“I’m sorry, Sofia. I had no idea.”
“Well, it’s not something I thought I should mention on the questionnaire.”
Reeve nodded. “So that’s why you made up the fake name, the fake town, and the fake background.”
“Yes.”
He and Niko exchanged another veiled glance. Niko regarded her with an intense expression. “Sofia, what do you know about your great-grandfather Frankie Fillipone?”
“Not much. He was my paternal grandfather Guiseppe’s father, and he died in 1937. Why do you ask?”
“Love, I don’t know how to tell you this,” said Niko, “so I’m just going to blurt it out. Frankie Fillipone was a mob boss, and he once tried to close this place down when we wouldn’t give him protection money or let him in on the business.”
Chapter Six
Sofia blinked a few times, certain she’d heard him wrong. Her paternal grandfather had spoken so little about his family that she knew next to nothing about them. She’d heard a lot of rumors from her cousins while growing up—tales of the Mafia among them—but what Niko implied was like something out of a movie.
“I’ve never heard my family mention this place,” she said. “Are you sure it’s the same man? Fillipone is a common Sicilian surname, and Frank is a common first name, even today.”
“It’s the same man,” said Reeve. “We have old newspaper clippings and plenty of anecdotal evidence to prove it.”
“The resort has been in our family since it opened in 1921,” said Niko. “There was a chambermaid here in 1936 named Blair Lorring who was hiding from your great-grandfather. She’d accidentally stolen a drop, and two of his men came looking for her—”
“Accidentally?” Anger bubbled up inside Sofia. “How does one accidentally steal something?” Giving a fake name was one thing, but she’d done no real harm. And it wasn’t as if she’d paid them with fake money or a stolen credit card. But trashing her family’s name and reputation was hardly an appropriate response to their finding out she’d given them false information.
Both Reeve and Niko looked momentarily flustered before Niko began to speak again. “It’s a complicated story. Her father worked as a bookie for Frankie. Sofia, we aren’t telling you this to upset you. We’re trying to explain why we were so concerned to learn your true identity.”
“So the owners aren’t concerned that I booked this vacation under a fake name. This is about a man who died forty-four years before I was born.”
“It’s both, actually,” said Reeve. “We need to be sure you aren’t here to carry on his work,” said Reeve.
“Seriously, Reeve? Do I look like a mob boss to you? Or someone who would try to blackmail the owners of a resort into giving me a piece of the pie?”
“Try to look at this from our point of view. This man was big trouble for us during Prohibition. You came here under false pretenses, and you just happen to be his great-granddaughter. If you put yourself in our place, you’ll understand why we’re concerned.”
A shiver ran up and down Sofia’s spine. Something about the tone of Reeve’s voice was too in the moment, almost as if he were speaking of something that had happened to him personally rather than to a family member over seventy years earlier. She studied his handsome face. He couldn’t be more than thirty-five, tops. Sofia understood how someone could identify so closely with their family, but this felt more personal.
“Of course I can understand,” she said. “You have a business to run. But I assure you I’m not here for anything other than to hide for a couple of weeks while I decide what to do with my life.”
Niko averted his gaze, and Sofia immediately regretted her words. They’d just spent hours together, dancing and making love, and she’d effectively negated every second of their time with one sentence. No matter what he thought about her ancestors, that didn’t give her the right to be dismissive of him. “Niko, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply our making love was—”
“You didn’t imply that.” He cut her off with a terse tone that sent a fresh wave of sadness through Sofia.
“Now I understand why you told me you were here to think about something important,” said Reeve.
Niko gave him a quick look she couldn’t interpret. “Sofia, tell us more about Rake.”
“What would you like to know?” While she was grateful Niko had taken the focus off her, she wished she could speak privately with him. She wanted him to know how much fun she’d had with him, and that she appreciated how readily he’d accepted her confession.
No one had ever tried to teach her to swing dance. She wanted him to know how much it had meant that he’d taken the time to engage in a fun romantic activity, rather than simply trying to seduce her. Not that he’d had to try very hard to do that either, but she didn’t want him to think she fucked just anyone. What a mess she’d made of this entire day.
Niko’s voice pulled her back to the present. “You mentioned he’s a vice cop.”
“He’s a sergeant in Vice Control in Chicago.”
Niko frowned. “Has he ever mentioned this place?”
She shook her head. “No, but that doesn’t mean anything. He never talked about work with me.”
“How did you hear about us?” asked Reeve.
“She told me a cousin of her coworker’s had been a guest here,” said Niko. “Is that the truth or did you make that part up?”
“No, that’s the truth. My coworker’s name is Susan Morton and her cousin was a guest here recently, but I don’t know her cousin’s name.”
“And what about Boise?” asked Niko. “Have you actually been there?”
“Once, about ten years ago. I worked there one summer during college.”
“Doing what?”
“The guy I was dating at the time was a sociology major. One of his professors had been to Belarus and was going home to Idaho for the summer to wrap up her research project. He went along as a summer intern, and I went with him. I took a job at a local music store giving clarinet lessons.”
“So, you weren’t lying about being able to play the clarinet,” said Reeve.
“No, and not about the oboe or the bassoon either.”
“Did you go to college in Chicago then?”
“Yes, Northwestern. My undergrad degree is in econ and I earned my MBA from Kellogg.”
“And you work at Northern Trust in Chicago as a financial analyst? That part is true?”
“Yes.”
The men glanced at each other. “Well,” said Reeve rising, “we’d better let the others know.”
Niko gave her a long, searching look before he rose to his feet. “You said you came here to figure out what to do with your life. Are you considering leaving Chicago?”
She nodded. “It’s one option. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“You don’t have to make the decision today.” He held out his hand. “We’ll take you back to your suite before we speak to the others.”
She stared at his hand then looked into his eyes, afraid to believe. “You mean I can stay? You’re not kicking me out?”
“Of course you can stay. You haven’t done anything to endanger this resort. At least not that we know of.”
His wink made her heart skip a beat. She had expected them to tell her to pack her bags. “Thank you.”
Niko looked slightly embarrassed. “Come on. We’ll walk you back.”
“Will I see you later?” She’d meant Niko, but then remembered it had been Reeve who’d invited her to lunch in the first place. “Both of you?” The quick catch must have convinced Reeve as well because he finally smiled, and a wave of desire shot through her body.
“Why don’t you have dinner with us?” Reeve glanced at Niko. “As long as that’s all right with you.”
“It’s fine with me.” Niko cut his gaze to Sofia. “Will you?” If he was upset at sharing her company with Reeve, it didn’t show.
“I’d love to. Thank you.” She could barely get t
he words out. Taking Niko’s hand, she squeezed it firmly as the two led her down the hall and to the elevator. He slipped an arm around her shoulder as the car descended to her floor, and Sofia didn’t miss the flash of jealousy that passed through Reeve’s eyes. Two gorgeous men vying for her attention, even after she’d lied to them. It was almost too good to be true.
The way they’d simply accepted her story and apparently forgave her for the deception confused her. Surely this wasn’t a ploy to gain more information about her family, was it? She searched their faces, but their expressions were neutral.
When she opened the door to her suite, Niko kissed her gently on the cheek. Sofia swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. “Thank you for the dance and everything else, Sofia. I had a wonderful time.”
She stared into his eyes, struggling to form a coherent thought. “Me, too. Thank you. You were incredible.”
His grin sent her heart fluttering. “We’ll see you for dinner.”
* * * *
Reeve waited until they were in the elevator again, descending to the lobby. “What the fuck was that about?”
Niko had the gall to look smug. “What was what about? I shared an erotic afternoon with a pretty girl. I was merely thanking her for it.”
“You danced?”
“I taught her some swing dance steps.”
“Start at the beginning.”
Niko looked at him in disbelief as the doors opened. “Fuck you, Reeve. I don’t owe you a play-by-play.”
“How she did end up in your suite? I just saw her at breakfast, and she told me she had something important to think about.”
Reeve watched Niko glance around the lobby. Several women had stopped talking and were now staring at them with wide eyes and interested looks. “Do you really want the rest of our guests to know you weren’t able to seduce one of them?”
Reeve didn’t care who heard them. “How did she end up in your suite, Niko?”
Niko glared at him for so long Reeve thought he was going to punch him. Finally he walked toward the offices behind the front desk, and Reeve had no choice but to follow. When they were no longer within earshot of the front desk staff or the guests in the lobby, he finally spoke.
“She was in the lobby when I came upstairs from checking out the room we plan to hold the swing party in. While I was down there, Gregory mentioned he saw you having breakfast with her, and that she looked a lot like Frankie Fillipone.”
“Gregory found proof online that she’s his great-granddaughter.”
“She freely admitted to it, Reeve. You heard her.”
“You didn’t ask her if she was?”
“No. She introduced herself as Eden Wilderness in the lobby when I asked if she needed anything, and then I invited her to lunch. She looked a bit woozy.”
“From guilt, no doubt.”
Niko smiled. “Maybe it was from meeting me?”
“Oh, fuck you.”
“Look, I didn’t plan to seduce her, if that makes you feel any better. We ate lunch, she admired my drum set, she told me she played woodwinds, and then I mentioned the swing party. She said it had been a long time since she’d danced, so I put on some music. I taught her a few steps, and one thing led to another. She’s charming and very seductive, but not in that annoying ‘I know I’m beautiful and sexy’ way.”
“And she just told you who she really is?”
“Hey, I’m persuasive like that.”
Reeve’s entire body suddenly felt weary. Why should it bother him so much that Niko had seduced Sofia without even trying, when she’d turned him down flat only hours earlier? There were plenty of other guests, and he was willing to bet none of them were here under a false name, hiding from an ex-husband. Or plotting to bring down the resort.
“You don’t trust her.”
Reeve stared at the floor. Niko had always been able to read their thoughts. Ninety-three years on this forsaken rock hadn’t dimmed that power in him.
“Don’t deny it. It’s coming off you in waves. You don’t believe her story.”
“Why do you believe it?”
“Because I held her in my arms. I looked into her eyes as I made love to her. I tied her to my bed and saw trust in those eyes.”
“Well, lucky you. She’s into the kinky stuff.”
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t know anything about it.”
“Why are you jumping all over me? You’re the one who just said she let you tie her up.”
“She also said her ex was into BDSM but implied he hurt her, so letting me do that took an enormous amount of trust on her part. That’s why I believe her.”
Reeve’s stomach lurched. If he ever got his hands on Sofia’s ex he’d teach him a thing or two about respecting women. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry her ex was such an asshole. So now that we know who she is and we have her side of the story, what do you want to do? Should we tell the others? Heaven only knows what Gregory has said to them by now.”
“Yes, I think we should let the others know. And then we’ll have dinner in the company of a beautiful woman.”
“Don’t you want her all to yourself tonight?” Reeve hated the petulant sound of his voice.
Niko chuckled and clapped him on the back. “Oh, come on, Reeve. You know I’ve always preferred it when we share a girl.”
“You’re creepy at times. You know that, right?”
“We’re the band, man. You and me. We can’t let a pretty dame split up the band.”
Reeve couldn’t help but laugh. It was an old joke between them. Back when the nightclub was open, Niko and Reeve played in the band, along with other staff members. The staff came and went, but Niko and Reeve played at every performance. They also preferred to seduce a woman together. But whenever a guest would show a proclivity toward one over the other, or not want to be part of a ménage with them, they’d make a joke about not being able to split up the band. They’d always told the other owners they’d be the last two holdouts. No falling in love with a woman and choosing a mortal life for them—no way.
“All right,” said Reeve. “But if she gives any sign she wants only you, I’m out of there. This whole situation makes me uncomfortable.”
“You still don’t believe her, do you?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe her. But right now I’m more worried about her ex than her dead ancestor, to be honest.”
“I agree. We should have the others check him out, just in case.”
Niko walked toward the hallway. “Let’s go then.”
Chapter Seven
Sofia tried to remember the last time she’d been intimately involved with a man before Rake. She’d met Rake a few weeks before she turned twenty-seven, and prior to that her dating life had been hit-and-miss—mostly miss. The last man she’d seriously dated before meeting Rake had been another MBA student named Gabriel. He was engaged to a woman in his hometown of Indianapolis, but hadn’t bothered to tell Sofia that little tidbit until close to a year into their relationship.
She shook her head as she finished dressing for dinner. This dinner with Reeve and Niko wasn’t going to turn into a relationship with either one. They seduced their guests. It was part of the quirky reputation this resort had, and why it was always full. Even so, there was no guarantee the passionate afternoon she’d shared with Niko would be repeated or that she’d make love to Reeve during her two weeks here. Just because they’d forgiven her for lying to them didn’t mean either one had any interest in her. She was jumping to some fairly large conclusions.
What had happened earlier with Niko was one of those heat-of-the-moment things. But Sofia couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened, and she couldn’t forget the tenderness in his eyes or his voice. She stared at her face in the mirror. “Why the hell does everything have to be so fucking complicated?”
When an answer didn’t materialize, she mentally went over her preparations. Sexy black lace lingerie—just in case something did happen again—little black dress, an
d matching heels. It had been a long time since she’d had the chance to dress up for dinner, so why not do so now?
Was she supposed to meet them in the lobby? They hadn’t made any firm plans. She wasn’t even sure what time they intended to eat. After checking her face in the mirror one more time, she’d finally decided to call the front desk and ask, but a knock on her door stopped her.
She opened it to find Niko and Reeve wearing sports coats and khakis, each holding a red rose, and sporting nearly identical sexy smoldering grins. Sofia’s clit began to throb, and her little black dress suddenly felt too tight.
“You look incredible,” said Reeve, holding out his rose. She took it and brought it up to her nose.
“Thank you, Reeve. You both look great yourselves.”
Niko handed her his rose then glanced around the sitting room. “Do you have a vase? There should be one in the kitchen.”
Before Niko or Sofia could respond, Reeve headed toward the kitchen. “I’m on it.”
Sofia caught the droll look that quickly passed over Niko’s face. That they would be in competition for her attention gave her a thrill. It had been a long time since she’d felt this way, and even though she knew they did this with all their female guests, it was nice to be admired and treated like something other than a piece of property. It had only taken a few months after she and Rake were married for Sofia to realize that the romance and candlelight days had come to a permanent end.
Once her roses were safely in water, Niko held out his arm and Sofia took it. She’d assumed they were going to the main dining room, but instead when they got into the elevator, Reeve pushed the button for the second floor. Their combined scents of oregano and lilacs filled her head until she couldn’t distinguish one from the other. How was it possible that men could smell like spices or flowers? Surely it wasn’t their cologne, but where else could the scents be coming from?
They led her down a hallway to a door that opened into a cozy room with damask wallpaper and heavy draperies. A large round table and three chairs graced the center of the room. Niko lit candles then pulled out a chair for Sofia.
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