Read Miami Spice for Free Online

at
length.”
    Nico Sloan offered a pleasant, well-meaning smile.
“Just as well. Gianni and I don’t get along very well. I’m in town
visiting our parents, and I was wondering, Ms. Rael, if you had
some time to give me.”
    “Please, call me Erica.” She felt her heart
rev up. A twin brother! For some odd reason, she hoped he was
nothing like his sibling.
    “Would you like something to drink, Mr.
Sloan?” This came from Tai, who had moved behind her sleek,
glass-topped desk. “A bottle of water? Coffee?”
    — or Tai or me? Despite herself, Erica
smirked when she spied the definite interest in the assistant’s
face.
    “No, thank you. Please, you both must call me
Nico.” He bent closer to speak to Erica. “I was wondering if I
could take you to lunch.”
    Glancing at the wall clock, she realized it
barely registered ten. “Well, it’s awfully early for lunch.”
    “Coffee then. I promise not to take up too
much of your valuable time.”
    How could she refuse? Excusing herself for a
moment, Erica ran to the back room for her purse, and then did a
quick touch-up with her lipstick.
    “Oh, oh, someone is out on the prowl,” Sacha
observed with a little purr. “What’s he like, this mystery
man?”
    With a sweet smile, Erica started back to her
guest. “Darling, I’ll tell you all about it later.”
    They ended up at the bookstore and coffee bar
around the corner.
    “If we’re here on business,” Erica offered,
“then allow me to pick up the tab.”
    Nico gave her a serious look. “Actually it
is. I’d like to discuss a possible design job.”
    “Well, have a seat and I’ll get back to
you.”
    After Erica requested and paid for his latte
and her Italian soda, she joined him at a table towards the back.
“Now then, what can I do for you?”
    “I really don’t know where to start,” Nico
stated with a sheepish look. “I know Gianni is your upstairs
neighbor. He did tell me he’s seeing your sister, and that you and
he seemed to have gotten off to a rocky start, a misunderstanding
of sorts.”
    “I found your brother just a tad
forward.”
    “Gianni is like that. Throughout our lives,
he’s been the outgoing, charming one, and I’ve always been the more
reticent, introverted sibling.”
    Though his narrative piqued her interest,
Erica wanted to remain all business. “Did your brother send you to
pitch hit for him? I suppose he wants me to look at his apartment
and offer my services.”
    “Yes and no.” Nico lowered his eyes to a
subdued level. She noted the long, thick lashes, which gave him a
rather sexy quality in a subtle sort of way. Did his brother
possess any such modest qualities? Erica couldn’t remember if
Gianni Sloan had a modest bone in his slick body.
    “He could have come to your office,” Nico
continued, “and requested another designer, but he’s so sure you’d
be the one to understand what he has in mind. He thought I might be
able to smooth the waters so to speak.”
    Erica’s brows rose. “And you agreed to try
and persuade me on his behalf. I thought you said you and Gianni
aren’t on the best of terms.”
    “Yes and no, again.” The twin cleared his
throat. “We agree on some matters, and I decided to help him out
this time because he really believes you would be the best designer
for his space. I think so, too, even though I don’t know much about
you. So, I went online and found an article about you in an
architectural digest. The writer certainly sung your praises.
You’ve also won a couple of design awards.”
    “Well, I’m flattered that you went to the
trouble, Nico.” Erica sat straight, impressed with his foresight.
“All right. It can’t hurt to take a look.”
    “Great!” He flashed a convivial smile, ripe
with a bit of boyish allure. “Gianni is out of town on business for
a day or so. I’m staying at his place in the meantime. He gave me
carte blanche to give you the same when it came to your ideas and
what it will all