“Yes,” Dante said in a shrill tone. “Don’t come knocking if you have a bad dream. I won’t answer.”
Angelo laughed. “Not like you’d be there.”
“Why?” I asked Dante. “Don’t you sleep?”
He shrugged. “Not really.”
“If you need anything,” Nico added, “come see me.”
Angelo came up beside me and put his hand on my ass like he had every right to touch me. “If you have a nightmare, you can sleep in my bed. But I doubt you’ll do much sleeping.”
“Oh, my God.” I moved toward Nico to get Angelo’s hand off my ass. “I’m not a child. I don’t have nightmares. I’ve lived on my own for years. And I will be fine without your help, thank you very much.”
Angelo grabbed my ass, ripping a scream from my mouth. “You know where to find me, college girl.” Then he tapped Stefan on the shoulder. “C’mon, I need your help with something.”
Stefan gave me one of his cute smiles, then walked away with his twin.
“Nicodemus.” Dante stuffed his hands into his pockets, wearing an annoyed expression. He would have been hotter if he smiled once in a while. “Help Ava get ready for dinner. Don’t be late.”
Without another word, he strolled out of the living room. And when all three of them were gone, I turned to look at Nico.
He extended his hand to me. “I’ll show you around.”
I slipped my fingers between his and let him lead the way. “Why do you act so differently with them?”
Nico led me up the spiral staircase, his big hand dwarfing mine. “It’s easier to let Dante handle everything.”
“But why? You seem fully capable of making your own decisions.”
“We fight a lot because of my mom,” he confessed. “He’s hated me since we were kids. That’s why he calls me Nicodemus when everyone else calls me Nico. It’s his way of disrespecting me. To point out that I’m not his equal.”
“I don’t get why you put up with him. He’s so mean.”
Nico shrugged, indifferent. “Dante has a lot of responsibilities. One day, he will be the boss of our family and still have to run the casino and the hotel. The rest of us have it easy compared to him. So we go with the flow.”
“He hates you because your dad cheated on his wife with your mom?”
Nico nodded as we entered the master bedroom at the end of the corridor. “He’s been holding it against me since I was born. I never had a shot with Dante.”
“How about with the twins?”
Another shrug. “They are loyal to Dante. But they’re not complete dicks. We’re only five years apart and did things together when we were kids. Dante is ten years older than the twins. He’s more like a father figure to Angelo and Stefan.”
The bedroom had double doors and a king-size bed with tons of pillows, decorated in black and gold. There was a small patio with a table and chairs. I could see myself sitting out there to watch the sunrise in the morning.
We had a fantastic view of the Atlantic Ocean from every window in the penthouse. Dante was right about having perks. Because this was hands-down the most lavish place I’d ever slept, let alone lived.
Nico went straight into the enormous walk-in closet that was the size of my bedroom at my college apartment. It was like something out of a dream—wall-to-wall racks of designer shoes and clothing. Dozens of expensive gowns and dresses were all in my size.
“How did you guys know my sizes?” I pulled open a drawer and sifted through the bras. “Spot on. Even my shoe size.”
“We know everything about you.”
I dropped the lacy black bra into the drawer and closed it, turning my gaze back to him. “Like that’s not creepy. And how did you get such knowledge? My cup size isn’t in the public record.”
He flashed an evil grin. “It’s best you don’t know some things.” Then he handed me a Versace jersey-paneled leather mini dress. “Wear this tonight.”
I took it from him, giving it a once over before looking up at him. “This is a little too sexy for dinner with our parents.”