Part 24 (1/2)
”No. I'm not going to say anything unless he does first.”
”Wow, that's real mature.”
Rosalie sat back and firmly put on her woman-in-charge persona. ”Gina, if he's the one who's the source of the rumors and possibly has ties to someone inside, do we really want to let him know we're on to him?”
Gina blew her hair out of her eyes, stood, and locked gazes with Rosalie. ”Is that the only reason you're not confronting him? Or are you waiting for him to confess all and beg for forgiveness?”
Well, yeah, that, too, but she'd take that little factoid to her grave. Rosalie stared Gina down until her a.s.sistant gave in, looked away, and strode out the door without another word.
Rosalie picked up the phone and dialed Nick.
Nick closed his cell phone. Rosalie was late. She didn't know when she'd be home, and she sounded stressed and exhausted. Nick rubbed Dave's head, which was resting on his lap, and looked around the apartment.
”Come on, boy. Let's go get something for dinner. We'll surprise your mom when she gets home.” Dave waited by the door with his tail wagging.
They headed to Vinny's restaurant and went in through the back door.
Vinny turned around, eyeing Nick and Dave. He pointed at Dave and wagged his finger. ”You keep that mutt outta my kitchen.”
”You know, Dave has better manners than you do. Don't talk about him that way.” Nick widened his stance, because Dave had begun leaning on his leg. He'd learned from experience that, unless you were prepared, when Dave leaned all the way-you fell over. ”Dave, down.”
Dave gave him one of his you-gotta-be-kidding looks.
”You want a meatball, you behave.”
Dave lay down at the threshold to the kitchen, and Nick stepped over him.
”I need dinner, something nice. It sounds as if Lee's had an awful day. I'm not sure when she'll be home, so it has to be something that will keep.”
Vin flipped something in a frying pan and set it down on the stove. ”What do I look like, the freaking Barefoot Contessa? I hear she lives in the Hamptons; you want I should give you directions? Oh, right, you know how to get there. You got a freakin' house out there. So why are you here bugging me?”
”Come on, Vin, I just want to... I don't know... make Lee feel better, you know?” ”I know you got it bad. That's what I know.” ”Cut it out, Vin.”
”Cut it out, Vin,” he parroted back. ”Nino, I need two chicken cacciatores cacciatores to go, give them extra pasta, and throw in a half-dozen meatb.a.l.l.s for the mutt. Oh, and box up a few to go, give them extra pasta, and throw in a half-dozen meatb.a.l.l.s for the mutt. Oh, and box up a few cannolis cannolis while you're at it. Nick and I are going to step into my office.” while you're at it. Nick and I are going to step into my office.”
Nick looked over at Dave, who had fallen asleep. ”Nino, keep an eye on Dave for me, okay?”
”Sure, sure. I keep an eye on everything. I cook, I clean, I dog sit. Go. Go!”
Nick followed Vinny to his office off the kitchen. Vin sat behind the desk, spun around in his chair, and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels. ”You want whiskey or wine?”
”Neither. What do you need, Vin?”
”I'm just looking out for my baby cousin-”
”Come on, I'm no baby, and you know it.”
Vinny poured a gla.s.s of Jack for himself and rolled it around the gla.s.s, sniffed it, then took a sip. ”Ah... Okay, here's what I need to say. I think you're getting in over your head with this girl. You're going to end up with a broken heart if you don't watch out.”
”Oh, right. Have you ever seen me get attached to a woman?”
”No, but then you've never come to the restaurant wanting to bring a woman a nice dinner because she's had a lousy day, either. Matter-of-fact, if some chick you were seeing had a lousy day, you were either the reason her day was lousy or running as fast as you could in the opposite direction.”
”Lee is different. She doesn't try to trick me, and she's not after my money. She's not one of those women who make you prove you care by expecting you to jump through hoops like a toy poodle. Lee is fun and nice, and she's low maintenance. When I do something for her, she's floored. When she smiles, it means so much more because it's real. She's real.”
”Like I said, you got it bad.”
Nick shook his head. ”You've been drinking too much. Lee and I have a good time together. So what? I like her.”
”Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Vinny took a sip of his drink and leaned back in his chair. ”Now listen up, I'm only going to say this once. That way when you're in bad shape after having your heart stomped on and shoved down your throat, I won't have to kick you when you're down.” He leaned forward, as if he were about to pa.s.s along a golden tidbit of age-old wisdom. ”Dominick Romeo, what did I tell you? You never listen to me. See, I told you she'd break that heart of yours. I told you this would happen, remember?”
”Vin, you are as bad as Nana. Next, you'll be saying I should get married and bring you bambinos to rock to sleep.”
”It'd be nice to have a baby around. I love kids, you know that.”
”You're scaring me, Vin. Do yourself a favor and get rid of the bottle. Go to a meeting.” Nick backed out of the office, afraid Vin would throw something at him.
”Ha, ha, very funny. You are so f.u.c.ked, my friend.”
”Whatever. Put the bill on my tab. I'm out of here.”
Vinny's off-key rendition of the wedding march followed Nick down the hall toward the kitchen.
On his way out, Nick stopped by the wine cellar and grabbed a nice bottle he was sure Vin would curse him out about later. Served Vinny right for giving him s.h.i.+t about Rosalie.
Nick drove back to the apartment, discounting everything Vinny had said. Hadn't Nick sworn off marriage? He'd told Vin a million times that he was putting an end to the Romeo line. h.e.l.l, he'd even made Vin and Mona the beneficiaries of his estate, and their kids after them. He had no intention of repeating Romeo history.
Sure, Nick liked Rosalie more than all the others put together. That was true, but only because she was different. They were a pair, neither of them wanting to turn into their parents. Not that Nick remembered his father, but he'd heard enough about the b.a.s.t.a.r.d to know he'd become a carbon copy... only he warned the girls not to fall for him, and he took off before he married them. Oh, yeah, and he used birth control.
When Nick got to the apartment, he struggled with the four freakin' locks on the d.a.m.n door while juggling the bags containing dinner. He heard the phone ringing. Thinking it might be Rosalie, he pushed the door open and hurried in.
The machine picked up ”Hey, little sis, I thought you'd be home by now. How ya doing, kiddo? Ma said something about a boyfriend? He better be treating you right, but Lord knows, he can't be any worse than that jacka.s.s Joey. Ma hates the new guy, which is a good sign. I'll be down the middle of next week for spring break. Can I use your car again? I have to go to Jersey to see the Delgatos. You remember Tom, right? Anyway, if I don't hear from you, I'll call when I get in. Love you, Ro. 'Bye.”
Nick dropped the bags on the table. Christ, Rich was coming home. It felt as if someone had punched him in the chest. He sank into a chair, trying to breathe and control his urge to pound something. He wasn't ready. G.o.dd.a.m.nit!
Chapter Fifteen.
Rosalie got off the train at the same stop where Nick had dropped her off that morning, and Nick was nowhere to be found. Great. She'd called him like he'd told her to. Maybe he hadn't gotten the message. It wouldn't be the first time. Thinking she'd never survive a long walk in heels that were already killing her, she caught a cab home.
When the cab pulled up to the brownstone, the apartment was dark. Dave nudged the curtains open. His reflective leash hung from his collar. Rosalie's heart stopped. Something was wrong. She threw a twenty at the cabbie and ran up the steps, cursing the time it took to get through the security door. The door to the apartment stood open. Nick never left the door open. She took a deep breath and barreled inside.
”Nick?”
The place was completely dark. He sat at the table, wearing his jacket, his head in his hands. His elbows rested on his knees. Dave circled his chair and whined.
”G.o.d, Nick. What's the matter? What happened?”