Page 35 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Bodyguard

And I had to admit if Skeeter was still out there looking for her, which we all thought he probably was, it would be good for him to hear she was working for the Salazars. People didn’t mess with them.

They knew better.

“Anyway,” Nico was saying, “I also wanted to get your opinions on something.”

I glanced up at him. He’d been regaling us with the tale of his hook-up the night before. Or hook-ups, I should say. He’d been with four women in an observation room in Cayenne, so there’d been a ton of people watching what he was doing.

I just shook my head. I’d made sure Jess and I were in a private room. I hadn’t wanted anyone watching us.

Reynolds looked a little bored, which made me want to laugh. He kept looking over at Nadine at the bar, as if he couldn’t go more than a few minutes without seeing her. I thought it was great. He used to be just like Nico—happy to be with new women every single night, never caring what their names were or wanting to date them—until he’d seen Nadine. Everything had changed for him when he’d fallen head over heels for her, and he’d never looked back.

Nico could tell we were bored. He sighed. “I don’t know why I bother telling y’all this stuff. I should be telling the twins.” He leaned back in his chair, looking… unsatisfied. “You know,” he said quietly, “I could have loved Jelly. I could’ve settled down with her.”

Reynolds’ head jerked up and my eyes widened. We’d never heard Nico say anything like that.

“I know she’s with Paolo, and they’re in love. I get it, and I would never mess with that. But I’ve been trying to figure out for a couple of years now why all my friends who used to be players like me are starting to settle down. How they’re happy to be with just one woman. After I was with Jelly? I understood.”

Reynolds was speechless. I tried to keep the shock of my face. “So, what does that mean? Are you looking for someone to settle down with now?”

Nico got a distant look in his eyes, as if he were somewhere else entirely. “Not exactly. It means I understand how a man candecide he’d be happy with just one woman for the rest of his life. I look at my mom and dad. They’re still deeply in love after all the years they’ve been married. I’m pretty sure Dad would rather cut off his dick than cheat on Mom.”

Reynolds snorted. “And if he did cheat, she’d be the one to cut it off and then leave his ass.”

“Yep.” Nico didn’t even smile. It wasn’t a joke. We all knew it was true. Carlos Salazar was a tough man, one almost everyone feared. He ran his businesses with a steel hand. But Gloria? She was tougher. By far. She would say the harshest, most cutting thing to a person, whether it was a ruthless businessman or a society maven, and do it while smiling and finishing with a compliment. It sometimes took a while to realize that she’d just said something horrible to the person.

That’s what made Enzo so powerful. Most of the Salazar children took after one parent or the other. But Enzo? He had inherited the harshest, most ruthless aspects of both his parents, and almost none of their kindness or empathy.

“Anyway,” Nico went on, “I just wanted to say that I think you found your person, Byron.” He nodded in Jess’ direction. “She’s special. And the two of you just seem… right together. I know you’ve had a thing with my sister. But she’s not right for you, man.” He looked around. “I don’t want to say anything bad about her. Y’all know I love her more than anything and she’s my favorite sibling, right?”

We both nodded.

“But you’re too good for her, man. You’re just an amazing person. You’re the best of all of us. We all knew that growing up. You hung with Reynolds, Paolo, and me, but you were way too good for us. You treat people so well, so kindly, and you deserve someone who is the same way. Someone like Jess.”

Reynolds and I gave each other a look. This was a side of Nico neither of us had seen before. He wasn’t a talker. And certainly not about feelings or things like that.

“Um… thanks.” He’d taken me by surprise. I sat up straighter. “Really. Thank you. That’s kind of you…”

“I’m not saying it to be kind; I’m telling you the truth. You’re a good person. Jess seems to be a good person. I want you to be happy, and, as much as I love my sister, I don’t think she’s the woman that could ever do that for you.”

I was floored by what he was saying. I had already decided that Jess made me feel things that Carmen never had, and I’d only known her a few weeks. I knew she was special. Even though it was early, I thought she was who I’d been looking for all these years. I just hadn’t been ready to say anything about it yet. But maybe I didn’t have to wait. I watched Jess as she laughed at something Nadine was saying. Nora smiled as she watched the two of them. Jess was so perfect, so pretty and kind. And she was so fucking sexy. I’d never been more attracted to a woman in my life.

I was about to say more, but Reynolds beat me to it. He leaned in with a mischievous grin on his face. “I can’t wait to tell Leo that Carmen is your favorite sibling.”

Nico’s mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I most definitely would.”

Nico grabbed his hand. “You seriously can’t. None of my other brothers would give a shit, but it would crush Leo. He wants to think he’s everyone’s favorite.”

I chuckled. Truer words had never been spoken. Leo was a trip.

“What are the three of you talking about?” Carmen walked up, looking like she belonged on a poster in every teenage boy’s room. She had on the shortest, tightest dress I’d ever seen herwear. It was also super low-cut, and she was obviously wearing a push up bra.

Reynolds did a double take, turned pink, and looked away. I found my eyes locked on her cleavage, then quickly looked at Jess. I felt guilty even looking at Carmen when she was dressed like that.

“What the fuck are you wearing?” Nico frowned.

“A dress.” She tried to play it off like the dress was something she’d normally wear, but she couldn’t quite do it. She looked slightly uncomfortable, which was odd for her. She normally radiated confidence and self-assurance.