Page 19 of Always

But this time Stella’s jumpiness was justified. Dominic and Marco Moretti were walking toward them.

Marco looked almost exactly as Anika remembered him—medium height, slim build, flawless skin, and model looks. His wavy dark hair was a little longer now, almost to his shoulders. When he smiled at them all, his teeth gleamed white against his olive skin.

“Hello there,” Anika smiled at Dominic as he took her hand and kissed her on each cheek.

“Hello, my angel,” Dominic said. “Marco, this is Anika and Stella Knight, and this is Gwen and Hannah Fletchley—they work in our Red Line office.”

Marco shook hands all around. Anika noticed that Stella held his hand particularly long. But Marco wasn’t looking at Stella. After a cursory smile at the others, he seemed to be openly captivated by the sight of Anika. This was so obvious that Anika could see James glancing back and forth between the two of them.

“This is James Dawson,” Anika hastened to introduce him. “He’s visiting from California, and he’s actually been helping us as well—with the gala.”

“James Dawson?” Marco asked curiously. “From Altarian?”

“That’s right,” James said, shaking his hand.

“I think we might have been to a party together once,” Marco said, “on a yacht outside Mykonos.”

“Last summer?” James said. “I think you’re right.”

Marco was looking back at Anika again. She saw that his eyes were not brown like his father’s, but a deep, dark green.

“And you,” he said to Anika in his softly accented voice, “you look very familiar to me as well.”

“Well,” Anika said hesitatingly, “we did meet once before, but I was only twelve.”

“I wouldn’t forget that face,” he said. “You must have been a beauty even then.”

“A beauty in braces!” Stella interjected scornfully.

Marco smiled politely but kept his attention on Anika.

“So it’s you we have to thank for all this?” he gestured to the grand expanse of the ballroom.

“Hannah did the lighting,” Anika said. “Gwen picked the music. And James was the one that convinced the venue to let us have this date—it was actually booked already through the month.”

“All under my direction,” Stella said, physically stepping between Anika and Marco.

Gwen snorted loudly, then tried to cover it up by pretending she’d swallowed a sip of champagne the wrong way. Stella turned to glare at her.

“Are you staying with Dominic while you’re in town?” Anika asked Marco.

“I am for now, but I’m looking for my own apartment,” Marco said. “I plan to make New York my home. But I’ll admit, I’ve only visited a few times before, I don’t know the best areas. Maybe you could show me around a few of the neighborhoods? Help me find a place not too far from the Bennet Knight studio?”

“I know a fantastic listing agent,” Stella persisted. “You know, some of these buildings seem elite, but they’re full of lawyers and hedge-fund managers. You want to live by the right people, not just the right zip code. Anika’s a country bumpkin, she doesn’t know anything about the nightlife or the social circles you’ll be interested in.”

Anika actually did know the city quite well from her university days—at least, from the perspective of where to find the best donair, or how to get to the nearest subway station with the least amount of walking outdoors on a rainy day. But she was more than willing to concede the point that she was unlikely to know the glamorous apartments that someone like Marco would be interested in renting.

Marco said, “I’m not looking for trendy, actually. I’ve had enough of all that—I’ve come to New York to settle down. Anika, you won’t leave me homeless—you’ll take me out this week, won’t you?” He held her eye, smiling in a beseeching manner.

Dominic laughed quietly at the idea that continued residence in his immaculately restored brownstone could be considered “homeless,” but he likewise gave Anika a hopeful look. She could tell that he liked the idea of her and Marco spending time together.

Anika couldn’t help glancing back at James. Somehow, she didn’t want to make plans with Marco right in front of him. In fact, had James caught her eye at that moment, she might have made an excuse to avoid it. But James had turned away from the whole conversation to point out something across the room to Gwen and Hannah.

After all, Anika had no real reason to refuse Marco’s request—other than Stella’s displeasure. Anika didn’t have to look her way to feel her sister’s wrath burning a hole in the side of her head.

“Sure,” she said to Marco, “I’d be glad to help you look.”

“It’s a date,” he said. “I’ll get your number from my father.”

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