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“Steer clear of the Baldwin family, and you’ll be fine.”
“I hope so. Brooke asked if I wanted to go hiking with her and her dog someday, an easy trail so I can take Matty, and Addy offered to help with Cricket.”
Vega, Brooke’s German shepherd pit bull mix, certainly looked intimidating, even if he was more likely to lick a bad guy than bite a person. I’d met him at Saturday’s party, along with Romi’s pug, Chunky Monkey. Romi said she might join us, but Monkey couldn’t go hiking because his short nose and flat face meant strenuous exercise disagreed with him.
“You should go,” Nico said. “The trails to the east of town are meant to be very scenic.”
“Meant to be? You haven’t hiked them yourself?”
“I’m guilty of spending more time in the gym than outside. Maybe we both need to make some changes to our lifestyle?”
“What made you move to Baldwin’s Shore?”
“I never intended to stay here. But I accepted the land at the Peninsula as payment for a debt, and when I visited, I thought it would make a good spot for a hotel, although not all of the locals agreed with me. And the longer I spent there, the more comfortable I became. It seemed right to make it my main home.”
“You have others?”
“I have an apartment and a hotel in London. Plus other hotels in Paris, Dubrovnik, and New York.”
“Nowhere in Russia?”
“I lease my father’s estate to a charity for a few roubles a year. They use it as a refuge for the homeless, so hopefully someone will have good memories of the place. Plus Daddy dearest will be turning in his grave at the thought of poor people using his pool and tennis court, which is another win.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t love this man any more… Love? Did I love Nico? Yes, I guess I did. It had started as a sisterly love with perhaps a little hero worship because teenage Nico had been like a demigod to childhood me. In New York, I’d felt the first flickers of heat between us, and I’d been…shocked. Shocked that the man I’d thought of as a brother stirred up those forbidden feelings. Now? Now, I still loved him, as a friend and…maybe more.
And I had no idea what to do about that.
“Do you ever go back to Moscow?” I asked.
“Not if I can help it. I’ve been a handful of times in the past decade. Occasionally, I have dinner with my godfather if we happen to be in London at the same time, but I don’t go out of my way to keep up with old acquaintances.”
“Baldwin’s Shore has a nice feel about it. My grandma’s neighbourhood in Virginia was real insular. They weren’t fond of outsiders, and even though my mom grew up there, I never felt entirely welcome.”
“There’s a permanent population in Baldwin’s Shore, and some families—like the Baldwins—have been there for generations, but a lot of people come and go. Plus tourists pass through depending on the season.”
“What are the schools in the area like?”
“Truthfully, I have no idea. It’s not something I’ve ever needed to worry about, but we can find out.”
“You’ve never wanted children?”
“I’ve never not wanted kids, but in order to consider fatherhood, I’d need to meet the right woman. And that’s proven difficult.”
“Dating is a minefield.” Although I’d managed to step on a freaking nuke, hadn’t I? “Even before I met Cesare, my attempts to find The One were just one disaster after another.”
“If it’s any consolation, a Spanish model threw a shrimp salad over me in one of the most exclusive restaurants in Miami.”
“Are you serious?”
“Apparently, when a woman asks if you like her hair, the answer is always ‘yes,’ even if she reminds you of a Shetland pony. It turned out the photographer on that day’s shoot liked volume.”
“Do you know trolls? Those toys with the bright-coloured hair that sticks straight up?”
“Tell me you didn’t…”
“The stylist promised it was temporary. I had to work an event with bubblegum-pink hair, and my boss was not amused.”
“I dated a hairstylist once. When I told her I didn’t think we were compatible, she replaced my shampoo with bleach.”
