“No,” I say, being truthful for once. “I can’t.”
Bric presses a button on his door and his window rolls down as the man in the suit walks up to our car. “We’re gonna pass on this one, Law. Let’s see the next one, OK?”
“Fine with me, Bric. Meet you over there.”
Bric tabs the window back up and we back out of the driveway. The next house is only a few blocks away. The contemporary one. We don’t even bother to pull into the driveway this time, just idle in the street. “How about this one, Nadia?” Bric sighs.
“No,” I say.
Law comes up to our window again. And again Bric says, “Next.”
The guy just shrugs, gets back into his car, and we follow him to the third place.
The castle with turrets.
The gate is larger than the last two and the driveway is longer, which means the lot is bigger and no neighbors can see into the house. There’s trees along the property line. Tall, skinny ones that create a wall of sticks that might even be pretty in the summer.
“Do you even want to see it before we move in? Or should we just surprise ourselves next week?”
I stare at the house. It looks cold. And old. It’s all gray-brown stone and appears to be something out of history.
The window rolls down. Bric says, “Offer five million cash. Three-day possession.”
“Don’t you want to see inside?” Law asks.
“I saw the pictures online,” Bric says. “It’s good enough.”
“Uh, OK,” Law says back. “I’ll write it up and email you.”
The window rolls back up. We sit in silence.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I say. “I have a place to live.”
“I didn’t do it for you, Nadia. I did it for us. Would you like to have dinner? Or do you want to go back to your apartment?”
“Is Jordan coming?”
“No,” Bric says. “He says he’s busy.”
I let out a long sigh. “Is he quitting on me?”
“No,” Bric says, a little bit of surprise in his voice. “Why do you think that?”
“Because ever since you showed up he’s been conveniently missing.”
“He’s got some big case, Nadia. Don’t internalize things.”
“Is he going to move into this house with us?”
“As far as I know,” Bric says. But he doesn’t sound very sure of himself. “I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. Do you want dinner?”
“Sure,” I say. But I feel sad all of a sudden. I feel like I just lost something even though Elias Bricman just purchased a five-million-dollar house that I will soon be living in.
I stew in that as Bric makes his way across town and we unexpectedly end up back in front of my building. “I thought we were going to eat?” I say.
“I don’t want to be around you if you don’t want to be around me. So I’ll take a raincheck on that.”
I stare at him with squinted eyes and say, “Well, that’s just fucking great,” as the valet opens my door. I slip one leg out of the car, but Bric grabs my wrist and holds me tight. I look over my shoulder at him. “What?”
“If you invite me in, I’ll come up. We can order takeout. Kiss a little.”
I glance at the valet, who blushes and backs off, then look back to Bric. “Would you like to come upstairs?”
“I would, Nadia Wolfe. Thank you for the invitation.”
The valet helps me out and then Bric is beside me, offering his arm. I take it and let him lead me inside, to the elevator, upstairs, to my door.
I fish my keys out of my pretentious purse and then Bric’s hand is on mine, taking them from me. He unlocks and opens the door, then waves a hand for me to enter, like this is his place and not mine.
God. Does everything have to be a power play with this guy?
But I shrug it off and go inside, and then he’s there, taking off my stupid cape and hanging it up in the coat closet. He does the same with his coat, unleashing an expensive suit on me that makes him look like Adonis with clothes.
“Chinese?” he asks. “Mexican? What do you feel like?”
“Mexican,” I say.
He pulls out his phone, tabs a contact, and then orders for both of us. I want to stop him. Tell him not to do that. I can order myself. But he chooses sea bass tacos and I know the restaurant and I love those tacos. So I let it go. For once, I think in my head. I can let it go because he did everything right.
“It’s gonna be an hour and a half, they said. So we have time to kill. Something dear,” Bric says, changing the subject abruptly. “What’s that mean exactly?”
“What?” I ask.
“The other night. You told Jordan you wanted something dear to us. What’s that mean?”
I shrug. “What’s that mean to you?”
“Do you always do that?” he asks. “Get another opinion before you give yours?”
“That’s not what I do.”
“Yes, it is. You want to know what I think of it because you don’t want to be judged on what you think of it.”
“It’s something meaningful, Elias.”
“Like Jordan’s car.” But then he laughs. And I do too. Because fucking Jordan, right? He’s so materialistic.
“Not his stupid car,” I say, still smiling.
“I know that, Nadia,” Bric says, coming towards me to take my hand in his. Jesus. He’s a player. “So just tell me what it means.”
“Just personal.”
“Like a secret?” Bric asks, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles. A familiar tingle runs through my body at his tender touch.
It’s a game, Nadia. He’s playing you like an instrument right now. This whole afternoon has been a game.
“Sure,” I say. “A secret. But more than that, an insight, I guess. Into who you are. Who both of you are.”
“Do you think you know Jordan?” he asks, pulling me close to his chest. He shifts his hands so they’re gripping my waist, and suddenly we’re dancing. My hands on his shoulders, my face near his neck.
“Better than I know you,” I say, staring out the window on the far side of the room.
“If I give you insight into me, will you give me insight into you? Or is your body my only reward?”
What the fuck? “Whatever you want, Bric.”
“Elias,” he corrects me. “You know, it’s painfully obvious that you call me Bric in your head. You make that mistake too often for it not to be true.”
“Sorry,” I say, suddenly feeling weary. My legs are aching like crazy. And my feet are tired in these boots. “It’s just how I know you, I guess.”
“Then you need to know me in a different way. Until Elias is the default and not Bric. Show me your apartment. Let me see your secrets, Nadia.”
Everything about him is exhausting. And I guess that’s his plan, right? Wear me down, make me weak, bend me backwards.
So why fight it? It makes me tired to fight it.
“Come with me,” I say, slipping away from his tight hold on my hips. “I’ll show you the only room that matters.”
Chapter Twenty-One - Bric
I grab hold of her hand before she gets away, not wanting to let her go. But she tugs me and brings me with her down the long hallway, on the opposite side of the apartment from her bedroom.
I have a million questions as she leads me into her ballet studio and flicks on the lights.