Chapter 2

Nikolas picked up the remote control and turned the television off as the fade-out music accompanied Rick’s and Louie’s famous final scene.  He brought his arms up high over his head and stretched backward, feeling some of the tension that had gripped him all day finally let go of his muscles.

“There is absolutely nothing about that movie that is short of perfection, don’t you agree?” he said, pressing the rewind button.

Nikolas sat up straight again and looked down the length of the couch expectantly.  But Gia was sound asleep, her head leaning on the cushioned arm of the sofa, her legs tucked neatly under one arm, her other hand supporting her cheek.  Nikolas watched her sleep a moment then moved to pull a throw off a nearby chair and covered her carefully. 

He made quick work of removing the dishes and pizza box then returned to where Gia lay and indulged himself in gazing at her beautiful face as she slept.   None of her spit-fire qualities were evident in her face now, in fact she looked exactly like what she was:  a very young, rather naïve girl.  She’d stumbled into his and his brother’s and friends’ lives under such unsavory circumstances but he’d been sympathetic to her from the start even so.  His instincts were good when it came to judging people’s character; it was a trait his uncle had passed on to him, perhaps Laura too.  It was Stefan, however who had honed and polished his talent for seeing people’s true colors almost upon first meeting.  It was a talent that would serve him and his position as well as any other part of his extensive formal and informal education, Stefan had stressed.  Gia hadn’t set off any of the alarms upon which he relied to warn him of opportunists, schemers and such.

“Gia, time to get to bed,” he said softly.

She slept on.  He contemplated briefly, perhaps he should just carry her up to her room; she couldn’t weigh more than a whisper, he figured, taking in her slim form and his sudden desire to lift her in his arms surprised him. 

“Gia,” he tried again, pushing thoughts of holding her out of his head.

“Mmmm,” came the response.  “Is the movie over?”  Her eyes were still closed but she shifted on the couch onto her back.

“Yes, it’s over.  I turned everything off.  You should get to bed.”

“I was in the middle of a dream,” she said sleepily, her eyes still closed.

Nikolas smiled and watched as she stretched out her long, graceful legs and yawned.

“What of?”

A pause, then, “I was kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream,” she quoted and giggled a little, opening her eyes.

Seeing his confused expression, she laughed again.

“Valentino?” he questioned, “I would never have guessed it.”

“Why not?” she continued her game, wide awake now.  “He was tall, dark and handsome and so very romantic.  And all that eye make-up, so edgy for his time, don’t you think?”

Nikolas smiled.  “You’re teasing me.”

“Hm-mm, I am.  I was just quoting a line from an old song, that’s all.  I don’t know why, it just popped into my head.” 

She rolled her head a little and rubbed the back of her neck.  She stood languidly and moved toward the stairs, then stopped and turned to look at him leaning against the mantel.

“It was written by a prince, sort of,” she said cryptically.  “Actually it was Prince, before he became that indecipherable symbol.”

“Prince wanted to kiss Valentino?” he teased back.  “It seems highly unlikely.”

“He wrote the song for a girl band, The Bangles.”  She cocked her head to one side and narrowed her eyes at him.  “You know, for a record company executive, you’re sadly lacking in your knowledge of popular music.  I was thinking…”

“I know what you’re thinking,” he stopped her quickly, seeing the direction of the conversation and not wanting to end the evening with another argument about why she couldn’t work at L&B.  He picked up a small statue of a horse from the mantle, turned it in his hand and set it back down giving himself time to think how to proceed.

“Nice try but listening to a lot of music does not necessarily qualify you for a job with a record company.  As for my position, which I should add, is not up to you to examine and assess,” he continued, pushing off the mantle and following her up the stairs, “it does not require me to be a walking encyclopedia of music trivia.  I drum up business, negotiate contracts and meet with other boring, non-musical types to discuss all kinds of dull things you’d have no interest in.”

He stopped when he reached the landing and stood in front of her, scanning her face and looking for a sign that his words may have been too abrupt this time.  He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, just dissuade her from getting involved in L&B.

Her wide-set brown eyes gave away nothing as she stared back but her words were light.

“It was worth a try.  Gotcha, though, no L&B.  Tomorrow, I’m off to pound the pavement.”  She turned toward her room and tossed a quick good-night over her shoulder.  “Thanks for the pizza and the movie.  And, by the way,” she said looking back at him, “you’re not at all boring, your highness.”

“That’s good to know,” he answered with a lop-sided grin, but her door was already closed.  “Good-night, Gia,” he added anyway wondering at that last remark and her manner.  If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought she’d been flirting with him.  The possibility intrigued but for the second time that night, he deliberately avoided examining his feelings.

He shrugged and walked the few steps to his bedroom, entered and shut his own door.  Within a few minutes he was in bed and staring at the ceiling.  Unbidden, his grandmother’s latest scheming entered his thoughts.  He should fight this he thought, and try to sleep, because experience had taught him that once he began to think about Helena it would be a while before he got any rest.  It was no use, though, the storm was picking up force outside and a sudden shift in the wind’s direction brought the rain down loud against his window.  The fierce weather was a fitting backdrop to accompany thoughts of Helena and he tried, as he had for days, to figure out why that evil old woman would choose to alienate him by cutting him off from his trust fund. 

He got out of bed and began to pace as he thought.  To the window and back to the foot of the bed, then to the window again.  Helena’s actions made no sense but his instinct told him her game was more dangerous now than ever before.  Cutting him off smacked of desperation and if Helena was feeling desperate whatever came next would likely be devastating.  But for whom?  Luke, most likely.  Her hold on Lucky was waning and if Lucky had been her tool to use against Luke, robbing her of him would force her to go to Plan B whatever the hell that was. 

Nikolas stopped his pacing and looked out the window but could see nothing for the storm.  Tomorrow he’d talk to Lucky and get his input.  Maybe together they could figure out their next move.  He lay back in his bed, half under the light covers and thought of Lucky and Liz.  They were in love again as they should be and he was glad for them.  Earlier in the day, he’d walked upon them as they were sharing a kiss and he realized now why he’d felt so strangely at the time.  Something had been missing, and now it occurred to him that something was the jabbing pain he’d felt each time he’d witnessed the growing intimacy between his brother and the girl he, himself had loved.  Sometime in the past few weeks, the weight of guilt and residual envy he’d carried about with him, with respect to his feelings for Elizabeth, had lifted.  Gone, finally, and the hurt with it.  His love and concern for Liz remained but it was no different than what he felt for Emily.  He sighed, at peace with the turn his heart had taken, closing his eyes and letting sleep overcome him.

Chapter 3

Rubber Ducky Main

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