Page 41 of The Bargain (Dalton Family #2)

Chapter Forty-One

Ethan

M y brother is a ticking time bomb. Anna is the kind of woman who revels in knowing she owns the code to push him over the edge.

If he’s wood, she’s fire.

But as I lie in the plane and watch Sofia sleep, her body facing mine, her hand beneath her cheek, I can feel how different she is.

At times, she’s fire in my blood, but she’s also the calm in the storm.

She’s the ocean, deep and blue, a vast sea of new life and experiences I didn’t know I needed until I met her.

I hate that I’m taking her home in the middle of my family drama, but I want her with me.

I want her in my home, in my bed. It’s only because of her that I’m trying again with my father, and I truly hope I can get through to him.

I reach out and press my hand to Sofia’s face, and when she looks at me, her eyes light as if I make her happy.

And that’s what I’m going to do. Make her happy.

She captures my hand and brings it to her lips in what has to be the sweetest thing a woman has ever done to me.

She’s honey and happiness, and I will protect her from everyone, including my family.

It’s hours later when we exit the flight and climb inside a private car to head to my apartment. “Is it crazy that I’m starving?” she asks as we start the ride.

“I am, too. When we’re closer, I’ll order us pizza from a twenty-four-hour joint I love.”

She glances at her watch. “And I’ll be jogging in the morning, considering it’s ten. But I don’t care. I want that pizza.”

“Well, I have a full gym at my place. You can jog to your heart’s content.”

“A full gym? I can’t even fit a treadmill in my house.”

It’s way too soon for me to tell her to make my place hers, but I want to, which is insanity, I know, but I’m not fighting what I want with her.

I want everything. I feel that every time I look at her.

“Wait,” she says, glancing out the window and then at me.

“Do you have an apartment here in the city?”

“Yes. I do. I thought you knew that?”

Her brows dip. “Maybe. Yes. No. I don’t know. I read you had one. Yes, I Googled you, but that was confusing information considering you stayed at the hotel with me.”

My lips twitch. “How else would I easily negotiate with our future star designer?”

“That was a little sneaky,” she says in a playful chide.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it helped me get to know you.”

It’s right then, that we arrive at my apartment in Central Park.

I exit and help Sofia to the sidewalk, and the doorman barely contains the shocked look on his face when he spies her up close and personal with me and for good reason.

The last woman I brought home was Anna, and that was a very long time ago now.

“Ralph,” I greet, shaking his hand that I pad with several large bills.

He’s a tall, bald man with sharp features and a gentle personality.

“Sofia will be coming and going on a regular basis. Make sure she’s taken care of. ”

“I’ll take good care of her, Mr. Dalton.” He greets Sofia. “Welcome, ma’am. If you need anything, and I do mean anything, I’m at your service.”

“Thank you, Ralph. I appreciate that. And please, call me Sofia.”

There’s a softness in the doorman’s eyes, as if he’s as charmed by her as I am. I think she has a gift with people. They like her. Maybe because she likes them. There’s no hate or arrogance in her heart. Not to mention, Anna was all about formality and her status.

“Can I take your bags up for you?” Ralph asks.

“If you can just knock and leave them at the door,” I say, “that would be great. We also have a pizza that should be here in the next fifteen to thirty minutes.”

“I’ll make sure it arrives,” Ralph says. “Uneaten, of course.”

“I ordered you one, too,” I inform him.

This draws a grin. “You are always too good to me.”

“And yet, you still won’t call me Ethan. You need to work on that.”

“I’ll try, sir. Thank you for the pizza. And I’ll make sure security knows about Sofia and allows her free run of the building.”

“Thank you, Ralph. It’s you who is too good to me.”

I wrap my arm around Sofia and guide her into the building, which is more hotel than residential building, with shiny white tiles that walk all the way up to a security desk.

A short, Black man waves our direction. “That’s Eric.

He’s a great guy. He owns the security company and has contracts with most of the high- end buildings, and yet, he still works and covers shifts.

You won’t see him that often, but you can always ask for him.

He says it allows him to stay in touch with what is needed to continue to do well. ”

“There’s a lot to be said for seeing how customers react to things. Hearing what customers love in my store helps me define my brand.”

We step onto the elevator, and I punch in the top floor. “You have the penthouse?” she asks, turning to face me.

“Is that a problem?”

“I just… I keep getting reminded that you have a lot of money.”

“Is that really a bad thing?”

“No. No, but I want to make money. I want the Zoey brand to do so well that I can at least afford a place in this building, even if it’s not the penthouse.”

I catch her hand and walk her to me. “Or, you could just stay in the penthouse with me.”

“You’re not stuck with me because you bring me here a few weeks, Ethan.”

“And you’re not stuck with me, either. Staying together is a choice.”

“Yes,” she agrees softly. “I suppose it is. I guess we’ll see.”

The elevator dings with our arrival. “Yes. We will. I, for one, already know what I want.” But I don’t say the words.

I don’t ask her to move in with me. It’s too soon.

And forever is just a series of days we’ll still be living.

Instead, I lace my fingers with hers and lead her into my apartment, where she will share my bed for at least two weeks.

We’ll see where that leads.