“Name it.”
I grinned. “Give me time to change into something that isn’t last night’s dress or just your shirt?”
His long sigh held amusement and teasing. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
We were already chuckling.
Breakfast passed almost too swiftly, but I savored the moments. Then it was time to shower and change. The fact Bodhi had clothes for me here—perfectly sized and in my style—told me all I needed to know about how he’d already begun to plan ahead. I checked in with the boys while he took a call.
We’d be back at the penthouse after this meeting. Then it would be time to make our next move. Our meeting with his family kept us in the city and only a couple of blocks over at a lovely little pied-à-terre that reminded me a bit of Bodhi’s loft that we’d just spent the night in. Having a secure little private getaway in the city was just smart thinking if you didn’t live here regularly.
Having it for us to escape to when we shared our living space? Also smart. I was going to have to look into doing that as well. But that was a later problem…
The elevator carried us swiftly up from the garage to the apartment itself. “It’s a locked building,” Bodhi assured me. “Without the proper code or the invitation, the elevator will lock people out of any residential floor.”
That was smart.
Waiting for us were a pair of older women, dressed casually, yet I didn’t mistake their easy smiles or assessing looks as anything other than what they were. They wanted my measure and they were both protective of Bodhi. Even more, Bodhi clearly respected them, as well as held them in great affection.
That made me like them even more.
“Sophia, Aunt Eliza, this is Elaine Benedict, but you can call her Lainey if she permits.” The introduction carried just a note of warning. One that Sophia seemed to notice immediately even as the wattage of her smile increased.
“Oh, my darling boy,” she said, laughing even as she extended her hands to me. “It is a pure delight to meet you, Miss Benedict.”
“Lainey,” I insisted, accepting her grip and smiling at her. There was just something so classically beautiful about her. Like she wore the air of another time and age settled on her like a crown rather than a weight. “Please. I am very glad to meet you as well.”
“Very nice, I know your grandfather,” Eliza said as she accepted my handshake. “Leopold always enthuses about you.”
I grinned. “Grandfather is proud, but he’s also a little biased.”
Sophia wrapped an arm around me. “He’s very biased,” she said with a laugh. “But we should always be about the ones we love. Now, you must come and sit with me and let me ply you with some cakes and tea, then ask you all manner of inappropriate questions.”
Bodhi cleared his throat.
Chuckling, Sophia gave him the most impudent of looks. “Only if she agrees. Don’t tut at me, Bodhi. It’s impolite.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Affection and amusement vied for supremacy in his tone and my heart just squished like I’d been squeezed into the biggest hug. These women were not his mother, but they seemed to love him like they were. I loved that for him.
“You may ask me anything you wish,” I offered as we reached the table the women had already set. “But I reserve the right to keep some secrets.”
“Oh,” Eliza said slowly. “I like her, Bodhi. I like her very much.”
“Me too,” he said, grinning at me and I winked. It wasn’t the pleasurable haze we’d woken up in, but it was warm and wonderful.
Chapter
Twenty
MILO
Iclimbed the steps from the subway to street level. The colder air was a brisk slap in the face after the warmth from the train. Course, it was also not as smelly up here. Not everyone on that train had showered recently. Still, I liked public transport, particularly if I wanted to flush out any tails.
When I was with Lainey, we drove all over the city. She had a driver. She had a bodyguard—thoughts about that prick were probably better left undisturbed. The fact Karagiani had her in close quarters for so long and hadn’t done anything, was something of a miracle.
A flash of movement across the street mirrored my own path. I didn’t make a big deal of looking. Not when I could see Jasper clear as day in the reflection in the glass window of a closed store. Not a lot of missing real estate out here, but some of these shops had been closed for a while.
It was another part of King’s business plan to gentrify. Drive the residents out and the prices down. Keep retail out until the building owners were practically hemorrhaging money, then sweep in for a save. He would pick up the properties at a steal, and flip them for quite a bit more.
A disgusting process that made solid business sense, but disgusting where human compassion and common decency stood. My phone rang as I cleared another block and I slid it out of my pocket. Jasper’s name flashed on the screen with his middle finger.
Snorting at the image, I grinned. Freddie must have pocketed my phone at some point this week. I would have to check the other contact images to see what other surprises he set up. For now, I hit answer on the phone. “Bored?”
“Not particularly. I am freezing my nuts off in this wind. How much further before you show me the top secret new clubhouse?”
I shook my head, chuckling. “It’s not a top secret clubhouse, just a little personal renovation project. Future investment and planning.”
“Raptor,” Jasper said, his tone suddenly sober and serious. “I hate to break this to you, but you don’t have enough time to match your girlfriend’s bank account or the other boyfriends for that matter. I’d say you need to focus on what you bring to the table and accept your fate as a kept man.”
“Fuck you,” I told him cheerfully. “One more block, then I’ll cross toward you and we’ll head east.”
His laughter carried over the phone. “Got it.” Then he ended the call. One block later, I crossed at the corner and headed down a different street. Fortunately, this block offered something of a shield against the wind slicing down between the building. Which was good, cause my nose was fucking numb as hell.
