Nicola found herself blinking back tears. People were always nice to her. Because she was a star, because she had power in an industry that thrived on power, because they wanted something that they thought she could give them.
But people were very rarely nice to her just because.
The doorbell to the studio rang and Nicola assumed her dancers were back from their break. She stood up and walked over to the barre on the mirrored wall to stretch before they began again.
Her head was down over her kneecap when she heard Lori squeal with joy. “Yay, you’re here!”
Nicola smiled and was about to lift her head to take a look at the man Lori clearly idolized, when she heard a voice that resonated through every cell in her body. “So this is where the magic happens, huh?”
Oh God.
How could Lori’s big brother be Marcus?
And who knew that it would turn out to be a really, really big deal who Lori was related to, after all?
Chapter Six
No.
No way.
Marcus stiffened beneath his sister’s hug as he made eye contact with the only other person in the room.
Nicola.
What the hell was she doing here?
He could tell from the way she was dressed in a cut-off tank top and tight short-shorts that she was a dancer. It was just his luck that she’d turned out to be one of Lori’s dancers.
Only, what should have been bad luck...wasn’t.
Because no matter how many times he’d told himself that walking away from her that morning had been the right thing to do, he hadn’t yet been able to make himself believe it. Not when his body was utterly at odds with his brain.
And not when he’d wanted to take their one kiss and turn it into an all day—and all night—tangle of naked limbs and heat.
He’d known how beautiful her shape was last night in that leather dress, but she was much closer to naked now, with only the thinnest layers of cotton and Spandex covering her beautiful curves.
And—oh Jesus—was that a bead of sweat trailing down between her br**sts?
Lori pulled back in his arms and he forced himself to drag his gaze away from Nicola. His baby sister looked up at him, studying him more carefully than usual.
“Were your meetings okay today? You look a little tense.”
He worked to keep his attention on his sister rather than the shockingly beautiful woman by the wall of mirrors. “They were fine.”
Lori frowned at his curt response. She’d always been fascinated with the wine industry and he usually shared the details of his business with her. Not just because she was interested, but because she had good ideas. If she hadn’t been such a great dancer and choreographer, he’d have hired her straight out of college.
“Something’s wrong.” She didn’t say it as a question. “Later. I’ll make you tell me later.” And then she dropped one of his hands and used the other to pull him toward Nicola, who’d been watching them warily. “Come here. I can’t wait to introduce you to Nico.”
Nico?
Something flashed in his mind, a hint that he should know something he’d been missing since last night, but he was so off-kilter from seeing the woman he’d been reluctantly fantasizing about all day, that he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
“Nico, this is my brother Marcus.”
Nicola—Nico didn’t sound quite right to him, even though his sister said it with such confidence—was gripping the wooden barre in front of the mirror so tightly he could see her knuckles turning white. Her face was on the white side, too, and she wasn’t doing a damn thing to erase the horror on her face at seeing him again.
Guilt hit him square across the chest. She’d put herself out there by asking him for another night and he’d turned her down cold. Apart from the kiss, which had been anything but cold.
And now, here he was, barging in on her dancing gig for a big pop star.
Seeing him had to be the very last thing she wanted.
Lori was looking between the two of them with an utterly confused expression. Knowing he’d better break the ice—and fast—before his sister clued in to just how wrong things were, he held out his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Nicola stared down at his hand for a long moment, before looking back at him with those big eyes that had been haunting him all day. Her movements were jerky, almost robotic, as she finally pushed away from the barre and put her hand in his.
“Hi.” She cleared her throat as she yanked her hand away. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
The silence hung heavy and thick between them before he asked, “So, how long have you two been working together?”
Lori shot him another strange look. “You know I’ve been working on this video shoot for the past couple of days.”
Okay then, Nicola must be one of her new dancers. But before he could ask any other questions or try to make small talk to set Nicola more at ease, a large group started coming in through the doors. He recognized most of them as men and women Lori had worked with in the past and they raised their hands in greeting.
“Got any vino for us, Marcus?”
He smiled, but it didn’t feel right on his face, not with Nicola still looking at him like his appearance was totally and completely unwelcome.
“I’ll make sure there’s a case waiting for you guys at the end,” he promised. He turned back to Lori. “Looks like you’re getting back to it. I’ll get out of your way.”