"This is important, Nyla."
"Denning, does my father know you're here? Does your new girlfriend know you're here? What's her name? Hazel, right? Does sweet Hazel know that you are standing in front of my doorstep at six in the morning trying to whisper sweet nothings in my ear?"
His intense stare raked over me. "I’m on your side, Ny."
I suppressed an eyeroll at his intimidation attempt. "Since when? This whole thing reeks."
His brows lifted. "What the fuck do you mean?"
Stepping back, I released a silent chuckle. “This,” I added, waving my hand through the air, “I’m so glad to be free of it. I want to see how it turns out for you when your fairy godfather realizes that you are a twat. Wish I could watch."
"Why are you always such a bitch, Nyla?"
I paused mid-turn and gave him a broad grin over my shoulder. "Yup. Always. I revel in it. Careful now, though. If my father hears you call me a bitch, he won't like that. And then you wouldn't be his golden boy anymore."
I pivoted on my heel and sauntered to the waiting car, leaving him standing on the stoop of my building, jackass that he was.
10 East
When we pulled up to the hotel in its stunning opulence, Nyla’s mouth dropped open. "I expected modern and shiny, like the hotel in London."
I lifted one shoulder in an offhand shrug. "We decided what we wanted for the branding is for the London Lords logo to fit anywhere. It should be simple elegance that can blend into whatever style of architecture we find. Which also lends to our sustainability and core mission. We aim to design hotels that look like other structures near them. Monaco is known for its opulence and its glitz and glamour. So we designed this hotel to match."
"It's… wow."
Before I even approached the desk, the concierge located me in the crowd. "Mr. Hale, we're so pleased to have you with us. As we discussed, we have the suite available. I didn't realize you'd be bringing a guest."
"It's fine. Pierre, this is Agent Nyla Kincade. She works for Interpol."
Pierre, ever affable, didn't even blink when I said Interpol. Instead he bowed low and offered to take her bags. Between him and the porter, they took all of our luggage, leaving Nyla only with her cross-body purse and me with my keys as I headed toward the garage. "Follow me."
"We're not going to the room? And PS, where am I staying?"
I laughed. "When I said suite, I meant a three thousand square foot suite with four bedrooms."
Her mouth formed a small O, and then she closed it. "Okay then."
The drive to my sister's residence was beautiful and scenic, the sun pouring in. I'd chosen to let my driver go and drive us there myself. We kept several personal vehicles at each of our hotels to use when we visited on business, and I decided the black convertible would be a great choice because of the scenery along water. When I slipped into the car and slid my jacket off, Nyla just glanced at me deviously. "You realize that this isn't some Roman Holiday kind of outing, right?"
I grinned. "Oh, I'm well aware. Get in."
Even though she'd been skeptical, the moment we started to drive up the coast, she extended her arms, turned her face up into the sun, and laughed. She had the kind of laugh that gripped a guy by the balls and wouldn't let go. Deep and throaty and so buoyant. When I parked at the back of AJ’s building, Nyla grabbed her laptop out of the back and met my gaze, her eyes sparkling. "Oh my God, that was the most incredible drive."
"Yes, I know. I'm always stunned by it when I come here too. There's nothing quite like the Riviera, especially in summertime with all the sunshine. I’m always aware that I shouldn’t take it for granted.”
My inner me wanted to roll my eyes at myself.
Oh yeah, real smooth. Keep flirting with her. See how that goes. Don’t forget she tried to bug you.
And that was true. She had tried to bug us, but I’d found it. Still, I couldn't look at her without feeling like I’d been hit in the sternum. She was stunning. More than that, she was smart and cunning, and she had the kind of spirit that couldn't be bought anywhere. The back door to the offices swung open, and my big sister leaned in the doorway, looking more like my father as she aged. Behind her, stood her wife, Margaux. Margaux wrapped an arm around AJ's waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek before stepping forward. "East, maybe next time you’ll give us more than a two-day notice that you're coming. We would have opened the villa."
Margaux's hug was tight. AJ and Margaux had been together since I'd been at Eton. To me, Margaux was as much my sister as AJ was. But when AJ told the old man she was in love with Margaux, Dad had disowned her. Asshole. I would never forgive him for that. AJ approached Nyla first. "Agent Kincade, I assume."
"Yes. I’m Nyla." She thrust out her hand and AJ clasped it with both of hers.
"It's delightful to meet you. This is my wife, Margaux. You're going to have to forgive her. She's exuberant in her actions. Also, I'm pretty sure she's a bit in love with my little brother."
Margaux released me, checked me over like a worried mother hen, and then smiled. "If I wasn’t completely in love with his sister, I would make a play for him."
AJ just rolled her eyes, and I laughed as I said, "Nyla, you'll have to forgive them. They're not used to visitors."
AJ grinned and then came over and gave me just as tight of a hug as Margaux had. "East, it’s so good to see you. You didn't have to come all this way. I would have come to London next month
