They looked at each other across the desk and said nothing. She heard ticking and looked at the clock.

One minute passed.

Her father had threatened to kill her if Kingsley didn’t pay him a hundred grand.

Two minutes passed.

Her father had abandoned her after she got arrested, run and let her take the fall for him.

Three minutes passed.

Her father had slapped her in the face, tried to run off with her, tried to choke her and even now the wound still bled.

Four minutes passed.

Her father had threatened to ruin Søren’s life.

Five minutes passed.

The phone rang.

“I don’t answer this phone,” Kingsley repeated. “Either my secretary answers it or we let it ring.”

The phone rang a second time.

“You can ask the person on the other end of the line to help your father,” he reminded her.

Eleanor tore her eyes from the phone and met Kingsley’s steady gaze.

“The only father in my life is a priest. And I’m not your secretary.”

The phone stopped ringing.

25

Nora

“AND BY THE NEXT MORNING, I WAS FREE,” NORA SAID. She looked over at Nico and shrugged. “Getting himself killed was the nicest thing my father ever did for me.”

“How so?” Nico asked. She sat up in bed, the blanket pulled to her chest. Nico still lay on his side, his hand resting on her thigh under her nightgown.

“After I was born, my mom took out a life insurance policy for her and Dad. Dad turns up dead and—voilà—I have money for college.”

“Who killed him?”

“Never found out. He had mob ties. He f**ked around with the wrong bad guys one too many times. I tried to feel bad about it, knowing I had a chance to help him and didn’t take it. But I couldn’t. The world was better off without him.”

“You were better off without him.” Nico sat up and took her hand in his. He kissed the back of it. “My father’s more interesting than I thought he was.”

Nora laughed and twined her fingers into Nico’s.

“Interesting is the word for it. Interesting, complicated, dangerous. When he came to Manhattan after leaving France, he was only twenty-eight. First thing he did was find the most dangerous mafia figure in town and do a favor for him. Smart move. Kingsley was under the boss’s protection for the rest of his life. Which is a good thing, because Kingsley had a bad habit of pissing off very important people.”

“I should be grateful he’s still alive,” Nico said. “Although I might never look at him the same way again. Lose his watch in you?”

“That devil.”

“He is,” Nico said. “A gentleman always takes his watch off first.”

Nora’s stomach quivered at Nico’s words. She liked his definition of gentleman much better than simply a guy who held the door open for you.

“It could be worse. One night with my client Sheridan, I almost lost my necklace inside her.”

Nora laughed at his look of wide-eyed wonder.

“Tiny girl,” Nora said. “She must be hollow.”

Nico turned his head into the pillow and burst into laughter—deep, warm, luxurious laughter.

“If you and Kingsley are alike, why is it so much easier to love you than him?” Nico asked, turning his face to her.

“Because, unlike Kingsley, I didn’t seduce your mother.”

“Don’t forget he disappeared after getting her pregnant with me,” Nico added. “And you worry he’s going to judge us for this night?”

“It’s not that,” Nora said. “He might not even be that angry. I doubt he’ll even be surprised. But I owe him a lot. He’s been more family to me than my actual family. And then you come along….”

“What is it, Nora? Tell me the truth.”

Nora looked away from Nico and into the fire.

“I wrote a fantasy novel once,” she said, watching the flames dance as they died. “Those were my favorite when I was a kid. Unicorns, magic, dragons. A few years ago I took a stab at writing one. I let Zach read it. He thinks it needs some work.”

“Not good?”

“He liked it. But, said Zach in his stuffy British editor voice, I broke the cardinal rule of writing fantasy. You see, if there’s magic in your world, every time the magician uses it, he must pay a price. I’ve never forgotten those words from Zach—magic isn’t free. I was drowning tonight in loneliness and grief and I thought I would go crazy out here. I wished for you and there you were, everything I needed. Like magic.”

“Why me?”

“Because the only man who you’ve ever considered your father just died. You’re on the same path I am, only a few feet ahead. If I follow you, maybe I won’t get lost. I’m so scared of getting lost.”

Nico touched her face. His fingers came away wet with tears. Nora had built her life around certain beliefs, certain truths, and now she found herself questioning everything.

“What was the price you paid to have me here?”

Nora swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I can’t go back,” she whispered.

“Back where?” Nico wrapped both hands around hers.

“Kingsley’s bed.”

Nora stared into Nico’s eyes. She wanted him to see the truth in her words.

“You should know that not only do Kingsley and I have history, we have recent history.”