Ties That Bind Us

by Nicole Knight

  “Nick . . .” Fuck, the way she whispered my name like that always made me weak. “Everyone is waiting on us.” She giggled, trying to move out from underneath me.

  “It’s our party. Let ’em.” I smiled mischievously.

  “Don’t you want to hear about how my day was?” She was toying with me.

  “Eventually, yes. But right now, all I want to do is get this dress off of you.”

  “Nick, seriously.” She slid away, successfully this time. “This is my father’s office. We can’t do anything in here, he could walk in at any second.”

  “Then lock the door if that’s what you’re worried about,” I countered, not letting her talk me down so easily.

  “You’re impossible, you know that?” She grinned, tilting her head slightly. She hoisted herself up on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs teasingly. The slit on her dress parted, giving me quite the view as she let her legs fall apart. That was all the invitation I needed.

  “Let me be clear about something.” I smirked smugly, reaching behind me to lock the door, just in case. I loosened my tie and made my way toward her slowly. “The only reason I am letting you go in there wearing this dress, looking as insatiable as you do, is because you’ll be on my arm. You’re not allowed to go out in that dress without me.”

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered seductively.

  Chapter 21

  Nick

  “Thank you,” I said, taking my drinks from the bartender and sliding a few bills across the counter.

  Our parents had gone all out for this party, and even though I was having a good time, the only thing I could think about was getting Ava home. We had taken advantage of a few stolen minutes in Alessandro’s office, but it had only been a tease. I spotted her across the room, and started to make my way over so I could ask her how much longer we had to stay, but I was intercepted by Vince.

  “Hey,” he said gruffly.

  “Hey,” I said, anxious about how this conversation was going to turn out. The last time I’d seen him was when he accused me of murdering Andrew. I definitely didn’t want another scene like we’d had that night.

  “I just, uh . . . I wanted to tell you . . .” Vince mumbled, scrambling for words. I knew where he was going, but I wanted to hear what he had to say. “I reacted badly the other night. I didn’t know what happened with Andrew, if I had . . .” He trailed off, sighing.

  “Hey, man.” I held my hand up to stop him. “I get it. I probably would’ve reacted the same way.”

  “I’m sorry if it caused problems with my sister,” he said genuinely.

  “No big deal, I should have told her from the beginning. I thought your dad had.”

  “Yeah, well.” Vince rolled his eyes. “He’s always got some sort of ulterior motive where Ava is concerned.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Vince shook his head. “Look, all I can really say is you need to be careful who you trust around here.” Vince looked around as if he was worried about getting caught saying too much to me.

  “Your dad?” I asked, confused. This entire thing had been his plan from the beginning. Why would he not be happy with it now?

  “He likes to use Ava as a distraction,” Vince said quietly. “I don’t know what he’s planning, but you need to keep a close eye on things. Ava is a pawn, and she’ll wind up getting hurt if we don’t take care of this soon.”

  “We?” I arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Don’t let it go to your head, Caponelli.” Vince chuckled. “I still can’t stand you, but I’m willing to compromise where my sister is concerned.”

  “Noted.” I laughed. This was progress for me and Vince. At least we could agree on one thing—Alessandro wasn’t going to hurt Ava anymore.

  “I’ll let you get back to your party, we’ll be in touch soon.” Vince slapped me on the back and disappeared. Our conversation was unnerving for so many reasons. Alessandro was up to something, but we had no idea what, and Ava’s safety could be at risk. I needed to talk to my dad and Leo about this, but this wasn’t the time or the place. I didn’t want Ava to think anything was out of the ordinary, or for Alessandro to know we were onto him. The only advantage I had now was that he didn’t think I knew anything.

  Ava

  “Well, there’s the blushing bride herself.” Jimmy grinned, sauntering toward me as if he owned the place. His father walked next to him. I had managed to avoid Jimmy most of the night, but he must have been lying in wait. The second Nick left me to get a drink, he pounced.

  “Hi, Jimmy,” I said politely, hoping to get this interaction over as quickly as possible. Nick wouldn’t be happy if he came back and Jimmy was still here. “Mr. Bradford.”

  “Please, call me Paul.” He hugged me gently. “I was sorry to hear things didn’t work out at the office. We were really looking forward to having you.”

  “I really appreciate your offer.” I smiled awkwardly, having wanted to avoid this conversation. “The timing is just off for me.”

  Just like I had told Nick, I had no intention of actually taking the job with Mr. Bradford. I’d been able to appease my dad and still do what Nick and I had decided, and honestly, that felt like a major win. After he ambushed me in the office, I hadn’t even had a chance to tell him.

  “Well, I hope it all works out for you.” Mr. Bradford smiled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find your father.”

  He excused himself, slipping through the crowd, and Jimmy and I were left standing alone. There were about a million other places I would rather have been at that moment. Jimmy made me uneasy. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust myself around him, I just didn’t trust him, and I knew he was pretty hell-bent on driving a wedge between Nick and me for whatever reason. I felt even more vulnerable without Nick here. I looked around anxiously to see if I could find him, but he was still on the other side of the room.

  “I haven’t seen you around the last few weeks,” Jimmy observed, standing uncomfortably close to me. “I’m surprised your gatekeeper even let you out of the house tonight. Is he the reason you turned my dad’s offer down?”

  “I turned it down because I don’t think it’s the right place for me. And honestly, I don’t see how this is any business of yours,” I stated, ready to defend Nick and our relationship.

  “Relax, I’m just teasing. That’s what friends do, right? They tease each other. Although you and I have never really been good at the whole friends thing. We were much better as a couple.”

  “We were a pretty shitty couple too.” I scowled. “And I was a completely different person back then.”

  “Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.” He chuckled mockingly. “You know you can do much better than that guy, right? Why don’t you just tell your dad you don’t want to do this?”

  “Because I do, Jimmy. I love Nick and—”

  Jimmy nearly spit out his drink. “I’m sorry, did you just honestly say you love Nick? You know nothing about each other. He killed your brother, Ava.”

  “You don’t know the whole story. Nick was honest with me about Andrew, and if I remember right, honesty is a tough concept for you to grasp.” I narrowed my eyes at him, angry that he was choosing now of all times to do this. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration of my upcoming marriage, and it irritated me Jimmy was even here. I was sure I had my father to thank for that one.

  “Don’t forget this is a business deal for him, Ava. He stands to inherit two very powerful families the second you say I do. I’d be doing everything in my fucking power to make sure the wedding happened, too, if I was in his shoes. Don’t kid yourself into thinking he actually cares about you.” Jimmy’s words were like venom, stinging as they hit my ears. I knew he was wrong, that everything he was saying was a lie, but it still stung.

  “Don’t listen to him, Ava.” Nick’s arm snaked around my waist and I had never been happier to feel him next to me. He would know exactly how to handle Jimmy.
“I’d be jealous, too, if I had wasted my opportunity with you and was staring at your fiancé right now.”

  Jimmy chuckled, finishing the rest of his drink and setting it on a nearby table. “Trust me, Nick, I am far from jealous of you. I’m just trying to understand why you’re so adamant about this marriage. I mean, the two of you have only known each other a few months and now all of a sudden you’re rushing to the altar. Seems a little convenient to me.”

  “When you know, you know,” Nick said confidently, tightening his grip on me. His hold was reassuring, and exactly what I needed.

  “Tell me, what is Ava’s favorite movie?” Jimmy pressed, not showing any signs of backing down. Unfortunately, neither did Nick, and I had a bad feeling about how all of this was going to end.

  “Our relationship is none of your fucking business,” Nick said through gritted teeth.

  “Nick, let’s just . . .” I was hoping to lead him away from Jimmy before this got any worse. This wasn’t the place for them to have this conversation.

  “It’s a simple question, Caponelli. What is your fiancé’s favorite movie? What’s her biggest fear? Hell, I’ll even be satisfied if you know her favorite color.” He snickered confidently.

  Nick clenched his jaw as I said a silent prayer he’d keep up his resolve. This wasn’t going to end well.

  “I mean, I get that she’s good in bed, but I feel like you should know a little bit more about a girl than her favorite position before you pop the question.” Jimmy smiled wryly, trying to push every button of Nick’s he could. A pit formed in the bottom of my stomach.

  Before I knew what was happening, Nick jerked away from me and reared his fist back, landing it squarely on Jimmy’s jaw. The two seemed to morph into each other and a mess of punches so that I couldn’t even tell where each one was.

  “Nick!” I shrieked, wanting to break them up but feeling completely helpless. I was no more of a match for their strength than an annoying fly.

  “Hey!” Vince bellowed, rushing in to break the two of them up as the rest of the party goers whispered and looked on.

  Once he had them apart, Vince grabbed Jimmy’s arm, leading him out of the room and hopefully out of the party completely.

  Nick swiped at blood dripping from his lip and turned back to me. His face was bloody but not nearly as bad as Jimmy’s. If I wasn’t so pissed off at Nick for sinking to Jimmy’s level, I might actually find some enjoyment in this. I couldn’t believe that had just happened. Nick had just beat the shit out of my ex-boyfriend at our engagement party. Jimmy deserved everything he got, but this hadn’t been the time or place.

  Feeling the scrutinizing eyes of all the partygoers on us, I hurried out of the room, desperate for some air.

  They sure knew how to break up a party.

  Chapter 22

  Ava

  “Ouch!” Nick winced, squeezing his eyes shut. He was sitting on the edge of the bathtub in my childhood bathroom as I was wiping the blood out of his eye. “I know you’re pissed, Avs, but it hurts when you jab my wounds like that.”

  Personally, I couldn’t find the humor in any of this. We still had a hundred guests downstairs, and I was up here having to deal with this. I ignored him, and continued pressing the warm washcloth to his cut.

  “Hey.” He reached out and took my hand, running his thumb along the back of it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit him. I just can’t fucking stand that guy, Ava.”

  “I know.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, then sat down next to him. “Which is why I told him I wasn’t going to take the job.”

  Nick’s eyes widened. “You did what?”

  “Nick, that’s what I was planning to do all along. I told you I just felt like I needed to go to the interview to make my father happy. The last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable with where I’m working. It hurt me that you didn’t think I could resist using if I was around that place, but I understand where you were coming from. I love you and I want you to know I respect your feelings, so I told Mr. Bradford I had to turn it down right away and I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for other options.”

  “Baby, my feelings about that job had nothing to do with you or your abilities. I was more upset with the fact that your father would ask you to do something like that. I’m sorry I didn’t explain that better. Jimmy is a snake and he’s hell-bent on destroying us for some reason. Do you honestly think that’s a healthy environment for you to be in right now?”

  I shook my head. “But he did have some valid points. There is so much we don’t know about each other.”

  “Would you stop?” He chuckled a little bit. “Jimmy is dead wrong, okay? We may not know every single thing about each other, but no one ever really does. We could date for years and still not know everything about each other.”

  “But . . .” I tried to protest, but Nick put a finger to my lips.

  “But nothing. Jimmy is just trying to get to you. Ava, I may not know your favorite movie, but I know that your right leg twitches right before you fall asleep every night, and that you bite the inside of your cheek when you’re concentrating on something. You hum in the shower when you think no one is listening, and you make yourself a cup of coffee every day but you have to warm it up at least three times before you finish it. When you get frustrated,”—Nick touched my forehead in between my eyebrows—“your brow furrows right here. You’re a sacrificer, especially when those you love are involved. There isn’t anything your family or friends could ask of you that you wouldn’t do, and you’re always worried about disappointing people. You get nervous when I drive and grip the handle on the door, but won’t ever tell me to slow down. You’re driven and ambitious and adventurous, and you always keep me on my toes. I may not know everything about you, Ava, but I know enough to know that I want to spend the rest of my life learning.”

  Jimmy was trying to drive a wedge between us, and I had played right into it. The truth is, Nick probably knew me on a deeper level than Jimmy ever had in the entire time we’d known each other.

  “How do you always know the right thing to say to make me feel better?” I nodded, wiping a tear off of my cheek. “I know none of what he said was true, and I shouldn’t have let it get to me.”

  Nick leaned forward and kissed me. “I know this is a lot for you. Honestly, I’m surprised you’ve taken it all as well as you have. Our relationship was forced to begin with, but it’s developed into much more, and no matter what Jimmy tries to make you believe, I love you. And I am so excited about our future.”

  “Why are you so good to me?” I laid my head on his shoulder.

  “Because you deserve it.” He set his hand on my knee gingerly. “And I plan to spend the rest of my life convincing you of that.”

  “For the record, I wasn’t pissed you hit Jimmy, he deserved that and worse. I just felt like it shouldn’t have been done in front of our guests in the middle of our engagement party.” I had to admit I got a huge satisfaction from seeing Nick hit Jimmy after the bullshit he’d said to me tonight.

  “I agree with you there.” Nick chuckled. “And judging from the glare my dad gave me, he does too. I should have shown more restraint and not sunk down to Jimmy’s level. But you’re right, he deserves much worse than I gave him.”

  “Let’s just find a more discreet place next time.” I smirked.

  “Whatever my girl wants.” Nick stood up and kissed my cheek. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “You took the words right out of my mouth.” I smiled as I grabbed his hand and stood up.

  By the time Nick and I got back downstairs, the crowd was starting to disperse. The fight had broken up the celebration, and only a few guests and our families were left. We said our good-byes quickly, and headed home.

  We spent the rest of the evening tangled up together in the sheets. When we made love, it always amazed me how he balanced being soft and gentle with being in control. He moved my body into
positions he wanted, knowing exactly the way to get to me with each touch. I’d never get tired of the feel of his lips on mine, as if he was hungry for me and could never get enough himself. He made me feel so thoroughly loved that by the end of it, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.

  When I woke up the next day, I was lying on his chest in the same position I had fallen asleep in. I wriggled out from under his arm and got ready, careful not to wake him.

  An hour later, I was sitting in a bridal shop with my mother and sisters, starting the search for a wedding dress.

  “What do you think?” I smiled nervously, turning around and facing my mother and sisters.

  The whole process was slightly overwhelming. The boutique Bella had chosen must have had a thousand options. The dress consultant, as she was called, showed me all kinds of different styles, and thirty of them were sitting in the dressing room right now. Even though the first few dresses I tried weren’t my style at all, I was actually starting to get excited. This was one of the first big things I had done for the wedding, and it felt like it was finally becoming real. Nick and I were going to be married in just a few short months. Putting on a white dress, regardless of whether or not it was going to be the one I chose, made my heart flutter and gave me butterflies in my stomach. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine Nick waiting for me at the end of the aisle, and for the first time since this all began, my excitement outweighed my fear and uncertainty.

  I had come in with an idea of what I wanted for a dress, but unfortunately, so had everyone else. My mother had dreamed of this day forever, and had a very specific idea of what she thought I should wear. One of those big, flowing princess dresses with long sleeves. The one she picked was stunning, but it was a little too dramatic for me. I leaned more on the side of simplicity, but decided to humor her and had put it on for everyone to see.

  “Oh, Ava!” my mom gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears pooled in her eyes like it was my actual wedding day.