Chapter 2

VERONICA POV My feet were killing me. Been in these heels for over 16 hours straight. Watching the clock tick, waiting for the coat check guy to return. It's 11:30pm, and this gala's still in full swing. Had a couple of drinks, chatted with a bunch of snooty business folks' wives and daughters, and squeezed in one dance with Brian, just as promised. Can't wait to bail, kick off these torture devices, ditch this tight dress, and hit the shower for some relief. Been ten minutes and Mr. Coat Check's still MIA. "Back in five minutes," my foot! Someone clears their throat behind me, snapping me out of my annoyance. I turn to see Nico, those brown eyes I kept bumping into all night. "Didn't mean to startle you," he says with a chuckle, hands in his pockets. I catch myself checking him out and quickly shift my focus back to his eyes. "You didn't scare me, all good," I sigh, giving him a smile. Seemed like a nice guy, but then again, don't they all? I remember our table chat about how Nico just moved from LA to NYC to run an investment company, kinda like my dad's. Actually, it's the first time I've heard Dad branching out with other companies instead of just buying them out. "How long's it been?" Nico nods towards the sign on the desk, raising an eyebrow. I glance at it, annoyed again by how slow the coat check guy is. "Over ten minutes," I grumble, showing my disappointment. Not my usual vibe, but I've been feeling low all day, just itching to leave. Nico purses his lips, then moved past me toward the coat check room. I just watch, curious, until he stops and looks back at me, eyebrows raised. "What's your coat look like?" he asks, a big grin on his face. Couldn't miss the sparkle in his eyes, that playful vibe telling me he's serious about heading back there.3 I hesitate, being the rule follower that I am, but decide to follow him down the rows of coats. Spotting mine, I confirm it with the number tag, 217, just like the one they gave me when I arrived. I take it off the hanger, putting the hanger back, and head back to the foyer. Nico's there, fixing his coat, then he holds out his hand for mine. I smile, handing it over, and turn around so he can help me put it on. As he slips it over my shoulders, I notice a couple walking by, laughing. It's Brian, with some pretty blonde in a light pink dress. They're leaving together, and I just watch them go. He always did like blondes, not like I should care. We were supposed to be here together, but he went behind my back to my dad to set it up. That's just how business goes. "Isn't that...?" Nico starts, sounding confused. I'm embarrassed now, so I quickly turn around, his hands off my shoulders. Our eyes meet, yet again tonight, and I can tell he feels bad for me. "Yup," I reply bluntly, my 'p' popping sarcastically. I shake my head, realizing I'm being rude to him, when he's been nothing but nice all night. "I'm sorry," I add, buttoning up my coat. It's January, freezing, and this coat won't do me any favors.2 "Why are you apologizing to me? You have every right to be upset," Nico replies, his tone more serious now. I look up at him and start laughing softly, unable to help it. This situation's a first for me. From his expression and words, I can tell he feels bad for me, as if I don't know Brian's fooling around. Brian and I? Complicated. We go way back, used to be friends. Dad pushed me to date him, thought he was golden for the family biz. Brian played along, climbing up the ladder. At first, we dated for real, but it was doomed. He just wanted status, and I gave it to him, along with a free pass to sleep around. Nico looks puzzled, and I shut up, surprised by my laughter too. But it keeps bubbling up, making him laugh too. "You shouldn't let him walk all over you like that," he says, getting serious fast. I freeze, not sure how to respond. No one's ever paid enough attention to see how Brian treats me, but Nico caught glimpses tonight. "My relationship isn't your business," I snap, narrowing my eyes. Who is he to say anything about it? Only Annalise knows anything, and even she learned not to push it. I'm not in love with Brian, and he's not cheating on me. We're just in this for business, for show. Nico's staring deep into my eyes, like he's trying to read my mind. I let him, knowing he won't get it. After a quiet moment, he finally speaks up. "You got somewhere to be?" "What?" I ask, caught off guard. "You busy right now? Got plans?" he repeats, slower this time. "Not really," I answer, still puzzled, my poor feet begging for a break. "I'm heading back to my penthouse. Wanna come?" he asks, eyebrow raised, looking out through the glass doors. I follow his gaze, spotting Brian still outside with the blonde, waiting for his ride. Nico's got this smirk, and I can't help but grin back. He wants to make Brian jealous. My brain's screaming at me to bail, but I want this. Want Brian to see he can't control me, that I'm not his. Nico's right; I shouldn't let Brian walk all over me when I'm the one helping him. I don't need him. He needs me. "Okay," I agree, letting Nico wrap his arm around me, guiding me out of the building. We're just feet away from Brian and the girl, and I feel his stare as Nico opens the door to his sleek black Audi R8. I slide in, watching as Brian's face registers shock through the tinted window. I divert my attention back to Nico, watching as he thanks the valet with a tip before getting into the driver's seat. "He's going to kill you," I whisper, knowing that Brian would be pissed about this. He wouldn't say a word to me, considering we barely talk, but Nico would definitely hear about it. "No, he won't," Nico says with a chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief, as if I'm making some ridiculous joke. The next four words that come out of his mouth are stern, his tone completely serious. I know that he means them metaphorically, but something inside of me ignites. I feel safe with him. This stranger that I really know nothing about. "I'll kill him first." “You must be joking” I said to him while I laughed awkwardly but the looks in his eyes at that point made me a little nervous. There was an awkward silence for about a minutes, then suddenly he said “why not end things with him”

NICO'S POV "W-what?," Veronica whispered, her face inches away from my own. I towered over her petite figure, my thumb moving off of her plump lip and brushing against the soft skin of her cheek. I have always been very blunt. People like that about me. I'm an extremely straight forward, get-to-the-point type of guy, but in this moment, I know that I may be pushing her too far. I met her a few hours ago, but I felt like I knew her my entire life. The entire time at the table, as people tried to talk to me about my life, I watched her, and not in the creepy stalker kind of way. She is beautiful. The moment I laid eyes on her, after she tumbled right into my arms, I knew she was different. Her eyes screamed of her innocence, her voice soft and apologetic, although all I could think about was hearing her scream my name as I took her. That's all I wanted to do right now, but I was trying to hold back. I didn't want to scare her away. "End it. End things with him," I repeat, the pad of my thumb rubbing gently against her cheek as my hand positioned itself to cup her face, lightly tilting it up so that she was forced to look straight up and into my eyes. Her big, beautiful brown eyes was my favorite of her physical features. She had a perfect body, soft skin, gorgeous dark and long hair, but her eyes are what did it for me. Her expression changed to that of pure shock and my eyes darted down to her plump lips that were now parted slightly, she motioned to open the car door to exit the car, then it seems she reconsidered doing that, then opened her mouth as if she were to say something, but nothing came out. Suddenly, she's laughing as if she has just heard the most ridiculous thing in her life "You're fucking ridiculous, you know that?" Veronica suddenly exclaims, turning back around to face me. Her tone shows that she's serious, probably thinking that I'm delirious for making such a comment. "So I've been told," I say with a casual shrug, stuffing my hands back into my pockets. "You act like you know everything. But you don't, you don't know anything about me," she snaps, her eyes narrowing and her voice raising the tiniest bit. She was angry, her face gave that away, plus the tone of her voice. I couldn't help but smile a bit. She looks adorable when she was angry. A small chuckle escapes my lips before I can stop myself, and I shake my head at her. "So you think you figured your way around me huh” I said a little bit pissed “However I assure you that you don’t know anything about me enough to tell me to end things with my boyfriend” I said However, I’ll allow you the courtesy of getting to know me but you haven't told me anything about yourself," she mutters, her voice soft and shy. I notice her fingers rub against the skin on her arm. "What do you want to know?"1 "Everything. I want to know everything," she admits, a small smile finally appearing on her face, doing something to me internally. “In time” I said to her much to her dissatisfaction God, this woman would be the death of me. She was perfect. I had never met anyone like her and after this, I didn't feel like I needed anyone else. With that we left the party and headed to my penthouse