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His brow furrows. “Well…yeah. Of course. But—”
“Nope. No buts.” I hold out the key again. “If you don’t accept my help and say thank you and be happy, you’ll just prove you’re a sexist jerk. And you don’t want to be a sexist jerk. They’re the worst.”
“Yeah. They are.” He laughs, and my heart flutters happily in my chest in response. “All right,” he says, taking the key. “But I’m paying you back as soon as I can. With interest.”
I wave a hand. “No interest and no rush. Really, I’m fine. I wouldn’t have done it if I couldn’t afford to. I like you a lot, but I like eating and paying my electric bill more.”
Nick’s smile dims. “I like you a lot, too.” He stretches his neck to one side with a wince. “So does my brother. Probably a lot more than he likes me right now.” He tucks the spare key into the back pocket of his jeans with a sigh. “He was at my place looking for me last night when you dropped me off. He saw us kissing.”
“Oh,” I say, the expression on his face making it clear Nash wasn’t pleased to discover our secret. “Why was he at your place at ten o’clock on a Tuesday?”
“He came to apologize for being an asshole the other night.” Nick rolls his eyes. “But then he decided I was the asshole. He ordered me to call things off with you before I did something he couldn’t forgive me for.”
“Our relationship is none of his business,” I say, anger rising inside me. I’ve always liked Nash and thought it was sweet he’s so protective of Aria and Felicity, but I’m not his wife or daughter. And I didn’t ask to be taken under his wing or whatever he thinks he’s doing. “I’m a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Honestly, I’m offended that he thinks so little of the both of us.”
“I know. He can be an overprotective psycho sometimes, but he’s a good guy,” Nick says. “His heart is in the right place.”
“I’m sure it is,” I say, understanding Nick’s instinct to defend his brother. I’m the same with Aria and Lark. “But I don’t need another older sibling in my life. I have two already.”
“Try having seven.” Nick sighs. “It’s impossible to keep anyone out of your business. That’s one of the reasons I don’t tell them everything about my private life. I like it to stay private.” He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, but the strands immediately snap back into their previous hedgehog configuration. “I tried explaining that to Nash, but he was too angry last night. He’s not a fan of bending the truth.”
I think for a moment. “Then we’ll just have to make him forget about that part.”
“How?” he asks, arching a brow.
“By making him a fan of us.”
His eyes narrow. “Okay. And…how do we do that?”
“We’ll have Nash, Aria, and Felicity over for dinner at my place and show them how good we are together. Once they see that we’re just a normal, happy couple and not a train wreck waiting to happen, they’ll be happy, too.” I brush my hands together and wiggle my fingers in the air. “Problem solved.”
He nods slowly. “That might actually work. Nash does love to eat.”
“And I’ll pick Aria’s brain and cook all his favorite things,” I say, getting excited about the plan. Any excuse to cook a big meal and have a party. Which gives me an even better idea… “We could do something a little bigger, too, if you’re up for it. My parents are always open to hosting a shindig. We could have a big family meal, and you can meet the whole clan.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘clan’ until you’ve been to a Geary family horde gathering.” He glances over his shoulder at his customer, who’s still flipping through the books on the counter, before turning back to me. “Yeah, I’m good with meeting everyone at once if you’re…ready for that.”
I stare up into his kind eyes, wondering how it’s possible to feel anxious and filled with clarity at the same time. “Yesterday, you said you wanted to go skinny-dipping with me in the spring. Did you mean that?”
Nick blinks, then swallows. “I did,” he says. “I know it’s still early, super early, but…” He bites his bottom lip for a second before he adds in a softer voice, “I don’t like to think about not being around you.”
“I don’t like to think about not being around you, either,” I say as a blissed-out, hopeful feeling floods through my chest.
Is this what it feels like to fall in love? Real love, the kind that digs its sweet claws into you and refuses to let go? The kind that starts out shining like a diamond and only gets brighter and more brilliant as time goes on?
