have to tell us is very important.”
“It is,” I assure them both as we all take seats. I glance at Carmine, giving him a silent nod to go ahead.
“As you all know, Nadia and I were vacationing in Europe. A little holiday after discovering that Richard was responsible for killing Armando and several others. We thought the situation was settled with Rich’s death.”
He glances at me, and I pick up the story.