Vendetta (Blood for Blood #1)(34)

“Do you think we should stay away from them, at least until we find out what’s going on?” I ventured.

Millie whined in disapproval. “Soph, Mrs. Bailey is, like, a walking gossip magazine. She thrives on ridiculous rumors. Remember that time she told my mum I was pregnant? She’s crazy. There’s nothing wrong with Dom or his family, trust me.”

“I just think there’s something not quite right about it.”

“Then let’s figure it out!” she urged. “Think of it as a mystery. A sexy mystery.”

“What if it’s not something we should be trying to figure out?” I asked, thinking again of the cloying honey smell, and the idea that Dom was in a boating accident. I just couldn’t picture him wearing deck shoes.

“I’ve seen the way you look at Nic, Soph,” Millie said. “Tell me he’s not worth figuring out.”

Maybe she was right; even if there was something sticking in the pit of my stomach, the way Nic made me feel was undeniable. And Millie knew it. Plus, I didn’t want to stomp all over her excitement with hearsay.

“So what did you guys talk about?” I asked instead.

“He told me about how he used to live right in the center of the city with his family, and how the suburbs are boring in comparison. He’s nineteen, which is sexy and totally risqué, though he does go a bit overkill on the whole hair gel aspect of his perfection. I mean, Danny Zuko is only a good look on Halloween. Not that that stopped me from staring at him in a daze when he talked. I had to ask him to repeat himself a lot, which was awkward. Anyway, then the conversation turned to me mostly, but I am a pretty fascinating topic. And we touched on the subject of you as well.”

I felt my cheeks grow hot. “Why?”

I turned onto a narrow avenue where gated estates and rows of cherry trees climbed uphill beside me. Halfway up, the street intersected with Lockwood Avenue.

“As much as I love talking about you, it was actually Dom who brought you up, by accident.”

“Oh?” I didn’t know Dom in the least, except that he was obviously less weird than Gino, and that he ranked far below Luca on the I’m-a-smug-ass scale. “What did he say about me?”

“He was asking about the diner and stuff. I mentioned you were probably going to take over running it soon from your uncle and that we’re best friends, so you will obviously give me a huge pay raise.”

“Obviously,” I concurred sarcastically.

“Then I went on a bit of a rant about Jack and what a bad job he’s doing running the place now.”

“Mil!”

I turned onto Lockwood Avenue.

“Oh come on, Soph,” she chastised. “A fact is a fact. He’s been totally AWOL. I mean, you can’t just disappear whenever you feel like it. For one thing, it’s rude, and for another, it’s weird. This is the exact kind of behavior that gives fuel to Mrs. Bailey’s idiotic rumors.”

“OK.” She had a point and I wasn’t going to rile her up about it.

“Anyway, I’m sure Dom will relay the fact that you are going to be sitting on a nice little cash cow someday soon to his brother, and that will no doubt make you seem even more attractive!”

I flinched, thinking of the fib I had told Nic and Luca that first time I saw them, in the diner. Hopefully Nic wouldn’t feel cheated by my dishonesty. After all, it was technically just my summer job. For now.

As I got nearer, I felt my stomach clench uncomfortably at the sight of their house.

“I hardly think they’re gold diggers. You should have seen their house,” I said, looking at it.

“Hopefully someday soon, I will.” I could tell Millie was wiggling her eyebrows suggestively on the other end of the call. “I’d better go. I’m exhausted from my escapade.”

“Wait! Did you kiss him?”

“If I had, don’t you think I would have used that as my opener?”

“Too bad.”

“But he did kiss my hand when he dropped me off. Does that count? It was so romantic.”

“That definitely counts!” I reassured her as I hurried past Nic’s house. “OK, now you can hang up,” I said once I was safely on the other side and the mansion was stretching into the sky behind me. I turned left and my path began to wind downhill again.

“Text me when you get in.”

“Bye.”

“Sophie!” a voice called out just as I was putting my phone back in my bag.

I turned around, feeling a familiar jolt in my stomach. I recognized him immediately, running toward me with his hood up.

I responded with calculated calmness, trying to keep my dreadful enthusiasm from making me burst into an arms-flailing sprint toward him. “Nic?”

He came to an easy stop and lowered his hood. His smile lit up his face. “Hi.”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You don’t sound too happy to see me,” he noted. Small dents appeared above his brows and his smile faltered. “Maybe I overestimated how well you would take me chasing after you like a maniac …”

“Why? I mean, it worked so well the last time,” I teased.

His expression turned remorseful but he couldn’t hide his smirk. “I should have learned my lesson, right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”