She was really having a hard time understanding his behavior. He had stopped the coldness and was now...well, she wasn't quite sure. It started when he was installing special software on her computer to keep her files protected from V3. He had his hand on the back of her chair and was leaning over to make sure the firewall was being set up correctly. It was a little distracting having him so close to her.
She mentioned that she didn't really keep much on her computer after the Pittman debacle, almost without thinking. She was surprised when he said, sincerely, that it would never happen again, that he promised. They made eye contact, and she went from being slightly distracted by his physical proximity to practically transfixed by him. My God, she had almost forgotten the effect he could have on her. Her head was almost spinning.
She was almost relieved when Paloma interrupted, breaking the spell. She attempted to compose herself, only to have Paloma note that Nico's feelings about her were absolutely transparent. (She compared him to a squid, which would have amused Dani under other circumstances.) She didn't like where that conversation was going, so she shut Paloma down sharply. Her assistant was dead wrong, and it was almost painful to think about Nico having romantic feelings for her.
Later that week, the office had a cocktail party to celebrate recent triumphs. She wasn't going to come, but her plans changed and she decided to attend. She made her way tentatively through the crowd - they really hired a lot of tall people at V3, it seemed - and looked around for a familiar face. All of a sudden, she heard a familiar voice from behind her: "So you came." She turned to see Nico looking at her with a genuine smile on his face. His voice could be so gentle sometimes, she thought to herself. It made her heart skip a beat when she heard it, because it reminded her of the night they had kissed so many months ago, when he had told her that she was the only one who knew him now that Pittman was dead. She barely heard what she was saying as she told him she had decided to become more social to fit into the V3 "family," like he had. He didn't comment on that, but looked her in the eyes and said, softly, "You look beautiful."
Whoa. That was unexpected. She felt herself blush and dropped her eyes. She didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, she didn't have to say anything, since Connor came up to them just then. She was surprised and confused to watch as Nico showily looked at his empty glass and commented that he needed a refill, leaving her alone with Connor. The way he said it was so insincere, like he had just been waiting for someone to rescue him from the conversation.
She let Connor turn on his considerable charm, whirling her around the floor until she could barely keep her balance.
Nico never came back. She really didn't understand his behavior at all. Did he have romantic feelings for her again? He didn't seem like a game-player, so why all the dreamy eye contact unless he meant something? She needed to be careful around him, that much was clear. He had the ability to confuse her in a way no other man ever had. They might not be friends anymore, but damn, the attraction was still off the charts.