“You’re not to blame for wanting to have a run through a wooded area to get away from the city.”
“Still. I mean, the reality is what it is.”
“Well, if you want, anytime you want to take a run through a less populated area of Central Park, call me. I can always go for a run.”
“I don’t have your number,” I blurted out. Even though I knew I really needed tonothave that at my disposal. I knew there was a good chance that I might reach for my phone in quiet, needy moments.
Nico looked genuinely perplexed at that.
“Do you have your phone?”
I reached for it with my uncoated fingertips, tapping in my code, then passing it to him.
“I had no service in there either.”
“Yeah. I have issues just around the Pool sometimes,” he said as he typed in his number, then called himself with my phone. “There. Now we can contact each other if we need to. Do you remember anything about the guy?”
“Not really. I didn’t get a good look at him. He had a baseball cap shading his face. Just tall. Average. Strong.”
“Strong?” Nico asked, stiffening. “Did he hurt you? I thought you fell.”
“I did. But he grabbed my ankle and pulled. That’s how I hit my chin. But I think kicking him might have been how I lost him.”
“Good for you. Whatever it takes to get away. I used to make my baby sister carry mace and an extendable baton everywhere she went.”
“I didn’t realize you had a sister. I heard Matthew talk about your brothers.”
“Yeah. There’s six of us in total. It’s me, Leo, Cesare, Gavino, Zeno, and Lore.”
“Wow. That must have been crazy growing up.”
“The good kind of crazy mostly. Always someone to hang out with. And also always someone to hog the shower or borrow your shit.”
“Are you all still close?”
“Very. I usually see each of them every week. A little less with Lore. She married and moved to Brooklyn, so we don’t see her as much as the rest of us who all are still in Manhattan.”
“Are the others married?” Why was I prying into his personal life so much?
“Cesare is. He met a sweet florist and locked her down real quick. They’re busy popping out and raising kids. But Zen is too busy on his computer to get serious about a woman. Besides, they might get freaked out by his disaster of an apartment. He’s got some… executive dysfunction issues.
“And Gav, well, Gav is a bit of a grumpy recluse.”
“What about Leo?”
“Leo will settle down eventually. He’s just been working a lot lately, doing some traveling.”
“And you?”
“Just haven’t found the right woman yet,” he admitted. And it was just so… honest. And mature. Like he genuinely wanted to be married and was a little bit frustrated that he hadn’t made it to that milestone yet.
“But you want to be married?”
“Absolutely. I’ve known all my life that I want a wife and kids.”
“Six of them?” I asked, shooting him a little smile.
“If she’s game, I am.”
